SUNDAY

This Scottish band is so obscure that even my contacts here in Scotland does not know them. I only know that they were the house-band in one of the hotels in my town and that they were quite popular in Germany. This album was also released on a German record label. But if any of the band members reads this review, please get in touch with us.

This is the only album from this band. Style wise, they are somewhere between Santana and Deep Purple. In short, funky rock with tonnes of Hammond organs and guitars. The first three Deep Purple albums is a good reference, but their music is also as funky and lively as Santana.

Quality wise, this is a good album. The long Hammond organ runs by Jimmy Forest is what makes this album a good album. They are underpinned by some good vocals, guitars, bass and drums. The songs are overall good with some flashes of superb melodies. The ten minutes long Sad Man Reaching Utopia is a great epic which changes between light and dark. The rest of the album is good though and I have grown to really be fond of it. This is a nice album for those who appreciate vintage rock.

3 stars

Obscurity. That word... Obscure albums, lingering in dusty archives or hidden away in boxes in the attic. when found re-released with superlative words and original artwork. I am not trying to be funny. Honestly, I love obscure prog, in particular british bands. That is not the point. The point being that all things obscure aren't brilliant. Sometimes genius can be found but often enough there's nothing behind "the original artwork", just fun and games.

Obscure... Yes. Sunday is an obscure band and I treasure this album, I do. I bought it several moons ago and have not regretted it once. The amount of hammond organ is immense and that can be quite enough for me. But how about them songs? What do they amount to? "Love is life" and "I couldn't face you" is two pieces of great, organ driven slabs of progressive rock, the latter more of a ballad but still... "Love is life" has some wonderful drumming aswell. The main opus of the album is the great and varied "Sad man reaching Utopia". It is an epic of rough qualities going through several moods and changes. A great track, really worth exploring for those who've missed it.

All in all I'd say the album is a good one but not essential in any way. It is a pleasant album with one foot in prog, one in blues, an arm in funky Santana style, the other in hard rock and the heart in the right place. Gritty, sincere and (proto)proggish in a nice way I come back every now and then. The issue with this album being, besides the tracks mentioned, that the bulk of the album is alright but never truly engaging. Still, with three great tracks and wonderful musicianship (not to mention the vocals, which is very nice indeed) the album is an endearing piece of early 70's prog rock caught somewhere between Rare Bird and Santana. Not bad, just not brilliant.

Sometimes we discover accidentally an old disk that we never had heard before and we mean : but that's quite good ! And we wonder why we ignored even the existence of the musicians who recorded it a long time ago. So we remember that the 1970's were extremely prolific. There was a lot of fine groups full of hope and creativity.

This Scottish quartet lacked neither energy nor a solid sense of melody. Their musical technic was improved. Even the vocals are excellent. The music could be a kind of progressive blues. A strong blues-rock is never far. The organ leads undoubtedly and sometimes, on peaceful themes, it reminds Jimmy Smith. But some sharp guitar riffs could be closer to the former Colosseum. Other comparisons could be made with Atomic Rooster...

Therefore, overall, catchy melodies dominate this record. In fact, these musicians had found their own style and composed their whole materials. And that's a big credit to give them.

Why do some poor groups had a good audience and sold a gratifying number of disks while skilled and creative musicians remain unknown ? It's a simple matter of chance in life ! And it's time to give a small second chance here to this attractive scottish band.