Cafe Jacques

Cafe Jacques - International - 1978 - Epic

This very underrated Scottish band was originally formed in 1973 by guitarist Chris Thomson and keyboard player Peter Veitch. They signed to CBS Records in 1976. With drummer Mike Ogletree they recorded their debut album, "Round The Back" in 1977 with producer Rupert Hine,who also produced "International" which features guest appearances from Geoffrey Richardson and John G. Perry of the great Canterbury Rock band, Caravan, and also Phil Collins on percussion. "International" is an excellent album in the progressive jazz pop vein, although it was never easy to categorize this band's music. They blended influences as diverse as Caravan, Steely Dan and Genesis to produce a very distinctive sound. It could be argued that the band's "Round The Back" album is a stronger album than "International", but that is a matter of opinion. Both albums were strong and full of excellent songs, but neither sold well and the group split. The played a reunion concert in August 2010 in North Berwick, Scotland. It would be great if any future recordings are planned. N.B: The post here is from vinyl (192 Kbps), and sound quality is average, but it gives you an idea of the quality of the band's material

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1. Boulevard Of Broken Dreams [H.Warren-A.Dubin arr. CJ] (3:06)
2. How Easy [CJ] (3:49)
3. Waiting [CJ] (3:42)
4. Station Of Dreams [CJ] (4:15)
5. Chanting And Raving [CJ] (4:57)
6. Can't Stand Still [CJ] (2:58)
7. Man In The Meadow [CJ] (4:26)
8. Knife Edge [CJ] (3:08)
9. This Way Up [CJ] (2:56)
10. The Medley [CJ] (6:10)

BAND

Chris Thomson (voc/elg)
Peter Veitch (kb/bv/acc)
Mike Ogletree (d/pc/voc/acg)
John G. Perry (b)
Geoff Richardson (cl/g/b/vla/fl/mnd/pc)
Colin Nelson (b)
Phil Collins (pc)
Rupert Hine (pc)