These recordings of Indoor Games and Happy Family form part of the studio sessions and unreleased recordings from the "Lizard" sessions at Wessex Studios in September 1970. The album "Lizard", engineered by Robin Thompson, was largely created in the studio, and featured numerous overdubs, many of which were not used on the final album.
All the original studio sessions from 1970 are being made available by download in 2020 to satisfy recent changes to copyright laws: All recordings must be released within the fiftieth year of their recording in order to continue to enjoy copyright protection. So these have been released to the DGMLive faithful – and are thus protected!
The exact recording dates have not been annotated on the original tapes. DGMLive has therefore assigned various session dates throughout September 1970, when the album was known to have been largely recorded.
Lizard Wessex studio sessions September 1970.
These recordings of Indoor Games and Happy Family form part of the studio sessions and unreleased recordings from the "Lizard" sessions at Wessex Studios in September 1970. The album "Lizard", engineered by Robin Thompson, was largely created in the studio, and featured numerous overdubs, many of wh...
INDOOR GAMES
We first hear an 18-second fragment of drums, bass and rhythm guitar which, for some reason, reminds me of "Son of a Preacher Man"! Afterwards, the trio of Haskell, McCulloch and Fripp lays down the backing track in earnest, allowing us to hear the structural underpinning of this intelligent, rhythmically complex pop song. About one minute in, Robert abandons the notion of playing straight rhythm guitar and starts playing with delightful abandon. The acoustic guitar which is so pr...
INDOOR GAMES
We first hear an 18-second fragment of drums, bass and rhythm guitar which, for some reason, reminds me of "Son of a Preacher Man"! Afterwards, the trio of Haskell, McCulloch and Fripp lays down the backing track in earnest, allowing us to hear the structural underpinning of this intelligent, rhythmically complex pop song. About one minute in, Robert abandons the notion of playing straight rhythm guitar and starts playing with delightful abandon. The acoustic guitar which is so prominent on the final mix also starts appearing, about 3 minutes into this track.
The next track focuses on the saxes and synth overdubs, as well as Gordon's vocals, with the drums and bass turned way down low and a tambourine providing most of the rhythmic support. The bridge floats along on a bed of organ and mellotron as well. Hey ho!
HAPPY FAMILY
One of the most challenging pieces on the Lizard album starts with a basic track of bass, drums and guide piano, with Robert gingerly laying out the melody line and, near the end, quoting "Strawberry Fields Forever" (which should come as no surprise, considering the lyrics).
The second track features sax and flute overdubs over one of Robert's most anarchic, disorientating rhythm guitar tracks ever, which the hard stereo panning does not make any easier on the ears. Listening to this on headphones I actually started to feel dizzy.
The final track sees Gordon laying down his vocals, punctuated by random bursts of electric piano and vibraphone, and some ominous groaning and heavy breathing for good measure.
