How Many More Years Midnight", described by Phillips as "the most different record I ever heard", was probably recorded at a different session. Phillips had not yet set up Sun Records and regularly leased his recordings to the Chess label in Chicago. The record was issued as Chess 1479 on 15 September 1951, with "Moanin' at Midnight" as the A-side and "How Many More Years" as the B-side. "Moanin' at Midnight" entered the R&B chart on 10 November 1951, and was followed four weeks later by "How Many More Years", which became the more popular side and rose to no.4 on the chart. The
How Many Clouds Can You See? a strange mixture of everything from free improvisation to calypso, his second date, 1970's "How Many Clouds Can You See?", is a much more focused affair. Surman clearly references one of his roots, John Coltrane, albeit on an instrument that the legendary saxophonist never played. All compositions by John Surman except where noted. How Many Clouds Can You See? How Many Clouds Can You See? is the second album by English saxophonist John Surman featuring Harry Beckett, Alan Skidmore, Barre Phillips and Tony Oxley recorded in 1970 and released on the Deram label. Allmusic awards the album 4 and a