ALCHEMY

'Alchemy' sounds like a bunch of guys trying to play after each drinking a bottle of whisky. It's tuneless and actually quite irritating and repetitive. Nothing seems to sound in key. If that's an attempt at being experimental - then it fails miserably. The clay pots they use for percussion are unadventurous and flat. I always imagine with hindsight that this album sounds better than it actually is but each time I play it I'm disappointed and usually struggle to make it to the end. The unlikely appearance of John Peel of all people doesn't make it any more palatable. He twangs away playing a Jews Harp. On the plus side, it has a definite old worldly creepiness about it - as if it were actually recorded in the 1600's and the front cover's pretty good. It's alright if played once a year - but does not make good repeated listening. Doing that would drive any sane person completely mental.