Task: Sentiment Analysis
Input (English): Fully developed Canterbury sound . This excellent 1975 album shows Hatfield & the North adopting a full blown Canterbury rock sound - a nice mixture of quirky prog and jazz rock.  Although folks refer to a Canterbury style before 1975 (I include myself here too), the bands lumped under the Canterbury style pre-1975 were incredibly disparate and utilized a broad spectrum of musical styles.  The Henry Cow (experimental) - Caravan (pop prog) continuum comes to mind in fact.  It was not until the mid-1970s however, that a distinct Canterbury sound emerged (quirky, proggy, jazz rock) and this album is a superb example.    The core lineup includes a virtual who's who of Canterbury rock: Phil Miller (guitars); drummer Pip Pyle; Richard Sinclair (vocals, bass guitar); and Dave Stewart (Hammond organ, electric piano, tone generator.  The additional musicians are also among the Canterbury luminaries and include Jimmy Hastings (flute, soparano and tenor saxophone); Mont Campbell (French horn); Lindsay Cooper (oboe and bassoon); Tim Hodgkinson (clarinet), and finally the Northettes (Barbara Gaskin, Amanda Parsons, and Ann Rosenthal).  All of the musicians are absolutely top shelf and the individual performances are breathtaking.  The ensemble work is also very intricate and there are some fairly dexterous meter shifts.  I feel that Richard Sinclair's vocals (and bass playing) are both excellent and it is always a treat to hear him perform whether with Caravan, Hatfield & the North, or Camel.    The nine tracks on the album are arranged into two largish suites, including tracks 1-8 and the massive 20'13 Mumps suite.  As I mentioned, although progressive rock is the dominant style, there is a good bit of jazz rock.  In fact, there may be slightly more jazz rock than was found on the 1974 debut.  There is also the whimsical Canterburian sense of humor - I think this is also a distinctive feature of the Canterbury "thing".  Greater emphasis is placed on instrumental sections and lengthy "jams" are scattered across the album, where Dave and Phil really get a chance to shine.  The Northettes also add a very nice, dreamy touch to each piece, and the woodwind playing, (especially Jimmy's flute work), heighten this effect.  There are also brief experimental sections too - the last few minutes of Fitter Stoke has a Bath is a good example of this.  Overall, although I don't feel that Rotter's Club is much different than the debut, some folks might notice a bit of more of a jazz rock approach.      The bonus tracks include alternate takes of Big John Wayne Socks Psychology on the Jaw and Chaos at the Greasy Spoon, in addition to the extremely jazzy track Halfway between Heaven and Earth, the thunderous (it is unbelievably heavy) Oh, Len's Nature!, and the once again very jazz-rocky Lying and Gracing (it sounds live but there is no indication of where it was recorded).  These last three tracks are superb.    All in all, this is an excellent Hatfield & the North album and is highly recommended along with the 1973 debut
Output (English): POS