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Comus - Diana CD (album) cover

DIANA

Comus

 

Prog Folk

2.79 | 33 ratings

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ClemofNazareth
Special Collaborator
Prog Folk Researcher
3 stars I don't know of anywhere to find this "maxi-single" except as Disc One tracks on the 'Song for Comus' collection. In fact though this was the first thing the band ever released, way back in early 1971 and before the launch of their magnum opus 'First Utterance'.

This is essentially an EP, but released before that form of band sampler was really known to the industry. The opening title track is the same song that appears on 'First Utterance', a metaphorical tale about loss of innocence in the form of a lust-filled entity who stalks and presumably rapes a young virgin. The other two tracks "In the Lost Queen's Eyes" and "Winter is a Coloured Bird" wouldn't appear again until the 'Song for Comus' collection was issued in 2005. "In the Lost Queen's Eyes" highlights the lovely female vocal harmonies the band was capable of, while "Winter is a Coloured Bird" showcases the truly unique talents of violinist Colin Pearson, whose string work enhanced the convincing sense of madness that would permeate virtually everything the band would record before disbanding in 1974. Neither holds up against most of the songs on the band's two studio albums, but both are curios worth hearing for fans of the group for their historical value if nothing else.

Comus clearly left a legacy of influence that can be heard even now, thirty years after their debut as a band. Just compare these songs and their two studio albums to the earthy, raunchy and sometimes shocking lyrical stories of the Decemberists and Beat Circus; discordant and dirge-like arrangements of Fire on Fire and Reverend Glasseye; and witness a rich appreciation of the power of tradition-grounded instruments and themes carried on by most progressive folk artists to this day. This isn't essential by any means, but it's not bad either. Three stars.

peace

ClemofNazareth | 3/5 |

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