Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Everybody will have their own opinion of what constitutes the best of, and at times the ensuing release is one created to be chart friendly, the ‘best’ made up of radio memories, of inducing the fan to part with money on the promise of a couple of rarities being included in the release, and the band, the artist, not having a single moment of input as studios and labels reap the reward of nostalgia.

Surely, and without argument, a retrospective of an artist’s life endeavour is down to them to collate, to assemble, and give it the balance of hindsight, they know what is truly the epitome, the height of their work, what deserves to be heard and which will lead rightly the listener to explore further, especially of they have not been ofay with much of their output.

For many the greats are out of reach, exploration has too much time attached to it, the reward is not attained, and it is a shame that in today’s world only those of a certain vintage will perhaps understand just how important, how vital, Bill Bruford is to the world of music, and like Buddy Rich, his contribution to art is invaluable, through collaboration, through being a regimented and industrious groove leader, and the one to whom others will call upon when they require a certain and unabashed flourish,

Across six CDs, over six hours of expressive drum technique and through his time as part of the original line up of Yes, his time behind the skins in King Crimson, the supergroup of Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, and the sheer vitality arranged by Earthworks, his own colossal collection of end to end sound and style, Bill Bruford time has been immense, and the box set truly captures what it means to be listening to one of the finest of his craft at the height of his profession.

This is Bill Bruford’s list, this is the reasoning of decades of playing at the very top, of being a drummer, a leader, a fiercely devout man of Jazz and Progressive Rock, of collaborating with the likes Roy Harper, of sharing time outside of Yes with Chris Squire…passionate, absolutely, undaunted, well the music speaks for itself, and as the six CDs play on, as the fingers tap on the side of the chair in which the listener has immersed themselves into for a complete education, so Making A Song And Dance: A Complete-Career Collection comes into its own.

A beautiful and outrageously cool gathering of songs and reflections from one of the finest to ever make the drum stool their home, a man of few equals, but a humble man to whose life is shared with honour. Bill Bruford’s Making A Song And Dance: A Complete-Career Collection is an addition to the home collection that will leave the listener forever gripped and wondering just exactly how it could all be packed into just one life time.

Ian D. Hall