AS DAYLIGHT FADES

'As Daylight Fades' was recorded at one of Jadis' now legendary outdoor gigs in the New Forest, Hampshire, in 1996, two years prior to it's official release. Chronologically, it was recorded after the completion of the first two studio albums, but also after the departure of both Orford and Jowitt, who left to concentrate on the time consuming production of IQs 'Magnum Opus', 'Subterranea', (although Martin 'Iffy' Orford does make a guest appearance toward the end of the show, to play flute on 'More Than Meets The Eye').

The line-up on this recording was made up of Steve Hunt (Bass) and Mike Torr (Keys) who were also involved in recording 'Somersault', which was still a work in progress. As a result, it is understandable that 5 of the 7 tracks from their ground breaking debut album are employed here, with a further 3 (and probably the best) from 'Across The Water', with only the completed 'Batstein' and 'Falling Away' given an outing from 'Somersault'. As such, 'As Daylight Fades' presents us with a highly commendable live summary of Jadis' early output, at a concert which has exceptionally good production, and sees Chandler in fine form.

It may be considered a disappointment that Orford and Jowitt are absent on this recording, but frankly this is no disaster. Although Jowitt is one of prog's finest bassists, I can't help feeling that he was always under-utilised in this light, guitar driven vehicle for Chandler, while the same is true to a lesser extent of Orford, although he had a knack of allowing his dreamy keyboards to float above Chandler's licks. It might also be said that Mike Torr's backing vocals are quite weak, and not as in tune as Orford.

What is more definite however is that although 'Batstein' and 'Falling Away' are in themselves great tracks (the highlights of 'Somersault' in my view), they certainly stand out as having employed a slightly heavier, darker style with more bass, and 'crunch' in the guitar; a style which only saw brief experimentation. To sum up, of the two live offerings from Jadis, this would be the one I would suggest you go for; it's beautifully packaged, and offers an altogether stronger track listing.