CRESSIDA

In the late '60's and early '70's, I bought a lot of records "on spec", based largely on the album art. This album instantly intrigued me with its dark, surrealistic, and inexplicable imagery, and I was pleased to discover that the mood of the music complemented the cover art very nicely (and vice versa). I perceive a dark quality to much of the music on this album, thanks in large part to Peter Jennings deep and beautiful Hammond B3 sound (which is usually enhanced with a perfectly measured dose of reverberation). The songs are generally short (by prog-rock standards) but remarkably well-crafted, with strong melodies, plenty of interesting changes, and the occasional odd time signature, and there really isn't a throw-away track on the entire album. The musicanship is of a very high level throughout, with Jennings' keyboard work being the standout: his arrangements are excellent throughout, moving from single note riffs to deep chords and back again effortlessly, kicking the Leslie speaker in and out at just the right moments, and displaying an impeccable sense of dynamics. John Heyworth's solos have been criticized by some: he's certainly not the best lead player in the world, but I felt his solos worked very well within the context of the music and his acoustic contributions here are excellent (and overall, I would rate him much higher than John Culley, who replaced him on the band's second album). Angus Cullen's vocals are very well done (although the dry production makes them stand out in a very in-your-face way). Here and there I find moments that remind me of the Moody Blues, Procol Harum, and Caravan, but overall Cressida stand as a unique musical entity, and I consider finding this album to be one of my luckiest musical acquisitions. Although I'm not sure exactly where I would place it in the pecking order, this album is definitely one of my top 25 all-time favorites.