THIRD LIGHT

I own this album as part of a three-on-one-release called Parabola Road that holds three out Decameron's four albums over two CDs. The present album is somewhat annoyingly split over the two discs and not halfway through as it would be if it was to correspond to the original vinyl sides, but between track seven and track eight. But, if you want to hear the whole album in one go you can just rip it to your computer like I did. The other two albums featured on Parabola Road are Mammoth Special and Tomorrow's Pantomime (and there are also some bonus tracks that I have not yet heard). I suppose that this double CD release is now the best way to get these three albums. But, while I don't mind buying these several-on-one releases, I always prefer to rate the individual albums as they were originally released.

Decameron was a rather obscure Folk Rock band from the 70's and Third Light is, not surprisingly, the third album of theirs to see the light of day. The music found here is a mix of Folk Rock, Beatles-esque Pop and straightforward Rock & Roll with only slight progressive touches. I would put them in the same category as Al Stewart or Lindisfarne rather than Strawbs or Jethro Tull, though a couple of songs like The Ungodly and All The Best Wishes approach the style of Strawbs a bit. Though hailing from the UK, Decameron had a more American sound than many of their British Folk Rock colleagues drawing inspiration from both the likes of Crosby Stills Nash & Young and Fairport Convention.

Third Light is a pleasant album with 10 songs ranging from three to six minutes in length. The sound is based on acoustic, electric and steel guitars, bass and vocals with drums, violin and some discrete keyboards. This is a rather conventional Folk Rock line up and Decameron offers no real surprises. The quality of the songs is rather evenly spread over the album and there are not many standouts in either direction. However, The Ungodly stands out as the best and most progressive song and Rock 'N' Roll Away as the worst and least progressive one.

The music of Decameron is not bad but by no means essential, not even from a Folk Rock perspective and even less so from a Prog Folk perspective. Still, this is a worthy addition to a collection of someone with a taste for the Folk Rock of both sides of the Atlantic.

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