WEEKDAZE (AS PRINCIPAL EDWARDS)

This second single appeared two months after the debut single 'Captain Lifeboy' of Principal Edwards (well, debut if you exlude the albums and singles of the earlier and quite different phase of the group, Principal Edwards Magic Theatre). Now the producer was Nick Mason who would produce the album Round One in 1974.

'Weekdaze' starts as a nice melodic rock song slightly resembling The Who or Hudson Ford (of Strawbs). The instrumentation is less folky than on 'Captain Lifeboy' single, more emphasized on the electric guitar. Vocal harmonies work well behind Nick Pallet's lead vocals. At the 1/3 spot of the 3-minute song there's a lovely "bommm bomm bomm bomm bo-oo-oo-oomm" section in which Belinda Bourquin's vocals shine. As a whole this song is not quite as great as 'Captain Lifeboy' or its B-sider 'Nothing', but it has a nice, catchy rock energy in it, and the production is pretty good.

'The Whizzmore Kid' was the only 7" song that ended up on the album. It's a good example of the album's cheerful and playful nature that here and there gets a bit irritating, in my opinion. Sadly the folk element decreased after the "first" single, as well as the vocal contribution from Belinda Bourquis, and Nick Pallet's vocals get a bit over-theatrical. This is fast-paced, mildly psychedelic rock between 10cc and The Who. [Strange if 'The Whizzmore Kid' is as long (5:10) on the single as it is on the album - at least there's no separate single edition on the re-issue, nor information on the liner notes. A little editing would have improved it anyway.]