IN THE LAND OF GREY AND PINK

At first, I had a hard time getting into this album. "Golf Girl" and "Love to Love You" were too light and whimsical for my tastes, and the other tracks lacked something in the way of drawing my attention. After spending some time away from the album (and exploring some of the other popular Canterbury titles), I returned to find that my opinion had completely changed. Now, the album has creeped its way up my list and become one of my favorite albums of all time.

The highlight of the album is, of course, the 22-minute epic "Nine Feet Underground". It's hard to call this anything but a masterpiece. For anyone faulting it for lacking in complexity, let me just say that it doesn't matter how many notes a band plays, all they have to do is play the right ones - and boy, does this band deliver. Richard Sinclair is absolutely top notch throughout the entire song; there isn't a moment that goes by where I'm not completely captivated by his bass, and his pairing with the extremely talented Richard Coughlan makes for a rhythm section that impresses from minute one. David Sinclair's keyboards dominate the song, but the solos never enter the realm of pointless noodling. The epic is divided into eight sections, , each distinct enough that the song never loses its momentum by staying in one place for too long.

The rest of the songs on the album are mostly great. Winter Wine and the title track are particularly impressive mid-length tracks, each with beautiful lyrics and typically impressive instrumentation.

The only track that leaves me somewhat less impressed is "Love to Love You", which is too light and poppy for me and doesn't have much in the way of instrumentation that turns my head. Those looking for an improved version of this song should be happier with the version of the track on the "The World Is Yours" box set (it may be found elsewhere as well, that's just where I got it) titled "Love To Love You (BBC Session - Sounds Of The Seventies 11/03/71)". The bass has more muscle and gives the song enough oomph to satisfy my need to bob my head.

That one slight miss can't knock this down from a 5-star album. It's not just a masterpiece of the Canterbury Scene, but one of the best Progressive Rock albums period - just give it a while to grow on you if you aren't impressed immediately.