The Unfairground
by Kevin Ayers
  • Record Label: Gigantic
  • Release Date: Mar 11, 2008
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 7 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 1 out of 7

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  1. JMan
    Apr 3, 2008
    1
    It is so bad.
  2. MarkR.
    Mar 25, 2008
    10
    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 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.… Collapse

Awards & Rankings

92
#92 Best Album of 2008

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. Q Magazine
    80
    The result are a joy, exuding the same casual charm that has always characterised his best work. [Sep 2008]
  2. Stylus Magazine
    91
    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.
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  3. Uncut
    80
    Whatever the situation, Ayers's amenability shines through regardless, a wave of warmth that can lighten the heaviest soul.
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