JADE WARRIOR

I bought this album as a youngster only on the basis of its sympathetic cover drawings, and quite hardcore looking players in the band photograph. The shopkeeper warned me that "there aren't any melodies, nor maybe even rhythms on this record", and wasn't disappointed. This was my first psychedelic folk-oriented album I ever listened. A year later the shop referred sold away all of their hippie-infested records and focused only to roots music before 1965 influences, and have not visited there since.

"Traveller" opens the LP with quiet acoustic sounds, which soon reveal a wonderful echoed wall of guitars, crowned with a great, solemn solo guitar. This is a quite short track though, but very beautiful. "Masai Morning" has an African theme in it, and it is quite primitive and minimalist song, but I liked it much as it is very unique and full of powerful emotion. "Windweaver" is then more basic psych folk song, but it has again nice amplified, eastern sounding solo guitar in it. It morphs then to the track "Dragonfly Day" which opens with a marvelous wall of acoustic guitars, where the musicians start to paint wonderful patterns with a flute and singing. There are some more slightly uninteresting tunes in the record also, but then the final track "Sundial Song" is again marvelous, opening calmly, and evolving to more aggressive territories and reaching spiritual climax.

Tough the album has some duller songs on it, I like the better ones quite much. I think this is a very well produced and fine demo of their forthcoming release "Released". On that one also the more basic blues rock numbers work better, as there is a bigger band with horns accompanying the group, this album having only three players on it. I have heard both vinyl and remastered CD version of this first album. I think there was something wrong with the sound of the CD, as some louder parts distorted really unnaturally, ruining the listening experience.