PAUSE FOR A HOARSE HORSE

Home's first album is based around the excellent guitar work of Laurie Wisefield (who would go on to join Wishbone Ash) and the distinctive vocals of principal songwriter Mick Stubbs. Indeed, with Stubbs also contributing guitar, there are passing similarities with the music of Wishbone Ash.

The tracks, while relatively short, are finely crafted, mixing softer vocal sections with louder guitar driven passages. The opening "Tramp" for example, begins as an almost unaccompanied vocal, building to a fine guitar driven conclusion.

The title track is a rather strange eulogy to a horse which is about to be put down, the emotion of the tale being at odds with the puns in the title. The tale is illustrated in the cactus lands of the desert portrayed on the excellent gatefold sleeve. Clive John (of Man) adds some nice mellotron sounds to tracks such as "Red E Lewis and the red caps", a very intricate track which is a sort of cross between GENTLE GIANT and 10CC (!). The track concludes with some further fine guitar playing, which could perhaps have been developed further. The mellotron returns on "Bad days", a fine laid back ballad with some excellent smooth guitar.

"In my time" features the stereo twin guitars which Wishbone Ash made their own, the song having an underlying depth to the sound which hints towards their finest hour with "The Alchemist" album.

Despite the band's prosaic London roots, there is at times an alternative country feel to the music, the song structures initially appearing deceptively simple. It is only on the brief guitar picking instrumental "Welwyn Garden City Blues" and the final track though that band really veer off in the country direction. Johnny Weider of Family adds some violin to the closing track "You're no good", a more pop orientated upbeat number.

In all, an excellent debut which showed the band to be proficient both in songwriting and performance. While the progressive aspects are generally muted (they would come to the fore on the third album, they are nonetheless present.

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