TRUE MYTH

One of those completely eclipsed group from the late 70's, this Canadian group (completely unknown to this half-Canadian, until recent years) was the vehicle for keyboardist Tom Treumuth and he called the group after a deformation of his name. The quintet - standard prog quartet plus full-time singer Cummings (Bruce, not Burton), they developed an honest prog for the tail end of the decade, somewhat not far away from Rundgren's Utopia or Yes and some fiery jazz-rock. Coming in a very colourful abstract gatefold sleeve (pyramids seem to the theme), this album had a confidential distribution. This is even weirder because the sleeve claims that it was the first album ever recorded digitally

If TM's music has the afore-motioned jazz-rock tendencies, you'll find them in the opening two tracks Reach For Heaven and Light Years Before and they are the better tracks and among the proggier as well. Indeed the leadoff Heavens track allows much space for interplay and Cook's guitar solo is quite enjoyable. Light Years is a much funkier piano-lead track where again Cook's guitar entertains us, though the rhythm changes and blazing fusion ala Mahavishnu. The closing track of the very short first side is an atrocious AOR filler that was best forgotten in the wastebasket, especially coming after the two preceding goodies..

Opening the flipside is the Yes-like ballad Time And Time Again, where an Andersonian delivery vocal is soaring above some trons, and an interminable outro. Don't get fooled by my description, it's nothing to alert Jon and the boys. The following Space Promenade is a quiet and serene instrumental that shares itself between Treumuth's piano and synths and a guest's violin on the other. The piano-driven In The Mist is an up-tempo track hesitating between prog and AOR, but plagued by a relatively poor drumming line (in this track). The closing Song Of The World starts on guitar arpeggios, slowly builds up into an AOR prog and again ending on a Yes touch. This second side is a rather even affair with all four tracks of a correct level, but none pushing the eyebrow-raising buttons.

While anything but essential, not really being that worthy either of an extended and uncertain hunt, True Myth's debut is a typical product of its era. Their second album will be released some two years later and reputed even rarer than this one. Outside the first two longer tracks, there is not that much to really enthuse the proghead, even if the flipside holds its good moments.