MANDALABAND II - THE EYE OF WENDOR: PROPHECIES

Well, quite different in almost all aspects from their debut in 1975. While the first album was a symphonic rock album about a very real and contemporary subject (the invasion and domination of Tibet by the Chinese forces), this one is a more orchestrated celtic/pop-rock album of sorts telling a fairy tale story based on J.R.R. Tolkien´s writings (yes, even in the 70´s there were already people writing songs about hobbits and all). There was no band to speak of: none of the original members plays on this CD, replaced by an all star assemble to play and sing the parts of the characters. So members of 10cc, Barclay James Harvest, The Moody Blues, Steeleye Span, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, etc all participate on this overblown work.

I´m not surprised it didn´t chart at all (promping the recording company to cancel a proposed continuation of the story, which was supposed to be a trilogy). First, the timing was wrong (1978 wasn´t exactly the best year for such undertaken, right?). Secondly and most important, the album sounds a bit unfinished. There are several tracks that contains good ideas and very nice melodies that never seem to develop to their peak. So in the end, we have an album that is quite pleasant and easy to hear from start to finish. And yet it gives the impression that it lacks some cohesion and continuity. There are no real lows, but neither there are real highlights. My Eclectic CD edition has a beautiful reproduction of the original art cover and story, but no lyrics. A different version of Dawn O fA New Day is included as a bonus track.

Conclusion: good, ok, but hardly essential at all. Their debut was much more interesting and sounded like a band. This one is more like a soundtrack of a musical or even a good movie: nice, well done and works better when you´re watching the scenes. 3 stars.