FURTIVE PEARL

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4.5 stars really.

The debut of Secret Oyster holds the promise of a supergroup from Denmark. Everyone of its members had belonged to other great Danish bands such as Coronaria Dans, Hurdy Gurdy and Burnin' Red Ivanhoe. This album got released outside of Denmark with a different cover and title (Furtive Pearl >>> Danish humour I suppose ;o))) but the tracks are the same. Actually the cover of this album pictured above is the self-titled Denmark release and the Furtive Pearl album has a artwork cover in the form of a post card with their portrait as stamp. This album as well as the others from the group have released a recent complete over-haul and features bonus tracks. The Laser's Edge label's superb work is so important that it is actually the first and only official reissue of the SO albums.

As for the music on this album, it is rather strong departure from the music played in their previous groups. We are into a very inspired and inventive early fusion or Jazz-rock somewhere in between Bitches Brew, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi, Headhunter or Sextant albums or also the fabulous Nucleus or Soft Machine (circa Six-era). Starting on the wildly progressive Damexpressen, a 100MPH progressive jazz-rock track, the album consolidates quickly with an equally uplifting Fire & Water, where logically Vogel dominates the debates, being the author of these tracks (and the main songwriter on this album). The lengthy Vive La Quelle is unfortunately the weakest track of the album , aven if the intro is very prog, the track quickly becomes a hard rocking jam that was obviously allowing the solo lives (as shown by the very average drum solo here), and it shows drummer Thirge being the weaker link in the band, he would get ousted (substances dependences) prior to the second album along with bassist Vinding. Don't get me wrong this track rocks pretty hard and wild too, but it tends to overstay its welcome. Blazing Lace is constructed a Bohling riff (his only writing credit on the debut album), and stays a little too repetitive, but allows for some blazing guitar solos.

The lengthiest track (almost 11 mins) Public Oyster is where keyboardist Knudsen makes its presence best felt as the track is the most adventurous with plenty of bruitage and soloing, with its ending finishing in a fish tail, with Knudesn giving a short coda to it through a piano interlude. The weird and experimental Ova-X closes the the album

This music is totally instrumental but so evocative that you feel that there are lyrics or more like you do not need them to understand what they are getting at. Karsten Vogel is clearly the leader but everyone of those musicians hold their own with solid playing. Only "Vive La Quelle", I think, is a little inferior. The bonus tracks do not bring much added value; with a live (and superior, but not soundwise) version of the opening track, and a weird (even derangesome) goofy track. A good debut only to be topped by their following album Sea Son as well as Straight To The Krankenhaus. This album's particularity being the different rhythm section, and the fact that the main writers were only at their first album together are the two elements making this album slightly inferior, but no doubt that the group's oeuvre can be discovered chronologically.

The first album from Secret Oyster is much in the vein of where the Burnin' Red Ivanhoe left off. Though now the band, also incorporating members from at least one other Danish prog/psyche act Hurdy Gurdy, were mainly composing instrumentals with a wild free form attitude and developing their looping hypnotic tunes around Karsten Vogel's swirling and loud saxophone's. Though the band do lay down a steady rhythmic pattern the guitar and aforementioned saxophone improvise and express hints of psyche with a tendency to develop progressive like patterns and tasting the realms of jazz/rock fusion, the genre which was making heady waves during the early seventies. "Dampexpressen" is certainly expressive but never damp, there is a humourous element here in the music and it is very much like Burnin' Red Ivanhoe on this track, while "Fire And Water" presents a sound that would be more inclined to be regarded as typical Secret Oyster, if it would be fair to label them that. "Public Oyster" is a cool breeze trip of avant garde with some textured wah wah guitar from Claus Bøling and a clever play on words before we get stoned and zoned out of our minds with "OVA-X". While stepping into the waters of fusion the Secret Oyster retain a quality and style in their music that is very familiar when compared with the bands later albums, here they sound rough and ready. They would progress and get better, become more cohesive and acquire a Secret Oyster sound rather than simply be a band that derived from the Burnin' Red Ivanhoe. But they frustratingly moved along producing solid albums without the commercial success that many lesser acts were adorned with. Not only were they just one of Denmark's finest groups but one of the better fusion acts from that period.

4.5 stars.This has to be the greatest band ever to come out of Denmark.A supergroup of sorts with the drummer,sax, and bass player from BURNIN' RED IVANHOE joined by the avant-garde keyboard player from CORONARIAS DANS, and the amazing guitar player from HURDY GURDY.By the way Donovan's song "Hurdy Gurdy Man" is about this guitar player Claus Bohling. This album is one of those great discoveries i come across once and a while that makes the search so worth while.The album cover is from a post card of the mainstreet of the little town where they recorded this their debut record.This really is a blend of jazz/rock/fusion with Claus just ripping it up throughout on his guitar. "Dampexpression" opens with piano that builds as sax and a full sound arrives quickly.The sax and drumming stand out along with the keys. The guitar before 2 minutes lights it up as the bass throbs,more great guitar again after 3 minutes. "Fire & Water" has a nice beat as organ and fat bass lead the way.Guitar comes in very psychedelic-like as the tempo picks up.Amazing sound 3 minutes in.The guitar rips it up before 5 minutes. "Vive La Quelle?" has a memorable,uptempo melody until a calm a minute in where guitar and drums start to make some noise without a real melody.Just raw guitar sounds and random drum patterns.We start to get a melody after 4 minutes.Keys come in and they become dissonant at times.Some good guitar 7 minutes in. The song ends as it began. "Blazing Lace" has a haunting intro before the guitar comes in and takes over.Sax,drums and bass are all here.Love the guitar after 3 minutes. "Public Oyster" is the longest track at almost 11 minutes.This is actually very krautrock-like early,the way the keys and guitar lead the way.The sound starts to build 3 1/2 minutes in.Guitar comes in at 5 minutes and plays over top.Nice.Sax comes in sounding really good as does the relentless drumming.The guitar starts to shine after 9 minutes. "Mis(s) Fortune" is lighter,almost canterbury-like with lots of keys and bass. "Ova-X" opens with sax with not much of a melody as sounds come and go.It's kind of experimental and i like it. This all-instrumental debut from SECRET OYSTER is so impressive.Just a pleasure to listen to.