MUSHROOM

But if you can get past the obvious you’ll quickly see there is an awful lot of psychedelica on this record as well, along with not a little 70’s smooth rock pastiche. Although the band admittedly existed in the 70s I don’t get the impression they every intended to be a Teen Magazine heart-throb cover, even though some songs could lead to that presumption, particularly the slightly cheesy “Crying” and the very cheesy love ballad “Unborn Child”.

Beyond those tunes though there is some pretty good music here, and no actual reels as near as I can tell. Violinist Pat Collins does wail on the fiddle from time to time though, and whenever he does a jig seems to be about to break out as he warps notes furiously over the top of Aengus McNally’s power chord guitar work and Mike Power’s stilting harpsichord. These are really the best purely Irish tracks of the album in my opinion, so if you do have a chance at least check out “The Liathdan”, “Potters Wheel”, “Devil Among The Tailors” and “Drowsey Maggie”. And speaking of stereotypes, how’s that for an Irish fiddle album that includes both a reference to the Devil as well as one to a lass named Maggie in the context of hopping in the sack?

The two overall highlights are “Johnny the Jumper” and the closing “King of Alba”. With “Johnny the Jumper” the band manages to feature the fiddle without an overt jig and without overpowering the other artists’ contributions, which results in a rather powerful instrumental that both keeps your toe tapping and also provides a very well-placed transition point in the album between a rather languid lull and the drinking/dancing section. The sequencing of this record is itself an interesting study, but one I’ll leave to someone more adroit at understanding and explaining those sorts of decisions.

I can say with confidence though that “King of Alba” should have been the opening track, not the closer. Had the band done this and featured it as a single I wonder if they would have lasted longer, or at least made some decent cash. Who knows? Like “Johnny the Jumper” this one is energetic, fairly polished and with a very balanced bend of fiddle, guitar and keyboards so the Irish influence is obvious but not overpowering. Unlike ‘Johnny’ this one has vocals though. I haven’t mentioned the vocals on the album yet and suppose I should. Although all five members are credited with singing on this record, I believe the majority comes from fiddler Pat Collins and keyboardist Michael Power. None of these guys can sing all that well though, which isn’t really that big of a deal since there are a few all- instrumental songs and long instrumental breaks even on the tracks that do have vocals.

I’ve read glowing accounts of this album and think that reissued obscure 70s prog rock sometimes gets swept up in lore and hype and tends to be overrated. I think there’s just a little of that at work here as well, but in the end this is a very good album despite a couple of tacky tracks in “Crying” and “Unborn Child”. Despite those (and since some folks like that sort of thing) I’m going to err on the side of caution and go with four stars (since 3.7 rounds up), and give this a warm recommendation to violin, Irish, and happy acid-folk fans, as well as to people who like to dance and drink (and dance after drinking).

peace

But that is all part of the charm of this record. Allied to some accomplished songwriting, singing and playing - especially impressive is the fiddler - is an infectious pioneering sense of adventure, of exploring a new world full of exciting corridors and alleyways, in the same way that people like Zappa or King Crimson were doing in the late 60s. They may not have been the first to marry folk to rock, but their spiky rock sensibilities must have seemed innovative for the time, bearing in mind that most existing folk-rockers were electrified folkies rather than folked-up rockers. Surely the history of Bluehorses starts here. Like all the innovators at the time, their music is as rough edged as the recording, undimmed by studio over-indulgences, allowing the sheer natural exhuberance of the music to flow out throught the speakers.

The album begins with an alarm clock wake-up call, leading into Early One Morning, a gentle acoustic song about waking up to find a lover has gone. A gentle enough start, but The Liothdon soon bangs in with an electrified up tempo reel/jig partly played on a keyboard with a distorted bass, heavily distorted rock guitar solos and lifts provided by key changes, a total assault on the senses. The vocal passages of The Liothdon are short, but they help to set the scene for Crying, which enters at the same pace as before, but soon settles into a calmer atmosphere where fiddle and contrasting guitar alternate solos before ending with a more frenetic duelling where the guitarist struggles to keep up.

The Farfisa made a significant contribution to the background of Crying, and continues into the gentle rock song Unborn Child. Poor sound, especially from the guitar, mars this song a little, but there is some excellent fiddle work ably supported by wah-wah rhythm guitar. There is again some lovely interplay between fiddle and guitar, but otherwise this is a fairly straightforward rock song. Johnny The Jumper changes the tone completely as it leaps in with heaps of big 60s psychedelic keyboards on an up tempo jigs-n-reels instrumental workout. You can almost smell the sweat of the dancefloor.

Potter's Wheel, which begins side 2 of the vinyl version, is a traditional acoustic jig complete with fiddle and tin whistle before being joined by some more wah-wah electric guitar. Standing Alone has a rather ordinary melody, but is a dreamy mid-paced song with a mellow sound driven by a prominent hi-hat pattern and Farfisa. The slightly out-of-tune Moog makes its appearance on a couple of solos before the track takes off with a soaring guitar solo.

Dramatic sound effects herald a traditionally based song, Devil Among The Tailors, evoking the later sound of Horslips, with both fiddle and guitar solos, before the harpsichord quietens the pace for Tenpenny Piece which is not a million miles from Steeleye Span territory with chiming guitars and a recorder. Drowsey Maggie is another energetic rock-a-jig led by the fiddle, though the improvisational guitar solo doesn't quite come off. One by one the instruments drop out, leaving just an insistant solo fiddle before the band return for a rousing finale and some audience applause. King Of Alba is an up tempo folk-rocker, a direct ancestor of Oysterband or Wolfstone with some nice soloing from guitar, fiddle and keyboard building to a crescendo finish.

Aside from a few singles, this was the only album Mushroom made, so it is a shame it suffers from such poor sound in places. However, that doesn't detract from one's enjoyment, nor does it deflate the achievement of being a lost foundationstone of both British folk-rock and Prog Folk, and anyone interested in the development of either genre should check this out.

"Please play very loud" it says. Indeed!

A definite purchase for anyone wanting to explore the Irish side of progressive music. Horslips were not the only band to call themselves traditional rock in Ireland!