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The Unfairground
by Kevin Ayers


7.6

based on 12 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 6 votes
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Official Artist Site

The ex-Soft Machines band member returns with his first solo studio album since 1992.

LABEL:	Gigantic
RELEASE DATE:	11 March 2008
DISCS:	1 disc
GENRE(S):	Rock

NOTES: Original UK release 10 Sep 2007.

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Stylus Magazine

If The Unfairground doesn’t quite qualify as a "stunning" return to form--"stunning" never really being Ayers’ stock in trade--it certainly represents the delightful and unexpected renaissance of a perennially undervalued artist, whose quiet but significant influence is long overdue for re-assessment.

Los Angeles Times

Ayers' revealing account--his first album in 15 years--stands with his best '70s works of besotted, droll sophistication.

Uncut

Whatever the situation, Ayers's amenability shines through regardless, a wave of warmth that can lighten the heaviest soul.

All Music Guide

Unfairground is one of the great records to come out of Great Britain in 2007 and adds exponentially to the legacy and well-deserved reputation of one of the great songsmiths that rock sometimes doesn't know it produced.

Boston Globe

Nudged out of retirement, the singer-guitarist has returned with The Unfairground, his first album in 15 years and best in more than three decades.

Dusted Magazine

The Unfairground features ten strong songs without filler or flab. All have melodies that rapidly lodge in the brain, the kind that the paperboy could whistle on his round.

Mojo

The Unfairground finds Ayers rejuvenated and stands comparison with his best work. [Oct 2007, p.98]

musicOMH.com

The Unfairground is a short and sweet collection of ten tunes, rich with strings, original ideas, lovely melodies and a whiff of what used to be.

Q Magazine

The result are a joy, exuding the same casual charm that has always characterised his best work. [Sep 2008]

The Phoenix

His philosophizing is rarely twee, and his fine-oaked voice gives new authority to his pastis-and-mushroom-fueled musings.

Spin

His best in more than 30 years, he teams up with members of Ladybug Transistor, Teenage Fanclub, and others for songs heavy on rememberance but energized with chin-up horns and strings that'll sound fresh to fans of the Decemberists and Arcade Fire. [Apr 2008, p.92]

PopMatters

The Unfairground maintains no connection whatsoever to jazz, once a mainstay of Ayers, The Whole World, and The Soft Machine, and even the album’s affiliations with other black art forms are strained at best.

The average user rating for this album is 7.6 (out of 10) based on 6 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

J Man gave it a1:
It is so bad.

Mark R. gave it a10:
This is a wonderful album and does indeed stand with Ayers' finest. Everyone can ignore the ignorant review from Popmatters. Ayers left Soft Machine after the first album he largely wrote (a psychedelic masterpiece) when the other members wanted to take the band in a jazz direction -- so downrating The Unfairground for not being jazzy enough is absurd. I love Robert Wyatt as much as I love Ayers, but I would never compare the two or critisise the one for not being like the other.

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The Unfairground by Kevin Ayers

The Unfairground
by Kevin Ayers