(2021) Affinity - Affinity [Remastered & Expanded Edition]


Review:
A new expanded, remastered four CD clamshell boxed set by the legendary progress/jazz rock group, Affinity. The band’s origins go back to 1965 at the University of Sussex in Brighton when Lynton Naiff (keyboards), Grant Serpell (drums), and Nick Nicholas (double bass) formed the US Jazz Trio to perform at University events and local gigs. When Serpell graduated a year later he was replaced by Mo Foster who had earlier been playing bass guitar in his school band but had now switched to drums. In 1968, Naiff, Serpell and Foster recruited Mike Jopp on guitar and the outstanding vocalist Linda Hoyle to form Affinity. The band made their live debut in October 1968 and soon appeared on the BBC radio show Jazz Club. Legendary saxophonist and club owner Ronnie Scott heard a recording of this performance and subsequently agreed to manage them and give them regular bookings at his world-famous jazz club. Affinity soon began to attract a lot of favourable media attention and signed to the newly formed Vertigo label in 1969. Their eponymous debut album, produced by John Anthony, appeared in 1970. Thanks to outstanding tracks such as ‘Three Sisters’, ‘Night Flight’ and imaginative covers of Bob Dylan’s ‘All Along The Watchtower’ and Alan Hull’s ‘I Am And So Are You’, Affinity received excellent reviews, with the Sunday Times praising the playing of organist Lynton Naiff and vocalist Linda Hoyle.





Track Listing:
CD 1:
1 I Am And So Are You
2 Night Flight
3 I Wonder If I Care As Much
4 Mr Joy
5 Three Sisters
6 Coconut Grove
7 All Along The Watchtower
Bonus tracks (A & B-sides of single)
8 Eli’s Coming
9 United States Of Mind
10 Yes Man (Recorded at Phillips Studios, London – December 1970)
11 If You Live (Recorded for BBC Radio Jazz Club – August 1968)
12 You Met Your Match (Recorded at Pan Studios, London in 1968)
13 I Am The Walrus (Recorded for Sez Lez August 1969)
14 Little Lonely Man (Recorded for BBC Radio 1 in 1970)
15 All Along The Watchtower/ It’s About That Time (Bootleg recording – The Torrington early 1971)

CD 2:
1 Jive Samba
2 Dis Here
3 Comin’ Home Baby
4 Out Of The Storm
5 Fever
6 13 Death March
7 All Blues
8 81
9 A Day In The Life
Bonus tracks
10 All Blues
11 81
12 Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
13 Jive Samba
14 A Day In The Life

CD 3:
1 Autumn Leaves
2 Django
3 My Funny Valentine
4 I Got Plenty Of Nothing
5 Dat Dere
6 Lover Man
7 Blues Etude
8 Some Day My Prince Will Come
9 Cubano Chant
10 Jordu
11 My Funny Valentine
12 Autumn Leaves
13 You Look Good To Me
14 The Preacher (Recorded at University of Sussex and Keele University)
Bonus tracks
15 Waltz For Debbie
16 Django
17 On Green Dolphin Street (Recorded at University of Sussex in 1965)

CD 4:
1 Moira’s Hand
2 Grey Skies
3 Cream On Your Face
4 Sunshower
5 All Along The Watchtower/It’s About Time
6 Rio
7 Poor Man’s Son
8 Sarah’s Wardrobe
9 Highgate


Media Report:
Genre: jazz, prog-rock
Country: UK
Recorded date: 2021
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits