MURPHY BLEND

The focus on First Loss is on the mighty Hammond organ, from moaning and groaning to bombastic waves and swirling runs, in its full splendor. The music strongly evokes late Sixties and early Seventies bands like Vanilla Fudge, Uriah Heep (the track Past Has Gone sounds like a tribute to Ken Hensley) and Deep Purple. All bands that feature powerful interplay between the Hammond and electric guitar, fuelled by an often dynamic and propulsive rhythm-section, especially in At First en Speed Is Coming Back.

The seven tracks (in fact six because the final one Happiness only lasts 6 seconds) alternate between fluent up-tempo songs to compelling bluesrock (the vocals in Pradudium/Use Your Feet are close to Steve Winwood). And frequently we can enjoy a 'churchy' Hammond organ sound, this evokes a strong classical climate, in the track Funny Guys even Toccata In D-Fuga is blended. In Past Has Gone (beautiful Hammond intermezzo with romantic and classical undertones) the German 'bluesrock prog' from Jane comes to my mind, also due to the melancholical vocals and the Hammond and guitar interplay.

The most dynamic and varied composition is the long titletrack that contains lots of changes in atmosphere and tempo, tastefully coloured with Hammond and guitar, from psychedelic and classical to pure rock and roll!

To me this reissue sounds as a very pleasant Hammond drenched album, tastefully arranged, and a strong variety in the genuine progressive rock tradition.

My rating: ***1/2 star.

"At First" opens with organ but it kicks in to a full sound quickly.This is uptempo as well. Vocals 1 1/2 minutes in as it settles down. Guitar before 2 1/2 minutes then the organ is back leading. "Speed Is Coming Back" sounds great early on with the organ and guitar. Vocals after 1 1/2 minutes. A guitar solo comes in before 3 minutes then the organ leads a minute later and the vocals return. "Past Has Gone" opens with organ and the vocals don't come in until after 2 minutes. Some heavy organ in this one.The bass, organ and drums build after 6 1/2 minutes and the guitar joins in too. Nice.

"Praludium/Use Your Feet" opens with organ then the drums dominate around 1 1/2 minutes. Organ is back out front and the vocals arrive 2 1/2 minutes in. "First Loss" is a good one as it builds into a powerful sound before calming right down. It's heavy again then it settles with vocals after 3 minutes as contrasts continue. "Funny Guys" has an epic sound to it with organ. It settles in before 1 1/2 minutes and vocals follow. "Happiness" is less than a second in length so I don't have much to say about it (haha).

3.5 stars. I'm not as "into" this as many seem to be but it's certainly worth checking out.

From the opener At First (an excellent intro but careful not to reveal too much of what is to come) to the slow starter Speed Is Coming Back (guitar-drenched but the organs are what gives it flavour) to the monster track (only 7 min+, but awesome in its bluesy organ- drenched dramatic scheme) Past Has Gone draws a few chills and would be close to a masterpiece if the vocals were not a bit under-mixed. A good organ solo dividers the track and the way the groups rebuilds quickly is quite impressive.

Opening the second side of this wax slice is the track that shows most of their classical influences, but they do much more than that, as the track is in constant evolution. Comes in the wild title track (under 8 min) which is the other highlight of the album, is a powerful work-out giving a chance for everyone to shine. Somehow, some Vanilla Fudge references are also a bit evident here at times. Closing track (not exactly but almost) is a call to fun as the Bach tribute/fugue and the short finale is a laugh.

As superb this album was, they broke-up soon after and aside from a few short lived groups just after, these guys will not be having a career that this album hints at. Truly one of those lost prog gems, even if the self-indulgent spirit of those years is stopping it from the upper star.