ANOTHER TRIP TO EARTH

This is the second (and final) album from the Chicago-area would-be Prog band Gabriel Bondage, Another Trip to Earth, released in 1977 on Dharma Records. Gabriel Bondage featured a group of talented musicians and varied instrumentation, including sax, flute, clarinet, and prominent synths and keyboards in addition to the standard guitar, bass, and drums. They were trying to establish themselves in a similar lane as their fellow Chicago band Styx, with a mix of progressive rock and more mainstream pop/rock. Their first album, Angel Dust (1975), was a bit more folk-oriented, but with this album, they tried going more progressive, with mixed results. The main problem seems to be that the band couldn't seem to decide just what they wanted to be, as the album includes many quite different styles, from the full-on ELP-style prog of the album opener, Take It On a Dare, to a somewhat country-folk song, Long Time, some folk-rock/light rock songs and ballads, straight ahead blues-rock and pomp rock, to the psychedelic space-rock of the extended album closer, Fallen Angels, which also includes 4 minutes of trippy sound collage (ala Revolution 9). But strangest of all is the lounge act put-on song, All I Know, done in the mocking style reminiscent of the Beatles' You Know My Name, complete with pseudo audience chatter and clinking glasses, which just doesn't fit in here at all. However, several of the songs themselves are quite good, even if the overall album is a bit too scattered (which may be why the band never quite caught on). Fine musicianship, with fine vocals, nice keyboard work, and the welcome addition of winds (flute, sax, clarinet) throughout. Highlights are Take It on a Dare, No Winners, Birth of the Unconquered Sun, Living in the City, In the Daylight. Another notable feature of this album is that it was released on colored vinyl (in three different colors: translucent blue, translucent red, and white). Unfortunately, as with many other specialty vinyl releases in the '70's, the colored vinyl is softer and more prone to clicks and pops, which are ever-present numerous throughout this vinyl recording. I have the blue vinyl version of the album, which I bought back in 1977, and even though I've only played it a few times over the years, the background noise (clicks and pops) is substantial. Anyway, this is a true '70's curiosity. Worth checking out, uniquely idiosyncratic, but certainly not without its issues.