Paul Brett's Sage -

Paul Brett’s Sage were an English folk-rock band that released a 1970 self-titled album on Pye, followed by the 1971/72 Dawn albums Jubilation Foundry and Schizophrenia. The band was fronted by guitarist/songwriter Paul Brett, who subsequently recorded as a solo artist.

Members: Paul Brett (vocals, guitar), Dick Dufall (bass), Bob Voice (drums), Nicky Higginbottom (saxophone, flute, 1970), Stuart Cowell (guitar, 1971-72)

Background

Sage sprung from Fire, a late-Sixties Hounslow rock trio (originally Friday’s Chyld) with bassist Dick Dufall, drummer Bob Voice, and singer–guitarist Dave Lambert. They issued the classic 1968 freakbeat single “Father’s Name Is Dad” / “Treacle Toffee World” and cut an album’s worth of vaulted 1969 material. They disbanded after the January 1970 sessions for The Magic Shoemaker, a folk rock concept album with auxiliary musicianship from Strawbs banjoist Dave Cousins and Velvet Opera guitarist Paul Brett.

Brett earlier fronted Tintern Abbey, which cut the 1967 psych classic “Beeside” and demoed material for a proposed 1968 album. He then replaced Elmer Gantry (aka Dave Terry) in Velvet Opera for their 1969 second album Ride a Hustler’s Dream.

After The Magic Shoemaker, Brett retained the Fire rhythm section while Lambert formed the King-Earl Boogie Band with Mungo Jerry alumni (he eventually joined Strawbs, which already hired the Velvet Opera rhythm section, Richard Hudson and John Ford). Sage secured its initial four-piece lineup with female reedist Nicky Higginbottom.

Paul Brett Sage

Paul Brett’s Sage released their self-titled album in October 1970 on Pye.

The album pairs acoustic folk settings with electric passages and lyrical abstraction. Paul Brett alternates between strummed figures and scalar lead runs, often doubled or shadowed by Nicky Higginbottom’s saxophone and flute lines. On “Reason for Your Asking,” David Palmer provides orchestral arrangement, marking an early credit prior to his time with Jethro Tull.

Paul Brett Sage moves between sparse acoustic passages and sudden bursts of electric density, using contrast to shape each track’s arc. Brett typically opens with layered 6- and 12-string patterns that build into fuller sections where electric leads intersect with flute and sax lines, most vividly on “3D Mona Lisa,” which shifts from calm interplay into sustained distortion. “The Sun Died” and “The Tower” stay low and slow, using shadowed harmonies and long guitar phrases to stretch tension across their frames. “Warlock” presses harder, cycling between acoustic strikes and electric runs that widen the album’s tonal range. Brett and Voice shift the rhythmic foundation from track to track, using loose percussion to let bass lines, woodwinds, and keyboards steer momentum and reshape each arrangement’s internal pace.

A1. “3D Mona Lisa” (3:18) – Voice
A2. “The Sun Died” (4:00) – Brett
A3. “Little Aztec Prince” (4:22) – Voice
A4. “Reason for Your Asking” (4:09) – Voice, Brett; arr. David Palmer
A5. “Trophies of War” (3:43) – Brett

B1. “The Tower” (5:14) – Brett
B2. “The Painter” (4:11) – Brett
B3. “Mediterranean Lazy Heat Wave” (3:16) – Voice
B4. “Warlock” (5:41) – Brett

Sessions took place at Pye Studios with engineer Andrew Hendrikson. Cyril Stapleton produced the album and oversaw its lacquer cutting, which bears the signature “T.” Pye handled art direction and issued the release in a Garrod & Lofthouse laminated cover with photography by Dawn Studios.

Pye lifted “3D Mona Lisa” as a single (b/w “Mediterranean Lazy Heat Wave”) on 7-inch in France.

Dawn followed in 1971 with the Reason for Your Asking EP, which includes the album version of the title track alongside three non-album numbers with arrangements by Michael Gibbs and keyboards by Steve Jones.

A1. “Reason for Your Askin’” (4:15) – Voice, Brett; arr. Gibbs
A2. “Everlasting Butterfly” (3:41) – Brett
B1. “Savannah Ladies” (3:21) – Brett
B2. “To Every Man (Freedom)” (4:23) – Hutcheson; arr. Gibbs

Peter Eden produced the EP, recorded by Terry Evennett with percussion by Marc Goodwin. After Higginbottom’s departure, Sage hired guitarist Stuart Cowell, a prior member of Sweet Pain and Titus Groan.

Jubilation Foundry

Paul Brett’s Sage released their second album, Jubilation Foundry, in July 1971 on Dawn.

The album shifts between pastoral folk-pop and stylized ensemble passages with layered guitar textures and arranged brass and strings. Paul Brett alternates between acoustic, electric, and piano passages, matched by the interplay of Stuart Cowell on lead guitar and keyboards. Mike Gibbs contributes orchestral arrangements on select tracks, while Bob Voice adds color through congas, bongos, and anvil percussion.

Jubilation Foundry broadens the band’s sound through heavier arrangements, expanded orchestration, and more assertive electric passages. “Cottage Made for Two” opens with a clipped acoustic figure and stacked harmonies, framed by Mike Gibbs’ understated orchestration, which returns on “Written in Winter” with more detailed placement across strings and light percussion.

“Tuesday Evening” moves steadily through soft chordal cycles and layered vocals, with Gibbs’ orchestration tucked low in the mix. “I Fell So Far” follows a similar pace, but Cowell’s electric lines and Brett’s chord voicings give it sharper contours and a distinctly English tone. “Help Me Jesus” turns inward, charting collapse through clipped phrasing and heavy accents. The title track closes with the album’s most forceful energy—distorted guitar, hard rhythmic drive, and a dense arrangement that breaks from the reflective tone of earlier songs. Brett moves between delicate chord work and abrupt, accented phrases, anchoring even the most restrained pieces with structural tension.

A1. “Cottage Made for Two” (2:35)
A2. “Hold My Hand Mother” (3:00)
A3. “Pasadena Days” (3:17)
A4. “Keeper of My Heart” (3:45)
A5. “Goodbye Forever” (3:04)
A6. “Good Old-Fashioned Funky Kind of Music” (4:22) – harmonica: Paul King
A7. “Bits” (0:35)

B1. “I Fell So Far” (3:08)
B2. “Written in Winter” (2:55)
B3. “Tuesday Evening” (2:27)
B4. “Help Me Jesus” (4:16)
B5. “Jubilation Foundry” (4:52)
B6. “Bits” (0:58)

Sessions took place at Pye Studios with engineering by Andrew Hendriksen and Jeff Calver. Paul Brett produced the album and arranged portions alongside Cowell and Gibbs, who handled all orchestral charts. Mick Wells illustrated the cover, and Jim Howden designed the inner artwork. Dawn issued the album in a gatefold sleeve.

Dawn issued “Goodbye Forever” as a late June single (b/w “Good Old-Fashioned Funky Kind of Music”), followed in March 1972 by the non-album “Dahlia” (b/w “Cottage Made for Two”). The French and German “Goodbye Forever” picture sleeves show the Higginbottom lineup.

Schizophrenia

Paul Brett’s Sage released their third album, Schizophrenia, in January 1972 on Dawn.

The album alternates between tightly arranged folk-pop numbers and eccentric miniatures, framed by layered acoustic textures and ensemble interplay. Paul Brett handles both acoustic and electric leads while contributing to arrangements alongside electric guitarist Stuart Cowell.

Dave Lambert adds piano on “Custom Angel Man” and “Slow Down Ma!” and organ on three deeper cuts, while Rob Young colors “Autumn” with flute and oboe.

Schizophrenia sharpens the band’s attack through firmer tempos, clearer song outlines, and a heavier balance between acoustic and electric guitar work. “Custom Angel Man” opens with compressed force, pushing dense electric phrases against clipped rhythm accents, while “Slow Down Ma!” pivots abruptly between fast bursts and sudden drop-outs that emphasize contrast over flow. Several tracks lean inward—“Tale of a Rainy Night,” “Autumn,” and the brief “Bee”—where Brett’s 12-string patterns trace slow, contoured lines supported by minimal accompaniment and occasional woodwind color.

Elsewhere, “Take Me Back and I Will Love You” builds gradually from spare opening figures into a thicker electric frame, and “Song of Life – Song of Death” sustains momentum through repeated vocal cycles and tightened guitar interplay. Across the album, Brett foregrounds direct phrasing and physical attack, alternating precision picking with blunt electric runs to give the set its most focused and assertive shape.

A1. “Custom Angel Man” (2:34) – Brett; piano: Dave Lambert
A2. “Charlene” (3:06) – Hutcheson
A3. “Song of Life – Song of Death” (2:45) – Hutcheson
A4. “Slow Down Ma!” (2:58) – Hutcheson; drums: Rod Coomes, piano: Rob Young
A5. “Saviour of the World” (3:39) – Hutcheson
A6. “Limp Willie” (1:41) – Voice, Duffall, Brett, Cowell

B1. “Tale of a Rainy Night” (3:03) – Brett
B2. “Take Me Back and I Will Love You” (4:13) – Hutcheson; organ: Dave Lambert
B3. “Autumn” (4:43) – Brett; flute, oboe: Rob Young
B4. “Make It Over” (3:10) – Goddard, Phillips; organ: Dave Lambert
B5. “Bee” (1:01) – Brett

Sessions took place at Pye Studios with engineering by Geoff Calver. Paul Brett co-produced the album with Elis Elias and arranged material in tandem with the expanded band lineup. Pye handled art direction and sleeve design. Lambert’s organ parts appear on “Saviour of the World,” “Take Me Back and I Will Love You,” and “Make It Over.”

Pye issued “Custom Angel Man” (b/w “Song of Life – Song of Death”) as a 1972 French single. Sage also played on the 1972 Brett-produced Dawn release Been In the Pen Too Long by skiffle musician Paul King (not the later Reluctant Stereotypes frontman).

Postlude

Paul Brett launched his solo career with a self-titled 1973 album on Bradley’s. He proliferated through the decade with a largely instrumental body of folk and classical guitar releases.

Stuart Cowell supplemented the 1972 release by Fishbaugh, Fishbaugh & Zorn and played on the classic 1975 Al Stewart album Modern Times.

Dick Dufall later surfaced in No Sweat, a 1978 new wave one-off on Pete Townshend‘s Eel Pie label.

Discography: