CLOCKS

By the time I acquired "Clocks" in one of those glorious used LP shops in the 80s, I was utterly smitten by his late 70s unheralded classics "Interlife" and "Eclipse". Given that "Clocks" originated in the progressive fires of 1974, I expected to herein find his most compelling work. I was roundly disappointed and have only recently accepted that, while this LP cannot compare to Brett's best work, it is actually pretty decent in its own right.

One must remember that many styles other than prog were big in the early to mid 70s, among them a British take on American country rock, popularized by LINDISFARNE among others. Brett doesn't embrace this wholeheartedly on "Clocks", but it's certainly one of the main focuses of this eclectic work that I had unfairly branded as MOR and relegated to the shelf accessible only by ladder. One need only listen to "Soho Jack" and "One Sunday Morning" to get the gist. Mike Piggott's fiddles and Dave Griffiths' mandolin and fretless bass play an equal role to Brett's guitars on many of the tracks, among these "Explanation Blues". While Brett focuses on his acoustic playing, "Circles" boasts some fine lead guitar licks. Among the mellower tunes are "Captain Dan" and "What you mean to me". Nick Sterling's cello and tasteful orchestral arrangements envelope these tunes with a sweet wistfulness.

"Clocks" has minimal progressive qualifications but it is a perfectly pleasant if somewhat dated set of mid 70s soft rock with country accents. 2.5 stars rounded up.