SPLENDOR SOLIS

I remember these guys very well. They were often compared to Zeppelin musically and singer Jeff Martin's voice was compared to Jim Morrison. He hated that. Obviously they were going for a 'retro' sound, specifically the late '60s/early '70s period. They were not the only group doing this in the early 1990s, but they were one of the best at it. This was The Tea Party's second album but first on a major label. This includes some songs re-recorded from the independent debut album, which I assume was only available in Canada. I have always loved "The River" with it's great use of wah-wah guitar. Great drumming too. I love the middle section with a Middle-Eastern flavoured guitar solo. "Midsummer Day" picks up when the drums enter, at which point it sounds very Zeppelinesque. Gets more interesting and original sounding towards the end. "A Certain Slant Of Light" starts with some great tremoloed guitar. Good bass playing at first. Awesome chorus with a great riff during it. Some good intricate guitar playing in this song. "Winter Solstice" is a nice acoustic instrumental, again very Zeppelinesque.

"Save Me" is probably the most well known song from this album. Great drumming and great singing during the chorus. "Raven Skies" is one of the better songs here. Off and on you hear the sound of some kind of Middle-Eastern wind instrument. Great chorus which features another great riff. In the middle goes into some kind of a 'Latin' rhythm. Later some spacey synth sounds before the song kicks back into gear. Some sitar at the end. "Haze On The Hills" is another acoustic instrumental, not quite as enjoyable as "Winter Solstice" though. "The Majestic Song" continues where "Haze" left off. Then full band comes in. The singing style is catchy. More intricate guitar playing.

This is my favourite album by these guys but I never thought of them as being too proggy. If you like hard rock heavily influenced by Zeppelin and Middle-Eastern music, then this may be for you. They got more popular (in Canada anyway) after this but I don't think they ever topped it. 3 stars.