Tony, Caro & John - All On The First Day LP+CD

Label: Tapete

Tapete present Tony, Caro and John's All On The First Day, originally released in 1972. Although they've achieved much of it in recent years, it was never for appreciation that Tony, Caro and John came to record All On The First Day. The group instead formed serendipitously in the early 1970s through musical appreciation, DIY sensibilities and an "all goes" mentality. It was here within the walls of the band that they were able to provide homecoming for a group of likeminded friends and cohorts during a rapidly changing cultural climate in London. The first pressing of All On The First Day was a small run of 100 spray-painted copies that one could only find in the small theaters and London flats in which the band performed. The album was self-produced, with group member John behind the board as the technical director to their eclectic and experimental songwriting approach. Tony & Caro's voices are the leading hand through the group's nomadic and shifting song-scape; singing tales of love, youth and political confusion at a time when the very concept of personal identity was expanding beyond anything it had ever been in prior. While contemporaries such as The Incredible String Band, The Pentangle and Pearls Before Swine were garnering international recognition and categorization at that time; Tony, Caro and John evaded being confined to any particular set of expectations or aesthetics. Their songs move fluidly between ballads, protest songs, experimental story-tellings and free-flowing group jams. Once approached by a label to release their music on a larger scale, they refused due to the labels suggestions for them to move in a specific direction with their music. The ethics and approach of the group pre-dates the DIY and punk ethos of the late '70s, '80s and '90s, yet hits a similar nerve.