Nick Mason’s Fictitious Sports (1981)

Most people associate Nick Mason with handling the drums in Pink Floyd. No one can claim that he’s been a particularly intense songwriter in that band, in addition to his own side on Ummagumma he only pops up as co-writer on a few songs. Imagine then my surprise when I one day in my youth, as always on the lookout for cheap second-hand records, came across this LP. A solo album by Nick Mason? I had never thought such a thing could exist. Curiosity and admiration for Pink Floyd made me buy the album without much hesitation. What, you think that the cheap price tag also affected the decision? Tsk, tsk, now you disappoint me.

It should directly be made clear that it’s debatable whether this really is an album by Nick Mason. Sure, it bears his name and he sits behind the drums, but have perhaps not really contributed with much more. All songs are written by Carla Bley and she has also co-produced the album (with Nick Mason). Robert Wyatt sings on all songs except the opening track, some of you may remember him as the drummer of Soft Machine, he has also had his own long solo career as a singer. The album was released in 1981 but was recorded as early as 1979, for various reasons its release was delayed.

When I got home and listened to the album, I spontaneously found it very strange and didn’t like it. And then I never listened to it again. You want to know what's really strange? It is that my memory of the album is that it’s full of strange drumming on various mysterious percussion and extremely difficult to access. When I now listen to it, it's not like that at all, far from it even. As mentioned in a previous post, I don’t know much Frank Zappa, but the spontaneous comparison I want to do is with this man. I get the idea that many of the songs are creations that Zappa could have done, or at least something in that direction. The texts are, for example, about cars that don’t want to start or a skeptics meeting with a flying saucer. Isn’t that Zappa? No?

My guess is that I was rather suspicious of the album the first time I listened to it. Mason's side on Ummagumma is not a favorite of mine, and this gave me almost certainly an expectation that this album would be something similar. This expectation created then the memory I have carried with me through life. I have surely also confused Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports with his side on Ummagumma, a creation that I think is more consistent with the memory at hand (although I have rarely had the patience to listen to this part of Ummagumma). My life has been a lie, dear friends, but the lie has finally been exposed.

Today, I find this album quite easily accessible and to some extent pleasurable. Just as my idea of Zappa, I feel this music is not very serious but rather humorous. Generally I have a hard time with humorous music, I do not know why, but memories of Eddie Meduza always come up and I find it hard to take seriously. Texts may in itself well be fun, but in combination with "funny" music I lose interest easily. Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports balances on the edge but manages to stay just on the right side.

Conclusion: An OK album which I will probably begin listening to more, but not a must-have in your record collection. If someone expects anything like Pink Floyd, this person will be disappointed.

Favorite Songs

Can’t Get My Motor To Start

I Was Wrong

 

Tracklist

Side A

1. "Can't Get My Motor to Start" – 3:39
2. "I Was Wrong" – 4:12
3. "Siam" – 4:48
4. "Hot River" – 5:16

Side B

1. "Boo To You Too" – 3:26
2. "Do Ya" – 4:36
3. "Wervin"' – 3:58
4. "I'm a Mineralist" – 6:16