CRESSIDA

"Asylum" has a good beat with organ then vocals before a fuller sound join in. An organ solo before 1 1/2 minutes then the vocals return after 2 1/2 minutes. "Munich" is mellow with spacey organ to start. When the vocals arrive they sound like Peter Hammill when he sings those more laid parts. Strings in this one too. A guitar solo 2 1/2 minutes then we get a change as the tempo picks up with guitar and organ leading.The organ solo before 5 minutes is great. It settles right down 6 minutes in then the original vocal led passage returns. Nice. So good. It picks back up late to end it. "Goodbye Post Office Tower, Goodbye" features strummed guitar before a full sound joins in.This is catchy with piano standing out. An explosion ends it. "Survivor" is a short urgent sounding track with vocals although it does calm down at one point. An organ solo on this one too. "Reprived" opens with piano, light drums and vocal melodies.Piano then leads.

"Lisa" is different as it it really is all over the place.Tough to enjoy.There are strings on this one and a guitar solo later. "Summer Weekend Of A Lifetime" is a folky track with floating organ, intricate guitar and vocals standing out early. An organ solo 2 minutes in followed by guitar as they trade off for a while. "Let Them Come When They Will" opens with strummed guitar and vocals.Strings before a minute. It picks up and gets fuller. Organ before 3 minutes then the percussion leads a minute later. A calm after 4 1/2 minutes then the vocals return in an emotional manner. A change 9 minutes in as bass and cymbals take over then a full sound follows. A guitar solo 10 1/2 minutes in.

I do prefer the debut but i'm rounding this up to 4 stars because I really like their sound.

"To Play Your Little Game" opens with vocals that remind me so much of Wyatt then it kicks in before a minute.Vocals become more passionate as contrasts continue. A guitar solo ends it. "Winter Is Coming Again" builds as reserved vocals join in. It gets fuller on the chorus each time. Nice guitar melodies and laid back organ here. "Time For Bed" is uptempo with strummed and picked guitar along with piano and vocals standing out. "Cressida" features pulsating organ with bass and drums as the vocals join in. Far out stuff right here. Mellotron too as It turns dreamy 2 1/2 minutes in then back to the original programming. "Home And Where I Long To Be" is another relaxing song with vocals that does pick up at times. I like the guitar melodies in this one.

"Depression" opens with organ then it kicks in with vocals and a full sound. A guitar solo 2 minutes in followed by an organ solo after 3 minutes to end it. "One Of A Group" is mainly organ and drums early. A piano solo 3 minutes in then the guitar joins in to end it. "Lights In My Mind" is such a great little track. Some tasteful guitar too. Drums shine late. "The Only Earthman In Town" picks up before a minute with vocals leading the way. Some beautiful guitar melodies 2 1/2 minutes in then the organ solos. "Spring '69" has some cool lyrics with sad vocals and gentle guitar. "Down Down" has these floating organ melodies and reserved vocals leading. I like it. It picks up when the vocals stop. Mellotron in this one too. "Tomorrow Is A Whole New Day" opens with organ then it picks up with vocals and drums.The guitar leads then organ. Some vocal melodies later. Moving stuff.

A great and enjoyable album.

The sound is light but with tons of organ: some moments light, some moments heavy. But generally sweet because the music is romantic: a sort of post Folk in Beat/ psychedelic field. Is not difficult to see a cottage garden in the England countryside but at the same time the smoky chimneys of the steelworks during the Industrial Revolution. Not common in Prog, Cressida have a role vocalist, Angus Cullen, a good vocalist, pefect to sing this type of music. Organist Peter Jenning is great in Cressida but the rest of the band is not great as technique: so the Cressida music is this. The songs are not long: maximum 5 mins. As for this fact the music present tons of symphinicisms in Folk field or tons of Folk moments in Symphonic Prog, depend which side you want to watch Cressida's music. I am not mad. If you remove the organ the music is simply Folk!

So, for me, Cressida is a great band, a sort of band that have a perfect role in Prog world and that deserved better luck. Genesis not have Folk moments in their music, Cressida have Folk moments in their music!

Of all the 9 tracks only the last one, the 11 minute Let Them Come When They Will moved me enough to make hear it twice on the first listening. After repeated spins it is still the only track that I think showed some real good stuff on it, but I can hardly call it an epic: it is more like several good bits put together in a long track. The last two minutes are the best, reaching a nice crescendo that got my atention. But that´s too little too late. Small wonder they didn´t go too far after this one. The remaining tracks are nice, ok, but again it already sounded dated at the time and didn´t add much to the vast 60´s pop rock scene.

There are so many greater bands aroung that time that I can only recommend this CD to fans and collectors. 2 stars.

I really don´t see why they became a kind of cult band among progheads, at least judging their work by their debut CD (I haven´t heard their second yet). Their style differs very little from more well known bands of the day, like The Moody Blues. Heyworth may have a little more jazzier side that brings the Canterbury sound a bit in mind. But I also should point out that the songwriting here is quite strong and promising for a first album. Nothing really new or too much progressive, but good anyway. The production is good and there are no fillers (but also I can´t really point out a highlight either).

I can only recommend Cressida for the ones who love the late 60´s sound (specially the West Coast influenced bands like The Doors). Those will certainly enjoy this little known album, that certainly have its moments. Rating: something between 2,5 and 3 stars.

Cressida is a sadly forgotten band who released two albums. I reviewed their first one a month ago. I liked that one. This, their second album is rumoured to be the better one. Well, I think they are pretty similar when it comes to quality. Two solid albums in other words.

What we get here is Richard Sinclair like vocals and a lot of other elements from Caravan. Remove the jazzy bits from Caravan and add some psychedelic and symphonic prog elements and you get this album. But if you like the Canterbury scene, this album will really be one you will like. It is a mix between symphonic prog and the that genre/scene.

Quality wise, this album is very solid without being excellent. There is a lot of good details strewn around this album. My main gripe is the lack of any really superb tracks. The musicianship is very good though. Cressida was a very good band. But they never had the X factor the likes of Genesis, Pink Floyd and Yes had. I happens to like them. It is a solid three stars album for me.

3 stars

The vocals are very much like Caravan anno the The Land In Pink & Grey. The moog and most of the rest is not too far away from The Nice. There is also a lot of Canterbury jazz hanging over this album too.

The result is pretty good. The songs are pretty sweet and short. Some of the moog is pretty viritous and tasty. In particular the final song Tomorrow Is A Whole New Day is excellent with it's hypnotic viritous moog hammering on in the background. The guitars is good too. The bass and drums are also excellent. The sound is excellent and befitting this music. The moog is the most dominating instrument here and the tasty use of it at this album is very endearing. I like this album, although it is not an essential album.

3.25 stars