WAY OF THE SUN

With WAY OF THE SUN, Jade Warrior completed their fascinating mid-1970s quartet of non-bombastic, non- sentimental prog-without-vocals (give or take a few excited shouts, and some wordless choirs here and there). Way of the Sun is, perhaps, somewhat less remarkable than its immediate predecessor, Kites, but it is still amazing to hear what majestic effects the band was able to achieve with relatively meagre forces. On the first four tracks, Jon Field's gentle flute is the dominant instrument, but next, on the title track, Tony Duhig lets rip, in a wonderful solo on distorted electric guitar. Side two is dominated by a Latin American "fiesta" atmosphere, until the whole carnival collapses to the sound of the lethargic double-tracked guitars of "Death of Ra". A better way to wind up ELEMENTS, the two-disc Jade Warrior anthology (on which WAY OF THE SUN is included in its entirety) could hardly be imagined.