CMU -

CMU was an English folk-psych band that released the 1971–73 albums Open Spaces and Space Cabaret on Transatlantic Records.

Members: James Gordon (vocals, percussion), Ian Hamlett (guitar, flute), Ed Lee (bass), Larraine Odell (vocals), Roger Odell (drums), Leary Hasson (keyboards), Richard Joseph (vocals, guitar), Steve Cook (bass, guitar)

Formation

CMU formed as Camshafts for Contemporary Music Unit in Cambridge, where drummer–composer Roger Odell and his vocalist sister Larraine teamed with bassist–songwriter Ed Lee, guitarist–flutist Ian Hamlett, guitarist–keyboardist Terry Mortimer, and singer–percussionist James Gordon. In late 1970, they shortened their name and signed with the folk label Transatlantic.

Open Spaces

CMU released their debut album, Open Spaces, in May 1971 on Transatlantic.

Open Spaces contains seven originals divided among the Odells, Lee, Gordon, and Mortimer, plus a CMU arrangement of Pharoah Sanders’ “Japan.” Principal guitarist Ian Hamlett joins Mortimer, who also contributes keyboards and viola, while Roger Odell adds bass and glockenspiel. Mortimer takes lead vocals on “Clown” and the eleven-minute title piece.

“Henry” sidles through odd riff turns beneath a restrained, deadpan lead. “Voodoo Man” lopes along a measured blues figure before a louder male passage roughens each return. “Chanticleer” pivots from a haunting duet into a brisker ensemble passage. “Clown” capers through short circus exchanges as different singers trade parts across soft notes and staccato turns. “Open Spaces” unfurls from sustained viola phrases over a slow bass figure, passes through free-time interplay, and settles into a recurring riff.

A1. “Henry” (4:42) – L. Odell, R. Odell
A2. “Voodoo Man” (4:31) – L. Odell, R. Odell
A3. “Slow and Lonesome Blues” (5:03) – Lee
A4. “Chantecleer” (6:07) – Gordon, L. Odell, Lee, Mortimer

B1. “Japan” (2:42) – Pharoah Sanders
B2. “Clown” (2:31) – Gordon, Lee
B3. “Mystical Sounds” (3:09) – L. Odell, R. Odell
B4. “Open Spaces” (11:31) – Lee, Mortimer

Sessions took place at Sound Techniques in Chelsea, where Jerry Boys produced Open Spaces under Transatlantic executive producer Laurence Aston and co-engineered with fellow staffer Roger Mayer. Boys worked in sequence on 1971 albums by Bridget St. John, Colin Blunstone, Gerry Rafferty, Peter Bardens, Stray, and Unicorn. Mayer joined Boys and Vic Gamm on the Tim Hart and Maddy Prior album Summer Solstice.

Open Spaces appeared in an AV/Pak gatefold designed by Paul Leeves, with cover illustration by Ray Leeves and an inside photograph by Paul Bamborough. The pale-blue front shows a small biplane trailing the CMU initials in white cloud lettering. The interior photograph places the six musicians among empty auditorium seats beside a black text panel.

Esoteric issued a remastered 2008 CD under the ECLEC 2093 catalog designation. Tiger Bay followed in October 2019 with a 180-gram gatefold vinyl edition.

Gordon, Lee, and Mortimer left after the album. Guitarist and singer Richard Joseph, bassist Steve Cook, and former Marsupilami keyboardist Leary Hasson joined the revised lineup.

Space Cabaret

CMU released their second album, Space Cabaret, in September 1973 on Transatlantic.

Space Cabaret features returning members Hamlett and the Odells with guitarist–singer Richard Joseph, bassist Steve Cook, and former Marsupilami keyboardist Leary Hasson. Joseph supplies most of the material, including the four-part title suite and “Doctor, Am I Normal?” Hamlett contributes “Dream,” while Hasson contributes “Lightshine,” the two extended pieces on the second side.

“Space Cabaret” glides beneath soft male lines before a female answer joins in counterpoint. “Archway 272” meanders beside electric-piano figures as each sung return grows more insistent toward a forceful climax. “Song From the 4th Era” springs into a bright acoustic strum beneath paired male and female lines. “A Distant Thought, a Point of Light” drifts between an emphatic sung passage and hushed acoustic interludes. “Doctor, Am I Normal?” strolls beneath a solitary male lead while soft answers and a firm bass figure mark each turn.

“Dream” broods through a sombre opening, loosens into a brighter wah-wah passage, then accelerates beneath a threatening organ swell. “Lightshine” unfurls from an electronic interlude into a raga-like passage before alternating solos carry the fade.

A1. “Space Cabaret” (1:56) – Joseph
A2. “Archway 272” (6:17) – Joseph
A3. “Song From the 4th Era” (2:18) – Joseph
A4. “A Distant Thought, a Point of Light” (6:50) – Joseph, S. Mann
A5. “Doctor, Am I Normal?” (4:56) – Joseph

B1. “Dream” (9:40) – Hamlett
B2. “Lightshine” (10:16) – Hasson

Sessions spanned September through October 1972 at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, where former Four Pennies guitarist Fritz Fryer produced and co-engineered Space Cabaret after 1971 assignments for Rock Workshop (The Very Last Time) and Stackridge (Stackridge). Ralph Down shared the desk amid 1972 Rockfield work on Brinsley Schwarz (Nervous on the Road), Foghat (Foghat), Hunt & Turner (Magic Landscape), and Dave Evans (Elephantasia). Former Spring singer and Mellotronist Pat Moran assisted the sessions before 1973 Rockfield credits on Budgie (Never Turn Your Back on a Friend) and Home (The Alchemist).

Space Cabaret features an astronaut sleeve conceived by Chris Cough and illustrated by Chris Moore. The black front lines six linked figures in multicolored spacesuits beneath a red-and-yellow CMU nameplate, with a small white star beside the album title. Moore trained at the Royal College of Art from 1969 through 1972 before painting the 1973 Fleetwood Mac sleeve for Penguin. Mick Stopher supplied the sleeve photography, with photographic treatment by Stuart Constable. Roger Perry contributed the lyric-sheet images.

Chris Moore illustrated the front cover with six tethered astronaut figures beneath oversized orange CMU lettering against a black field. After completing illustration studies at the Royal College of Art in 1972, Moore developed an extensive career in science-fiction book and album covers. Mick Stopher supplied the sleeve photography. Roger Perry photographed the lyric sheet, and Stuart Constable applied the photographic treatment.

Transatlantic issued the non-album song “Heart of the Sun” on November 24, 1972 (b/w “Doctor, Am I Normal?”). Fritz Fryer produced both Richard Joseph compositions.

A. “Heart of the Sun” (3:03)

Esoteric remastered Space Cabaret for the 2008 CD ECLEC 2094 with “Heart of the Sun” and a single version of “Doctor, Am I Normal?” as bonus tracks. Long Hair issued the first authorized vinyl reissue in 2020 and added “Heart of the Sun.”

After CMU

The group ended in 1973 after two albums. Roger Odell subsequently played in Northern Lights before teaming with keyboardist Bill Sharpe in the jazz-rock instrumental band Tracks. Their 1979 album Tracks Tracks Tracks appeared on the British jazz label Spotlite. Odell and Sharpe formed Shakatak in 1980 with former Fusion Orchestra singer Jill Saward.

Richard Joseph entered computer-game audio in 1986 as a composer and sound designer. Later credits included Barbarian and Sensible Soccer, followed by The Chaos Engine and Cannon Fodder. He established Audio Interactive at Pinewood Studios in the 1990s and contributed to the BAFTA-winning audio for Theme Park World.

Discography: