JAN DUKES DE GREY Mice & Rats In The Loft LP TRANSATLANTIC 1971 UK orig TRA 234

	£		80
	$		106

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 DEREK NOY, MICHAEL BAIRSTOW, DENIS CONLAN

Jan Dukes De Grey was a strange progressive folk-rock outfit who were one of the last acts 

of their kind signed to England's Decca Records -- not to the Deram imprint, which had started out 

as a progressive label before getting sidetracked and muddled, but on the Decca Nova line, 

a short-lived, true progressive rock label. The group started out as a duo of Michael Bairstow 

and Derek Noy, multi-instrumentalists who stood midway between Tyrannosaurus Rex 

(the pre-T.Rex Marc Bolan acoustic outfit) and Jethro Tull, doing all original material by Noy, 

very short all-acoustic songs, some with strange lyrics and highlighted by odd, 

dissonant flute passages. Their debut album, Sorcerers, was filled with interesting 

and sometimes memorable melodies, but its sound was so spare, almost minimalist, 

that there was no hope of getting serious airplay or sales. 

For their second album, Mice and Rats in the Loft, recorded for Transatlantic in 1971, 

Jan Dukes De Grey became a trio with the addition of drummer Dennis Conlan and also assumed 

a more progressive approach to their work. The album had three extended tracks, 

all highlighted by flashier playing, but their continued low-wattage approach to progressive music 

made Jan Dukes De Grey less than competitive against the likes of the Strawbs 

and other ex-folk outfits. Mice and Rats in the Loft wasn't much more successful than Sorcerers, 

and Jan Dukes De Grey disappeared during the early '70s

"MICE AND RATS IN THE LOFT"

On the label the main title appears as ''Mice & Rats In The Loft''

Produced by Stuart Taylor

1971     LP     TRANSATLANTIC RECORDS      STEREO   TRA 234

MADE IN ENGLAND    ORIGINAL PRESSING

This version: This copy is housed in an American generic white die-cut sleeve 

with printed "EXCLUSIVE BRITISH IMPORT" on front/rear.

 I don't know if it's a promotional/advance copy without cover (similar to a test pressing) 

for the American market, or if the original cover has been lost

Barcode and Other Identifiers

LABEL:  TRANSATLANTIC -  MULTI-COLOR LABEL (Side 1)/WHITE LABEL (Side 2) - BLACK TEXT

Catalog on label (Side B only): TRA 234 (Side One / Side Two) 

Matrix / Runout (Side A, Stamped): TRA 234 A-1U

Matrix / Runout (Side B, Stamped): TRA 234 B-1U

On labels: 

(Side A): rim text reads "All Rights...........Made in England"

(Side B):  

© Transatlantic Records Ltd. ?1971

Produced by Stuart Taylor

Rights Society: MCPS, Heatside Music

from my records collection

tracklisting

Side A: SUN SYMPHONICA

Side B: CALL OF THE WILD - MICE AND RATS IN THE LOFT

  grading

RECORD NEAR EX but(please, also read above description) 

SLEEVE VG+ but (please, see pictures and read above description)

 The second album has better production and sounds finished, which was not true for the debut all of the time. 

Intelligent, if unenduring folk-like material with an occasional memorable passage...(AllMusic)

The second album continues in the same vein, yet sounds completely different. 

Their sound augmented with a useful drummer, they now presented three tracks instead of 18, 

one of them a side long. Instead of concise songs, we get long suited, still folky efforts but heavily 

spiced with dissonance and wild improvisations. None of the restraint is left, though few arrangements

are very well executed. In spite of some overlong solos, this is highly interesting music 

made by minds that seem to be on the verge of disintegrating. 

Not for everyone's tastes, probably, but recommended nonetheless...(Tapestry of Delights)