hatfield and the North, “Licks for the ladies”
from:hatfield and the North, 1974
Almost criminal to extract a single piece from such an organically perfect song cycle, but this one captures a ballad from one of the greatly underrecognized vocalists of the British “progressive scene,” Richard Sinclair. He was the founding impulse behind the band Caravan but left a few delicasies behind on the sotted plains. Here his voice is pacific, effortless, each word quietly coordinated with the electric piano uncovering some personal resolution. There are two great Hatfield and the North records with this piece emanating from the first recorded for Virgin in 1974.