CLEAR BLUE SKY

Right away, the opener hits you and the gigantic problem with the record smacks you in the face; it's production is miserable. Apart from sounding like a lesser hybrid of Jethro Tull and Black Sabbath (and the title of their first track is ''Sweet Leaf''?coincidence?), the production sounds too unnecessarily loud to the point where the guitars sound like they're going to vomit. And it may be extreme nitpicking, but the volume on the cymbals sounds awful.

I like riffs as much as the next hard rock fan, but the riffs here are largely forgettable, and typically songs use about three unrelated riffs that are so poorly connected that any semblance of a fluid track is mostly lost. A track like ''You Mystify'' might have been a great lost rock classic if the actual song could progress with some finesse, but it ends up being a jumbled menagerie of muck.

This especially becomes a gaping problem on their attempt at a sidelong epic track; the three movements have barely any resemblance other than chugging away at riffs hoping for some lasting appeal. The aforementioned ''Sweet Leaf'' is the worst of the lot as it sounds completely without any direction and runs for far too long (at eight minutes, it's the longest of the album).

And yet, this album still manages to have an actual great tune in ''My Heaven''. It's the one time where there's a song that really functions like one. Had the muddy production not been there, this would have been a lost classic.

If the idea of checking out lo-fi hard rock sounds like fun to you, then check out CLEAR BLUE SKY. The idea of ''raw rock'' went a mile too far here.

The band showed some tendency to develop a more melodic music than their usual trio based counterparts of the era. The title track for instance, is a combination of pure heavy blues-rock with melodic passages. It is strange to listen to this though. Not really expected, but pleasant. It is the most interesting track form this record and the only one unfortunately to show this.

Most of this album is basic rock music, with no prog elements (being heavy or not). Not bad at all, if you are into these early seventies sounds (like I am), but quite conventional (''Pick Up'' and '' Bottom Of Your Soul'').

There is even a full ''Velvet Underground'' inspired track under the form of ''Back on The Road Again''. I'm far to dislike it of course, but it is quite strange to discuss this on PA.

To be honest, apart the good opening song, this album doesn't hold any counterpart. The music sounds a bit more polished than the songs released in '71, but they remain left over as far as I'm concerned (''Vagabonds''). The band is also investigating sothe jazzy/funky beats: some trumpets adding to the feeling (''When I Call Your Name''). You might know that I'm not at all a fan of these sounds. Press next.

Some straight good rock music with ''Waiting for the Day'' is the last decent song from this album saved from the vault. Not really essential by any means. Two stars.

The music is quite heavy and little melodic as one could have imagined. While the musicianship is solid, the vocals aren't quite of the same level. This is probably why I prefer the first part of their suite called ''Journey To The Inside Of The Sun''.

It is called ''Sweet Leaf'' (huum, I've heard this before.) and is a pure jamming and good effort for over eight minutes. Actually, this might well be part of a so called suite (or epic) but none of the parts are linked whatsoever. It is more a collection of three songs than a one-piece unit. It falls a bit flat during ''The Rocket Ride'' and ''I'm Comin' Home'' (second and third parts).

Their heavy music is tinted with blues and psychedelia (''You Mystify''), but this no big news for the period of release. It was quite conventional for such a trio to play this type of music. But they are probably more personal than a band as T2 for example who was too closely related with Hendrix Experience.

Nothing as such here. There is a definite prog feel when you listen to ''Tool Of My Trade''. It is not a ballad of course, but it swaps nicely between heavy passages and more sophisticated music. A highlight, for sure.

The more the album advances, the more diversified is the music. ''My Heaven'' demonstrates some Eastern influences delicately painted with some fine psychedelia. Some acoustic guitar is even featured and the interplay with distinct percussion is just perfect. To have reached this level at the age of eighteen is quite impressive. The album closed on some sort of heavy Tull piece (''Birdcatcher''). Aren't these fine references?

Three stars.