SPACE SHANTY

Space Shanty must be one of the most unknown masterpieces of progressive rock music in general! Appeared in 1972 as a low profile effort of the one-shot group KHAN of the burgeoning Canterbury scene, it showcased enormous talents of the two main composers and instrumentalists - Steve Hillage and Dave Stewart. It marks a transition in Hillage's career between his early ARZACHEL/URIEL days and his most successful and popular works with GONG and solo albums to come. And what a transition it was...

The music is a breathtaking fusion of different elements common to the prog era: lenghty instrumental passages, beautiful solo parts of organ and guitar, multi-structured compositions, emotional singing by Hillage, changes of tempo and jazz-rock experimental ambitions. Symphonic prog dramatics meets jazz fusion improvisation meets space rock atmosphere as suggested in the title and the cover image. Tracks flow nicely into one another, without any sense of pretentiousness, mere technicality or empty experimentalism that were quite often then among many prog-inclined bands.

Simply put, Space Shanty does not contain a second of excessive material or dubious fillers - it is a wonderfully composed music piece in its entirety, which you can listen to many many times and always hear something new. In short: a true masterpiece!

PERSONAL RATING: 5/5

P.A. RATING: 5/5