AERIE FAERIE NONSENSE (1983)

Against the constant rise of the Punk and Disco movements, The Enid were determined to create high-quality music adventures and the 1977 sophomore effort of the band ''Aerie Faerie Nonsense'' is the best proof.However the release of ''In the Region of the Summer Stars'' brought also some line-up changes.Glen Tollet had left and the band welcomes Charlie Elston, who would spent short time with The Enid due to his difficulty to learn the keyboard parts.Neil Kananagh would also quit, replaced initially by Jerry Tranter and later by Terry Pack.The original vinyl LP was released on BUK Records/Honeybee.

This is an equal mixture of Classical Music and melodic Symphonic Rock with Robert John Godfrey showing his love for Wagner and Rachmaninov, featuring extended piano interludes and complicated orchestrations.The short ''Prelude'' gives rise to the nice ''Mayday Galliard'', which is a beautiful piece of soft Classical Music and Progressive Rock with some great and melodic guitar work by Stephen Stewart.The following ''Ondine'' is a mellow, dreamy, short instrumental, mainly based on soft piano and light keyboard parts, that hardly causes the attention of the listener.But the upcoming ''Childe Roland'' finds The Enid in their extreme venture.Bombastic, complicated and haunting Classical moves mixed with fiery guitar parts, including some lovely solos, and virtuosic piano arrangements by Godfrey, this track epitomized Classical/Symphonic Rock at its best.''Aerie Faerie Nonsense'' is of course highlighted by the long 17-min. epic ''Fand'' of the flipside, which is no more or less than an extended version of what The Enid presented so far, still pretty cohesive.Alternation between grandiose Classical overtones and melodic Symphonic Rock with excellent guitar parts, lots of well-crafted interplays and an overall tight mix of smooth Classical soundscapes with intense rockier moments is what ''Fand'' offers to a listener ready to face a unique cinematic experience.

The album was re-recorded and re-released in 1984 by a slightly different The Enid line-up, so the band could distribute the album on their own forces through The Enid label.It features an extended version of the album with sometimes different track titles.Due to the reworked and longer new versions, the tracks have a more apparent Classical influence, which maybe confusing for the traditional Prog listener, and thus the original 1977 version is stronger recommended as a more balanced work overall.

''Aerie Faerie Nonsense'' is a great piece of cinematic and grandiose Classical/Symphonic Rock.Fans of the style already own the album, the rest of the prog audience should give The Enid's a chance for their unique Prog stylings...3.5 stars.