THE WORLD AT MINDS END

Ahh, truly the definition of a gem, this one. Skywhale was, in a nutshell, 7 amazing musicians rounded up and put together by guitarist extraordinaire Steve Robshaw. The World At Minds End is the one LP they left us in their unfortunately short-lived existence. Previously this was only available on vinyl, and it also happens to be one of the rarer ones out there. Luckily for us it was recently remastered and released on CD, which is how I was finally able to get a copy after hearing so much about it.

Probably the greatest thing about this album, aside from the exceptionally creative songwriting/arrangements and gifted musicians, is the energy they create as a band. In every song the tempo rises and they'll soar to a height that even revered veterans of the music world would be envious of.

The songwriting itself has an atmosphere and creativity that you just don't see very often in music. The music is consistent and thematic, and the arranging of different instruments to take hold of the melodies, often simultaneously, keeps the melodies interesting throughout every song of every album. Sporadically placed are spots in between these melodies in which the musicians are given chances to improvise, giving them a healthy chance to showcase their talents. And indeed they do, all the improvisation is highly inspired and consistent with the music, fitting in seamlessly.

This masterpiece will certainly remain one of my all-time favorites. I'm very fortunate I was able to hear about this one thanks to the internet, now that they're on ProgArchives hopefully many others will get a chance to hear it. Get this one just in case it vanishes into obscurity again folks! You won't regret it.

I guess that a fair few of us visit PA in the hope of unearthing those long lost gems of progressive music and I was lucky enough to come across this one while trawling on YouTube with that very purpose in mind; this album certainly fits the bill. There's not much information available on Skywhale but basically they were a seven-piece Classic Fusion band that formed in Bristol in the mid-seventies.

This was their only album and it's a melodic blend of entirely instrumental music comprising six tracks in total, all but one of which exceed the seven-minute mark. In addition to the ubiquitous guitar, keys, bass and drums Skywhale featured an additional percussionist and two wind players so there's always plenty going on and the music has something of a Latin feel. There's no real need to try to describe the music further so I'll just let it speak for itself.

In spite of its many qualities this album is probably destined to remain an obscurity and while it's never likely to challenge for a place in the top 100 prog albums it deserves at least some attention. Your first port of call should now be YouTube where you can listen to the album in its entirety (just ignore the vinyl crackles on the recordings), followed by a visit to Amazon where the MP3 is currently available to download for less than a five-spot. If you're a fan of Jazz Rock/Fusion you're in for a rare treat!

The 1970's seemed to have a litany of fusion acts coming out of the woodwork from all parts of the world, some (mostly the American acts) getting more attention than others. So, I can't help but get excited when I come across a small, practically unearthed gem that few people have heard about. And to up the stakes, this is a British fusion band, the country that gave the world If, Nucleus, and a host of Cantebury acts that gave their try at fusion. Unfortunately, Skywhale won't be of the same breath as any of the bands listed above.

The big knock on this Skywhale album is that when you step back, this is nothing more than a nice fusion album. Okay, think if Yes had a ton more jazz in their sound and you've got the idea of Skywhale. It's all nice and uplifting, but not one song really makes any strong statement. There's no real strong dynamics; it's just there.

There's still nothing horrifically awful about this work, and the synth lines at the beginning of ''Epicure'' really stand out here. If you love everything that is jazz fusion, find the time for WORLD AT MIND'S END.

SKYWHALE were a seven piece band out of the UK and they released their sole album back in 1977 called "The World At Mind's End". The album is dedicated to Paul Todd who played soprano sax, flute and penny whistle on here.

The highlight for me in listening to this album is the drumming for sure. I honestly don't like the sound of the music here much of the time. So much going on and it just doesn't sound right to me. The music just sounds like a mess to my ears. And it's mostly fast paced and constantly changing which I know a lot of people like but they just can't sit still. We get soprano and tenor sax, violin, guitar-synths, guitar, piano, flute, bass and drums. I just feel like this music wears me out, not something I looked forward to spinning I'll say that. 3 stars is all I got.