Band: Dear Mr Time
Album: Grandfather The Dear Mr Time Anthology
Release: 2021
Genre: Psych prog rock
Country: UK
Quality: FLAC | lossless

The initial album is called Grandfather, giving its name to the title of this collection. Released in February 1971, it’s actually a conceptual piece telling the story of a man’s life from birth to death. Now, this wasn’t an original idea even then (yes, sit down S F Sorrow by The Pretty Things, we know you’re there), but it is surprisingly well-executed, even now not appearing too dated. The influences are clear throughout: the album comes across as something of a cross between The Moody Blues and King Crimson’s first album. The former supplies the concise nature of the songwriting, and the way with an often simple but effective melody and easily understandable lyric, while the latter supplies the sometimes angular instrumentation, the sax and the sometimes quirky urgency.

The whole thing holds together pretty well still, with tracks like Make Your Peace and the double header Prelude / Your Country Needs You being particular highlights. It really is worth a listen, and not merely for the curious. Thirteen (!) bonus tracks are appended, being mostly acoustic demos recorded by guitarist Chris Baker, and they are a mixed bag as you would expect – though one or two of them, such as A Song Of Fairgrounds for example, really could have been made into something very good.

Trackslist:
Disc 1 Grandfather 1970-71
1. Birth The Beginning (Barry Everitt) - 4:01
2. Out Of Time - 4:32
3. Make Your Peace (Barry Everitt) - 5:25
4. Yours Claudia - 2:55
5. Prelude To Your Country Needs You? (Chris Baker, Barry Everitt, John Clements, Dave Sewell, Jim Sturgeon) - 3:03
6. Your Country Needs You? (Chris Baker, Barry Everitt, John Clements, Dave Sewell, Jim Sturgeon) - 3:41
7. A Dawning Moonshine - 3:50
8. Years And Fortunes - 4:09
9. A Prayer For Her - 2:56
10.Light Up A Light - 3:27
11.On A Lonely Night - 4:21
12.Grandfather - 2:49
13.Only Feeling - 2:42
14.Henrietta Hall - 2:07
15.Not Now At All - 2:20
16.Victorian Blue - 1:07
17.This Place Was Us Was Home - 3:30
18.When Baby Comes - 2:20
19.A Song Of Fairgrounds - 2:11
20.Gold And Silver - 1:22
21.True Blue - 1:16
22.When You Move - 2:29
23.All I Have To Give - 3:21
24.August Lights - 3:53
25.Naked Fingers - 2:15
Tracks 1-12 The album "Grandfather", released February 1971 (Square Records SQ 101)
Bonus Tracks 13-25 as Chris Baker, home demos recorded 1970-71

Disc 2 Brontosaurs And Bling
1. Pig Heaven - 4:07
2. In '67 - 4:04
3. I Don't Understand (Peru) - 3:38
4. Like The First Time Again - 4:35
5. On Hallowed Ground (Chris Baker, Nikos Iosifides) - 4:57
6. It's Only Love / Tomorrow Is Another Day - 6:35
7. Sitting In An English Garden - 4:11
8. Pigs In Outer Space - 5:14
9. Butterflies Are Free - 4:21
10.The Universe In My Heart (Chris Baker, Nikos Iosifides) - 3:52
11.Streetwise - 3:56
12.Songbird In The Rain - 4:31
13.Peru (Reprise) - 2:32
14.Full Circle - 4:57
15.We're Only Human - 3:29
16.Maisie Grey - 2:53
17.Don't Go Holding On To Me - 3:15
18.Kifissia Sunrise - 3:20
19.All The Same - 3:20
Tracks 1-13 from The album "Brontosaurs And Bling" (DMT DMT 0001, released 2015)
Tracks 14-19 Previously unreleased, recorded 2020-21

Disc 3 Time... 2018
1. Acid Rain - 3:14
2. Today Is Such A Lovely Day - 3:00
3. The One Who Saved The Sun - 3:48
4. Elephants Dump - 4:12
5. Summer Days With You - 3:42
6. Einstein In The Sun - 3:19
7. Mr Towers' Hours - 3:18
8. Gimme Jam - 2:52
9. I Will Be With You - 3:49
10.Never Done Godspell - 2:46
11.Home Again - 3:31
12.We Always Knew - 4:43
13.The Houses In Between - 1:23
14.Archie Vine - 6:10
15.When We Were Young - 4:42
16.Lonely Eyes - 3:41
17.The Sentimentalist - 3:39
18.The One - 2:35
19.Walk The World - 3:39
20.What Will Be - 3:37
21.There Is No More (You Do It All) - 2:45
Tracks 1-13 from the album "Time" (DMT ‎DMT 0002, released 2018)
Tracks 14-21 Previously unreleased, recorded 2020-21

Personnel:
Chris Baker - Lead, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Bass (Disc 1, Tracks 13-25 all Instruments and Vocals)
John Clements - Drums, Percussion
Barry Everitt - Lead Vocals, Organ, Piano, Harpsichord
Jim Sturgeon - Saxophone, Flute, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
Dave Sewell - Bass, Vocals (Disc 1, Tracks 1-12)