JADIS

Jadis spent the 80's performing live and releasing demo tapes and by the end of the decade Chandler was surrounded by Les Marshall on guitars, Trevor Dawkins on bass, Mark Law on drums and Pete Salmon on keyboards.In 1989 the band released their self-titled first LP on Back Beat, produced by Marillion's Steve Rothery, consisting of some new tracks and old songs from the previous demos.

Side A shows the more romantic face of Jadis.Sensitive guitar work and vocals by Chandler, beautiful solos, light atmospheric synthesizers and very memorable choruses present a group with true potential.Still through this accesible approach the prog aesthetics are still evident, mainly on some of Salmon's keyboard acrobatics and GENESIS-inspired melodic approach.Side A of the LP is quite good, but the flipside is trully brilliant, opening with one of the Jadis' highlights, the fantastic ''G13'', where Chandler's guitars really shine with some ultra- melodic hooks and incredible solos.''Out Of Reach'' features again Chandler fast and furious solos next to some atmospheric synths and dramatic breaks, very IQ-sounding track of great quality.''Don't Keep Me Waiting'' goes more along the lines of Progressive Pop Rock with light guitars and a memorable chorus, though the atmosphere is really emotional.And talking about emotions the closing ''In The Dark'' must be one of the best Jadis tracks ever.Definitely among Chandler's best vocal performances with superb guitar work in the vein of STEVE ROTHERY and some flashy synths here and there.Absolutely magnificent.

This particular Jadis LP is very rare, fortunately all of these tracks made it either in a Jadis studio album or future compilation, so anyone can taste them.However anyone who owns an original copy of this first ever Jadis release should be really proud not only for its historical value but also for the highly recommended Neo Prog-oriented content.Very good.