A WINTER'S TALE / ONE-EYED HOUND

A definite improvement over the "Silent Sun" single but still not as good as the best tracks from the debut. "A Winter's Tale" is easily the better track. Beginning and closing with piano there is a rather odd sounding organ holding the background throughout. Two part vocals and reasonably good (though still pretty amateur) song development in this song that reminds me a bit of early Badfinger's "Carry On till Tomorrow," at least in the quieter sections. There is a subdued section and a swelling heartfelt louder one which alternate back and forth. The flip side "One Eyed Hound" opens with a cool lead riff with acoustic backing and some saturated bass. There are some heavy effects on the chorus vocals too as Pete wails about the hound. Still forgettable but a hair better than the other single, so we'll round this up to 2 stars. Not recommended unless you can hear it on the reissue CD for the first album.