Prog Britannia - Album Reviews

FIRST+AID - Nostradamus (1977)

Album Review #22:- The British band FIRST+AID got together  to record  their one and only album "Nostradamus" in 1977. I prophesise that if you like the sound of some overblown Symphonic Prog, then this memorable ELP-style album may be just the prescription you need. Let's open the medicine cabinet  now and see what the prog-nosis is. Will the album require medical care and attention or will it be given a clean bill of health? Well, let's find out.

"Visions"  opens the album in dramatic style and starts as it means to go on with the sombre voice of the narrator announcing, "When the two great powers of the world unite, Their greatness will be seen to grow, But their power brings fear to the East, And the man of blood is angered, Then it will begin!" ........ I don't know what it all means, but it sounds ominous. The spoken word prologue precedes the doom-laden sound of a swirling solo synth before launching into an ELP-style free-for-all where two manic keyboardists appear to be competing with each other to see who's the nimblest keyboard wizard of them all. Shades of Keith Emerson vs. Rick Wakeman. Now we come to the title track, the 6-minute-long "Nostradamus". Play it loud! This song is full of  pomp and ceremony in the best traditions of classic  Symphonic Prog in all of its glorious splendour. It's everything you'd expect, including a powerful singer, a male chorus, and two sonorous synths competing with full orchestra, which is guaranteed to reverberate around the room and rattle the windows.  If Phil Spector was a Prog-Rock producer, then this is what it might sound like. It's the prog equivalent of the "Wall of Sound". Now comes "The Awful Truth" where the listener is given a bit of a  breather when the keyboard player displays his classical credentials with this pleasant little piano interlude. The next brief tune "By Royal Appointment" lives up to its name as it sounds like the kind of dramatic fanfare that might herald the announcement of the arrival of royalty at some historic occasion. "Catherine" closes out Side One. It's an emotionally appealing and  heartfelt tribute to  Catherine de Medici, the Queen of France (1547-1559), back in medieval times when France still had a royal family.

Opening Side Two is "Two Brothers", a 6-minute long  instrumental piece with the uplifting sound of two  swirling synths playing along side by side. When the full orchestra emerges, it feels like a ray of sunshine breaking through the clouds and  bathing you in its warm glow.  Who needs lyrics anyway when the music sounds as good as this. Now follows an orchestral reprise of "Visions", a gloriously beautiful piece of music which would make a marvellous film score. This orchestral piece is full of dramatic flourishes which wouldn't seem out of place gracing the screens of a Hitchcock thriller. To round off the album in impressive style comes  the 13-minute-long opus "The Shape of Things to Come". The song title sounds dramatic and so it proves to be with the music. It's a suitably rousing song to end an epic Symphonic Prog album, with sudden shifts in tempo and time signature, so you never know quite what to expect on the first hearing. Prepare to be impressed though, because this long epic really grows on you and it's worth hearing for the stirring chorus and dramatic finale with voices from the pages of history, including Adolf Hitler and John F. Kennedy. Pretentious? Au Contraire!

This album may sound like an overblown Symphonic Prog effort to some ears, but if you like Emerson, Lake & Palmer, then this album should appeal to you. An interesting album from a historical perspective, released at a time when punk was just emerging and prog was accused of being overblown and pretentious by the snooty music press, but what do they know? Not that this album was  even noticed by many people at the time of its release. It's not an essential album, but it does have impressive power and symphonic majesty and it's definitely worth a listen. A good dose of Symphonic Prog is the best medicine. It's just what the doctor ordered!

"This Morning" opens this magnificent album in true Moody Blues style with sweeping symphonic soundscapes and the familiar heartfelt tones of Justin Hayward, as he imploringly sings, "As the dawn is breaking on your future my child, Is there none of your love alive?, If every door you open closes on me, I don't know if I can survive." The production and orchestration on this opening song is just superb. It's a masterly demonstration of the art of the producer and it sets the tone for the album as a whole, where you know you're in for a real symphonic treat. "Remember Me (My Friend)" is another magnificently orchestrated ballad with Justin Hayward's beseeching words asking, "I am your friend, You must remember me, I'm the one who saw through the world's disguise, Took away its cloak and made it hide from me, Remember me?" The lovely harmonies and sweeping orchestration are just awesome, with the trademark sound of Justin Hayward's superb guitar always there to remind you that this is really a Moody Blues album. The pace slows down a bit for the next song "My Brother", a gentle ballad with those Oh-So-Beautiful harmonies at the forefront again and masterly orchestration from producer Tony Clarke. who also produced all of the Moody Blues albums between 1967 and 1979. Continuing this magic carpet ride on a symphony of sound is "You", a romantic song of love gone sour with these words from balladeer Justin Hayward, "You don't even know my name, Time was when you would take the love you've given all away, Take a part of me, You don't even walk my road, Can't find where you turned, Looked away and you were gone." ..... These are the kind of melancholy heart-wrenching songs that have become Justin Hayward's trademark speciality and his beseeching voice always has that urgent emotional appeal that never fails to tug at the heartstrings. "Nights Winters Years" rounds off Side One in magnificent style. It's a fully orchestrated symphonic epic in the style of "Nights in White Satin", only more so. If you haven't been transported to a magical place before now, then this song will take you there. Prepare to be amazed by this epic production of dynamic proportions! Side Two opens with the most up-tempo rocker on the album, the uplifting "Saved by the Music", although the song does have its quiet reflective moments too. "I Dreamed Last Night" follows next. This sweeping symphonic masterpiece is another emotional rollercoaster ride, guaranteed to tug at the heartstrings with its tale of lost love, where Justin Hayward opens the song with these imploring words, "Oh, I dreamed last night, I was hearing, hearing your voice, And the things that you said, Well, they left me, left me no choice." There aren't many singers of Justin Hayward's calibre who are capable of pouring so much emotion into a bittersweet romantic ballad. "Who Are You Now" is a nice gentle acoustic guitar-driven ballad with the ever- present lush orchestration from Moody Blues producer Tony Clarke. You'd have to be as emotionless as Mr. Spock in Star Trek not to be touched by the powerful emotional appeal in all of the heartfelt songs on this wonderful album. If you're in the mood for some full-blown classically inspired symphonic music, then "Maybe" this next song is for you. Just lie back and let this beautiful music carry you away to an ocean of harmonic serenity. This is the music that dreams are made of. Finally, we come to the album closer, "When We Wake Up" which seems an appropriate title, bearing in mind coming to the end of this album is like waking from a beautiful dream. As you'd expect from two-fifths of the Moody Blues, this is a full-on symphonic masterpiece of lush orchestration with everything but the kitchen sink thrown into the mix.

This is truly an outstanding album which reaches the parts that other albums fail to reach. "Blue Jays" is an album that's guaranteed to linger longer in the memory with its timeless romantic ballads with everlasting appeal for generations to come. If you're a hopeless romantic, or just hopeless at romance, then this is the album for you. An absolute must-have album for any fans of the Moody Blues. In comparison with other Moody Blues albums, this solo endeavour from Justin Hayward & John Lodge ranks as one of their finest albums. This album is a master-class in production technique and represents one of the pinnacles of classic 1970's Symphonic Rock.

"Space Hymns" - The final frontier! Prepare to blast off into orbit with an out-of-this-world collection of 11 devotional space- themed songs where Ramases boldly (or baldly!) goes where no album has gone before. The countdown has begun..... Five!.....Four!.....Three!.....Two!.....One!.....We have lift-off!..... Launching us into orbit in spectacular style on this 11-stage rocket is "Life Child", which opens in suitably atmospheric style with some spacey sound effects. The spaced-out song takes us on a wild acid guitar trip, where the singer tells us with a religiously-inspired passion for the environment that..... "The sun is fading from Your city, Life Child, From where I stand it ain't so pretty, Life Child, I see Your sun is going down, I see Your wreckage on the ground, Life Child, Your seas are full of poisoned water, Life Child......" Taking us through the stratosphere and up into orbit comes "Hello Mister", which sounds like a devotional Hare Krishna chant, with the title words of the song chanted seemingly ad finitum, although that's no bad thing. Achieving orbit now, and along comes Space Hymn No. 3, "And the Whole World", another Hare Krishna inspired song with the pleasant harmonies blending nicely with the gentle sound of the acoustic instruments. You can almost picture the singers gathered half-naked around a campfire at night with their eyes pointed towards the heavens. "Quasar One" continues our journey around the Earth in similar devotional style with much chanting and featuring a whole jamboree of acoustic instruments. "You're The Only One Joe" follows next, where the only lyrics are the song title repeated endlessly for 2 minutes, which does become rather repetitive and you're left wondering who on Earth Joe is. The next song "Earth People" features a beautiful female vocal lead and represents one of the highlights of the album. It's a delightful song to listen to at night with the lights turned down low where you can be carried away into a higher orbit, or failing that, you can drift off to sleep and have pleasant dreams of drifting through endless space with the magnificent Earth down below. The next song "Molecular Delusion" is probably the most religious-inspired of all of the Space Hymns on the album. It's an acid-tinged song George Harrison might have recorded during one of his more meditative moments after visiting the Indian guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Next up is "Balloon", where the singer imploringly sings "Don't burst your bubble, or you're in trouble." which doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but who cares, because it's a fun lyric and a great song. The intriguingly titled "Dying Swan Year 2000" is a short little a capella album filler before "Jesus Come Back", an unapologetically devotional song that wears its religious heart on its sleeve with these words, "Have you got fears for the future, my friend Jesus, Jesus come back". It's *almost* enough to turn a confirmed atheist into a devout follower of Jesus. Who needs Jehovah's Witnesses knocking at their door when there's devotional music as good as this to inspire you!? Finally, we return to Earth with "Journey To The Inside" to close out the album. It's a weird 6-minute-long, drug-induced acid trip, which is nothing less than you'd expect from a religiously-inspired album drenched in psychedelic colours.

If you want to get all religious without going to church and fancy listening to some gentle and devotional Prog-Folk songs with a sprinkle of psychedelic flower-power, then this is the album for you. The album will have special appeal if you like the idea of dancing naked around a tree under a star-filled moonlit sky with some flowers in your hair. "Space Hymns" features enchanting harmonies and various acoustic delights designed to transport you to musical heaven on Earth.

Album Review #14:-  THE GODS featured an impressive line-up of musicians. First and foremost, there was keyboard wizard Ken Hensley, the powerhouse and driving force behind Uriah Heep. And then there was legendary guitarist Mick Taylor, a member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1967-69) and the Rolling Stones (1969-1974). Lee Kerslake played on drums, who later went on to achieve success in Uriah Heep with Ken Hensley. Greg Lake, of Emerson, Lake & Palmer fame, was also a member of THE GODS for a brief time. The line-up for this first album "Genesis" consisted of:-  John Glascock  (bass, vocals); Ken Hensley  (keyboards, guitar, percussion, vocals); Joe Konas  (guitar, vocals) & Lee Kerslake  (drums). THE GODS released a second album in 1970 "To Samuel a Son" before disbanding. As might be expected from a band led by keyboard maestro Ken Hensley, the "Genesis" album is a keyboard driven Heavy Prog album of impressive driving power, very much in the style of early Uriah Heep. If this was a Uriah Heep album, then it would surely rank as one of their finest albums. There were four bonus tracks included in the 1994 CD reissue of the album.

This album ROCKS!! "Genesis" is an album that's meant to be played LOUD and proud, so fasten your seatbelts, lock up your daughters, and prepare to hear some impressive keyboard histrionics from Mr. Ken Hensley! Music maestro please! The album opens in powerful take-no-prisoners style with "Towards the Skies", with the heavy keyboard sound of Ken Hensley very much at the forefront. The singer has a powerful emotional urgency to his voice and there's some wild guitar riffs thrown in to the mix too, All in all, it's a magnificently powerful album opener which really means business and hits you for six with its raw power, The listener is given a bit of a breather with the slower-paced "Candles Getting Shorter", although the song still maintains the band's heavy rock credentials. Just when you thought it was safe to lie back and relax though, "You're My Life" hits you with its pounding drum rhythm and freaky guitar breaks with the vocalist going hell-for-leather and giving the song everything he's got and more besides, very much in the style of David Byron of Uriah Heep. And if you thought that was good, you ain't heard nothing yet (to paraphrase Mr. Bachman, Mr. Turner & Mr. Overdrive), because along comes "Looking Glass", a real highlight of the album with soaring vocals and the keyboard-heavy sound that Uriah Heep fans have grown to know and love. The impressive singer really reaches those HIGH notes on this song, without the aid of helium,  and you really have to hear it to believe it! Next up is "Misleading Colours",  a heavy bluesy number of impressive power. Side Two opens with "Radio Show", an all-out rocker to get the feet tapping and set the heart pumping.  If you heard this for the first time in the late 1960's, you might even have been inclined to do some head-banging before head-banging had even been invented. "Plastic Horizon" is Song No. 8 which sounds like one of Uriah Heep's slower-paced numbers, although no less impressive, especially for Uriah Heep fans who will surely love it. Next up comes "Farthing Man" a bright and breezy upbeat Pop song,  which is undoubtedly the least-heavy song on the album. It's the kind of catchy late 1960's Pop song that might have done well in the charts, had it been released as a single. The penultimate song "I Never Know" is the longest song on the album at over 5 minutes long. It's a moody and atmospheric number where Ken Hensley and guitar player Joe Konas are given the chance to stretch their musical muscles with some truly outstanding keyboard and guitar motifs, not to mention the singer, who always puts all of his emotion into every song on this outstanding album. As might be expected from an album of such impressive majestic power, the closing song of the album "Time and Eternity" is another powerhouse performance from the combined might of four very accomplished musicians at the top of their game.

This impressively powerful and awe-inspiring keyboard-driven album will appeal especially to fans of early Uriah Heep. The "Genesis" album gives a superb foretaste of the powerhouse keyboard-driven sound still to come from Ken Hensley, who would go on to  delight fans during his legendary Uriah Heep years. If you're looking for the Best of British late-1960's Proto-Prog, then look no further. "Genesis" is an outstanding album for Heavy Prog fans everywhere!

The sound of Illusion's "Out of the Blue" album is as quintessentially English as a game of cricket with a cream tea and a scone on a pleasant English summer's day. The album opens in magnificent style with "Isadora", a beautiful, yet hauntingly- atmospheric 7-minute-long song of love. Jim McCarty is on lead vocals with Jane Relf providing sweet harmonies on backing vocals. There are some lovely long classical motifs from classically-trained pianist John Hawken and the song features a nice electric guitar break in the middle section. The song concludes in fine style as the vocal harmonies and gentle piano drift away into the distance in the fade-out. The second song "Roads To Freedom" is a bright and breezy up-tempo number with the melodious honeyed voice of Jane Relf on lead vocals. There's some charming classical-style piano playing again from John Hawken on this lively and uplifting song with Jim McCarty harmonising beautifully with Jane Relf as the song plays out. The next song "Beautiful Country" is a real highlight of the album. This lovely song features these charming lyrics:- "Beautiful country, Your mountains of heaven, Your glistening rivers a twisting away, Beautiful givers of summer's white kisses, Boldly for winter we want you to stay, I well lay me down upon the soft solid ground of this land." ........ It's an enchantingly beautiful melody which leaves one feeling spellbound and captivated with delight. There are Jane Relf's marvellous vocals at the forefront with the haunting sound of the tinkling piano and the ghostly Mellotron in the background. This is gorgeous music to drift away to at night underneath the bedcovers with the lights turned down low, where you can forget your cares and worries for a brief time. In complete contrast, the next song on the album "Solo Flight" is a real fast-paced rocker featuring Jim McCarty on vocals. In fact, the contrasting styles of the album are part of what gives the album its lasting appeal. Side Two opens with "Everywhere You Go", a bright and lively up-tempo song with the adorable voice of Jane Relf on lead vocals again and featuring superb piano accompaniment and orchestration. "Face of Yesterday" opens with a classical solo piano piece in the style of J.S. Bach. The song is another stunningly beautiful melody, full of charming English splendour, as Jane Relf carries you away to a warm and pleasant place with a voice as sweet as sugar. The album concludes in suitably exuberant and lively fashion with the 7-minute-long all-out rocker, "Candles Are Burning". The song features a grand finale with a full orchestra and choir to round off this superb album in grand and spectacular style.

An essential album for fans of early-era Renaissance which has stood the test of time.

KHAN - Space Shanty

1. Space Shanty

Album Review #10:-   Khan were a short-lived Canterbury Scene band who got together to record one outstanding  album "Space Shanty"  in 1972 before breaking up shortly afterwards. The band featured guitar legend and singer Steve Hillage, who later went on to success with Gong as well as having an illustrious solo career following the release of his first album "Fish Rising" in 1975. On keyboards was Dave Stewart (not to be confused with guitarist Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics), a distinguished keyboard player who was a member of the Jazz-Rock bands,  Egg,  Hatfield and the North, National Health, and Bruford, at various times during his long career. He also played together with Steve Hillage on the Arzachel (Uriel) album in 1969. Dave Stewart later worked with Barbara Gaskin (formerly a member of Prog-Folk band  Spirogyra) and they teamed up to achieve single success in 1981 with "It's My Party {And I'll Cry If I Want To). The bass player on Khan's "Space Shanty" album was Nick Greenwood, a member of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, and on drums was Pip Pyle, a talented drummer who went on to be a member of the Canterbury Scene bands,  Gong, Hatfield and the North and National Health. The "Space Shanty" album contains six long epic pieces of diverse music  of between 5 and 10 minutes duration, consisting primarily of a heavy prog, hard-rocking  sound, interspersed with some quirky Jazz-Rock passages and  quieter melodic moments, Khan sound like a heavier version of Caravan in places, and all the better for it too. "Space Shanty" is a very gratifying album to listen to as a whole and warrants repeated listening to truly appreciate the musical delights on offer here. The 2005 CD reissue of the album contained two bonus tracks.

"Space Shanty"  opens in spectacular style with the title track, a song of awe-inspiring power and versatility, demonstrating the musical prowess of the four talented musicians to the fullest extent. This is Prog-Rock at its absolute best: heavy and loud and proud and displaying breath-taking musical virtuosity, guaranteed to leave the listener enthralled and astounded at the same time. Next is "Stranded", a beautifully melodic song which warms the heart with its lush harmonics and emotionally charged vocals. The song features an intricate, instrumental Jazz-Rock break to delight and entertain the listener. This memorable song represents another perfect demonstration of the musical virtuosity of these four amazingly talented musicians. Song No, 3 "Mixed Up Man of the Mountains" continues the album in similar epic and dramatic style, with a powerful Hard Rock sound combining well together with some complex Jazz-Rock sequences. Side Two opens with the longest song on the album "Driving To Amsterdam", a 9-minute-long song which displays its Canterbury Scene credentials to the fullest extent, with a heavy "Caravan-esque" Jazz-Rock sound and featuring some masterly guitar riffs and keyboard virtuosity from the combined talents of Steve Hillage and Dave Stewart. The penultimate song "Stargazers" is another heavy Jazz-Rock number with some interesting changes of time signature and dramatic changes of pace. "Hollow Stone" brings this memorable album to a suitably impressive close with emotionally wrought vocals and a spectacularly heavy and powerful sound, very reminiscent of some of Uriah Heep's epic songs.

The "Space Shanty" album is a classic which has stood the test of time, and still sounds as fresh and original today as it did at the time of its release way back in 1972. Thanks to ProgArchives and YouTube, this album is now receiving the acclaim and recognition it truly deserves. "Space Shanty" will delight and astound Progressive Rock lovers everywhere with its awesome power and virtuosity. It's an absolutely essential album for any discerning collector of classic early 1970's Prog-Rock.

CRESSIDA - Cressida (1970)

Album Review #9:-   Cressida are a group of five accomplished musicians who got together in London in the late 1960's to form a band. The band  initially called themselves "Charge" before changing their name to Cressida. They released their self-titled debut album in 1970 and a further album "Asylum" followed in 1971 shortly after the break-up of the band. The "Cressida" album is full to the brim with complex changes of time signature, soaring emotional vocals, impressive Hammond organ virtuosity and wild guitar solos. The album contains 12 diverse songs, ranging from short Jazzy numbers, melancholy ballads, and all-out symphonic masterpieces. The melancholic singer sounds remarkably  similar to  Justin Hayward in places and the album is guaranteed to appeal especially to fans of the Moody Blues and any collectors of classic Symphonic Prog generally.

The album opens impressively with  "To Play Your Little Game", featuring plaintive vocals and a beautiful organ solo before launching into some fast-paced Jazz-Rock played  in an unusual time signature. "Winter is Coming Again" is a pleasant sounding melody, featuring a wild psychedelic guitar and Hammond organ solo in the middle section.  "Time or Bed" opens with an acoustic guitar before transposing into another up-tempo Jazz-Rock number in an irregular time signature. The title track "Cressida" is probably the most Jazzy track on the album with an upbeat Jazzy 5/4 time signature. "Home And Where I Long To Be" is a beautifully complex song, and ranks as one of the most impressive numbers on the album with it's sudden changes of tempo, soaring vocals and virtuoso Hammond organ and guitar accompaniment. The song is very much in the style of the Moody Blues and would deserve pride of place on any of their albums. "Depression" is a very fast-paced song, very reminiscent of one of the Moody Blues rockier numbers. Side Two of the album opens in similarly impressive style with the jaunty song "One of a Group" with the sound of the Hammond organ very much at the forefront and featuring a brief fuzzy guitar solo with a few Jazzy piano motifs included for good measure. The eighth song on the album "Lights on My Mind" is an up-tempo rocker with some bright and breezy Hammond organ playing and another far-out fuzzy guitar solo. "The Only Earthman In Town" begins with a haunting refrain and launches into some dextrous and intricately fast-paced organ-playing. Track 10 "Spring '69" is a gentle melody featuring a solo acoustic guitar which blends in nicely in between the orchestral and Jazzier numbers. The penultimate song on the album "Down Down" opens with a beautiful organ solo and features the haunting sound of the Mellotron. The song has several interesting changes of pace throughout and includes a Jazzy interlude. The album concludes in full grandiose splendour with "Tomorrow is a Whole New Day", a song very much in the symphonic style of the Moody Blues classic "Night in White Satin".

This is a superb album  of musical virtuosity featuring a very talented group of musicians. The album should delight Symphonic Prog lover's everywhere,  It should also appeal to any aficionados of early Jazz-Rock with special appeal to fans of Justin Hayward and the Moody Blues symphonic sound. It's no exaggeration to say this album is a masterpiece and it deserves repeated listening to fully appreciate the beautifully complex nature of the twelve well-crafted songs. There's an abundance of melancholy melodies, fast-paced Jazz-Rock songs and grand masterpieces of symphonic virtuosity to entertain and enthral the listener in equal measure and it's an essential album for any classic Symphonic Prog collection.