Here's a treat, if a fragmented one. Jazzwise readers will be most intrigued by hearing so many heroes of Jazz Britannia playing on the albums Places I Know and The Machine Co. Tony Coe, Stan Sulzman, Norma Winstone and others come together under the arranging baton of Mike Gibbs. Gibbsian colours like the off-kilter string theme on ‘Broken Bridges’ or the French horn on the stompy ‘Three Forty Eight’ all complement Cooper's idisosyncratic writing, strangled vox and exemplary slide guitar. The perfect joining of forces is ‘Goodbye Blues, Goodbye’ with its New Orleansian strut yet unique Gibbs voicings. These two albums were recorded at the same sessions and were to be released as a double-album, the former focusing on Cooper's country blues songwriting, an intimate affair with local musicians, and the second LP featuring Cooper's freer jazz side. Instead the albums were released as separate albums, two years apart. A golden opportunity missed. And so is this 3CD release, because Places I Know is cut in half over discs two and three. So the original double-album concept still cannot be enjoyed in its original form. For that you will have to seek out the 2014 vinyl release on Paradise of Bachelors. Fans of the Westbrooks will also enjoy Trout Steel, which features plenty of Mike's band of the time.