Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Evil - Broughton, Edgar Band
2. Listen Learn Read On - Deep Purple
3. Druid One - Third Ear Band
4. Station Song - Brown, Pete & His Battered Ornaments
5. Rainmaker - Chapman, Michael
6. Singing A Song In The Morning - Ayers, Kevin
7. Foresaking Our Captain Cried - Collins, Shirley & Dolly
8. Careful With That Axe Eugene - Pink Floyd
9. Armchair Theatre - Tea & Symphony
10. Big Bear Ffolly - Bakerloo
11. Round And Round - Panama Ltd. Jug Band
12. Octopus - Barrett, Syd
13. Painter - Deep Purple
14. Country Morning - Brown, Pete & Piblokto
15. Francesca - Harper, Roy
16. Bad Penny - Forest (1)
17. Backwood - Spedding, Chris
18. Real Cool World - Greatest Show On Earth
19. Breathe - Walters, Roger & Ron Geesin
20. Taking Some Time On - Barclay James Harvest

Disc 2:

1. There's No Vibrations But Wait - Broughton, Edgar Band
2. Soulful Lady - Chapman, Michael
3. Entropy - Quartermass
4. Black Sheep Of The Family - Quartermass
5. Grass - Pretty Things
6. Salisbury Plain - Collins, Shirley & Dolly
7. Embryo - Pink Floyd
8. Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave - Mason, Dave
9. Speed King - Deep Purple
10. Magic Woman Touch - Greatest Show On Earth
11. Aeroplane Head Woman - Brown, Pete & Piblokto
12. Baby Lemonade - Barrett, Syd
13. Don't You Grieve - Harper, Roy
14. October 26 - Pretty Things
15. Song From The Bottom Of A Well - Ayers, Kevin
16. First Leaf Of Autumn - Chapman, Michael
17. Call Me A Liar - Broughton, Edgar Band

Disc 3:

1. She Said - Barclay James Harvest
2. South Africa - Harper, Roy
3. Evening Over Rooftops - Broughton, Edgar Band
4. Do Ya - Move (1)
5. When The City Sleeps - Bombadil
6. Lady Rachel - Ayers, Kevin
7. 10538 Overture - Electric Light Orchestra
8. City - Almond, Marc
9. Spaceship - Spontaneous Combustion
10. Macbeth - Third Ear Band
11. Fresh Air - Akkerman, Jan
12. Twelve Hours Of Sunset - Harper, Roy
13. Wells Fargo - Babe Ruth
14. Showdown - Electric Light Orchestra
15. Jet Silver And The Dolls Of Venus - Be Bop Deluxe

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32490 in Music
• Released on: 2007-05-14
• Number of discs: 3
• Format: Box set

Customer Reviews

Superb Lookback at Harvest
I remember buying the original 'Picnic - A Breath of Fresh Air' for 29s11d (£1-50p) and playing it alongside the other excellent sampler albums such as 'Nice Enough to Eat' and 'Bumpers' from the Island label. Harvest bands were generally less mainstream than other labels and made for a very different listening experience. Many of the bands never really made it (Pink Floyd and Deep Purple and perhaps Barclay James Harvest being the main exceptions). When I saw this album I thought it would just be the CD version. I was delighted to find that nearly every track is different as well as their being many more of them. Not every track is a good one and you may need to press the skip button occasionally but what you do have is a fantastic slice of musical history from some truly innovative bands/singers etc. Well worth the money.

Memories of a time when music was magical.
I love these samplers. This is a 3 CD set from Harvest who were EMI's "progressive" arm. During the 1970's the label was the home for some of the top names of the genre and a goodly sprinkling of these names will be found on "Breath of Fresh Air".

Music was inventive then and although there still are those producing thoughtful and thought provoking music, these were halcyon days. Acts ranging from the Edgar Broughton Band through the Third Ear Band, Kevin Ayers, Michael Chapman and Roy Harper mingle with established Top of the Pops fare like the Move, Electric Light Orchestra and Deep Purple are all included here.

Being the kind of music that it is, getting to grips with some of the offerings here can take some work on the part of the listener. The Third Ear Band are not immediately accessible for some people but working at it will lead to rewards.

You won't be disappointed with this 3 disc goody. Barclay James Harvest, Pretty Things, Syd Barrett, the excellent Quatermass, Babe Ruth and Be Bop Deluxe, the list goes on. Your ears deserve a treat from one of music's most amazing era's.

A missed opportunity...
The original Harvest label double sampler 'Picnic - a Breath of Fresh Air' was the first record I ever bought. It cost 29/11d (£1.49 to you kids) and didn't leave my Dansette turntable for a month or more. I know every track off by heart and still play the vinyl on a regular basis 37 years after I bought it.It was a perfect snapshot of the music of the time and I aspired to buy every LP that was featured on the sampler. Many were bought - some subsequently re-sold - and a few retained. Would that I had kept them all - Record Collector magazine tells me that I could pay off my mortgage with the proceeds of the sale of a collection of the original vinyls. I have waited years for a CD re-issue to emerge. Having set the scene, you can, perhaps, imagine my disappointment with this issue which uses part of the title, part of the iconic Hipgnosis album sleeve and only a tiny amount of the original music. Nevertheless, setting aside my personal disappointment, this is a fair reflection of the 'Glory Years' of the Harvest Label, and if you missed the bus last time, get on board as soon as you can...