Fields

British progressive rockers Fields was formed in the early '70s by ex-members of <a href="spotify:artist:0E0Yi0mxPBvSIwET5oLlrT">Rare Bird</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:7M1FPw29m5FbicYzS2xdpi">King Crimson</a>, existing for a brief window and cultivating a sound that veered more toward the accessible side of prog than the heady music some of their peers were making. The band's self-titled 1971 album was their only full-length to publicly surface during their lifespan, but additional material eventually saw the light of day on releases like 2022's Feeling Free: The Complete Recordings 1971-1973.

Fields were formed in 1971 by ex-<a href="spotify:artist:0E0Yi0mxPBvSIwET5oLlrT">Rare Bird</a> organist Graham Field, former <a href="spotify:artist:7M1FPw29m5FbicYzS2xdpi">King Crimson</a> and future <a href="spotify:artist:4POFwgsibhA3uhQo08kUEw">Greenslade</a> drummer Andy McCulloch, and guitarist and vocalist <a href="spotify:artist:15YTJKIhg2xnu3NCZGyU6i">Alan Barry</a>, who also spent some time in <a href="spotify:artist:7M1FPw29m5FbicYzS2xdpi">King Crimson</a>. The group released their self-titled debut in 1971 on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Epic%22">Epic</a> before <a href="spotify:artist:15YTJKIhg2xnu3NCZGyU6i">Barry</a> left the band and was replaced by <a href="spotify:artist:3JsMj0DEzyWc0VDlHuy9Bx">Supertramp</a> singer Frank Farrell. This new lineup completed a second album for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22CBS%22">CBS</a> in 1972, but the label decided against releasing it and Fields dissolved shortly after the sessions concluded. It would be decades before this material was released, ultimately surfacing under the title Contrasts: Urban Roar to Country Peace in 2015 on the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Esoteric+Recordings%22">Esoteric Recordings</a> label. In 2022, a comprehensive Fields anthology was reissued in the form of Feeling Free: The Complete Recordings 1971-1973. This collection included both full-length albums as well as unreleased songs from a BBC session, and some alternate mixes of songs from the first album. ~ Steve Leggett & Fred Thomas, Rovi