Tea Break Over–Back on Your 'Eads!


Tea Break Over–Back on Your 'Eads! is the eighth studio album by British jazz-rock band If. Released on 7 March 1975, it was their final studio album for over 40 years, until the release of If 5 in 2016 following their reunion. Tea Break Over was followed in 1995 by a compilation CD covering tracks from the first three LPs featuring the band's previous line-up.
The album reflects the band's more rock-influenced style, perfectly balanced with Dick Morrissey's harsher hard bop/bebop sax playing. The title track "Tea Break", referring to the hardships of being "on the road", is the punch line to an old musicians' joke and contains a tribute to Charlie Parker in the lyrics as well as in a swirling bebop tenor solo. The "Ballad of the Yessirom Kid", a tribute by the band to Dick Morrissey, finishes with a roaring bebop tenor solo. "Song for Alison" features the flute more than holding its own with a rock accompaniment. The song "Don Quixote" opens with an extensive acoustic Spanish guitar solo by Whitehorn.

Track listing

Side one

  1. "Merlin the Magic Man" – 5:05
  2. "I Had a Friend" – 4:30
  3. "Tea Break Over, Back on Your 'Eads" – 6:05

Side two

  1. "Ballad of the Yessirrom Kid" – 5:20
  2. "Raw Sewage" – 6:13
  3. "Song for Alison" – 3:55
  4. "Don Quixote's Masquerade" – 7:50

Personnel

Guest: