Prog Britannia - Album Reviews

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.

FANTASY - Paint a Picture (1973)

Album Review #7:-   The five-piece English band Fantasy released their fittingly-titled debut album "Paint a Picture" in 1973. The album displays beautiful symphonic soundscapes of dramatic complexity, featuring charming organ and elaborate Mellotron melodies to make a masterpiece album of the era. The album featured seven bonus tracks in the re-mastered CD version released in 2005. "Paint a Picture" passed by virtually unnoticed at the time of its release, which is a shame, considering  it's a beautifully-produced album which deserves far more recognition than it's received. The album is so uplifting and inspirational to listen to that it could almost belong in the religious section of a record store. Fantasy followed it up with an equally good album in 1974 titled "Beyond the Beyond" which wouldn't see general release for another 18 years. Their third and final album "Vivariatum" (1994) was up to a similarly high standard of musicianship and all three albums should appeal greatly to fans of early Genesis.

The album opens in dramatic style with the title track "Paint a Picture". The song features the magnificent  distant-sounding rock organ, together  with emotionally uplifting vocals and a gently rising crescendo of sound which puts the listener in an ebullient mood and makes a perfect introduction to what is a marvellous album. The second song on the album "Circus" continues in considerable style with some echoey-sounding vocals, intricate guitar playing and powerful drumming backed by the beautiful symphonic sound of the Mellotron. Track 3 "The Award" features plaintive-sounding vocals combined with a gentle melody which gathers in intensity as the song progresses. The song is another memorable addition to a fine album. Track 4 "Politely Insane" is an upbeat and uptempo number which chugs along joyfully at an impressive pace with some strident guitar chords. In a pleasant contrast of style, the next song  "Widow" is a brief, gently melodic lament, as the song title implies, and nicely fits into the album as a whole. Track 6 "Icy River" is another memorable number with plenty to keep the listener entertained, including heavenly vocals, the ever-present sound of the powerful rock organ and some skilful and melodic guitar leads. Track 7 "Thank Christ" continues in similar fashion with a feel-good, uplifting sound and featuring some stylish vocal harmonies. Track 8 "Young Man's Fortune" is a real powerhouse of a song, featuring  a throbbing rhythm section and sonorous organ playing. The album returns to a mellower mood in the first half of the  penultimate number "Goblin Song", coming to life in marvellously-uplifting style for the finale. The final song "Silent Mine" features a religious-sounding organ combined with ethereal vocals to produce a very memorable conclusion to a superb album as a whole.  

This melodic masterpiece of an album deserves pride of place in any Prog-Rock enthusiast's music collection. It's an album of contrasting  styles which never fail's to maintain the listener's interest. A classic example of early-1970's English Symphonic Prog at its best.

The epic album opener "I'm on My Way" is the highlight of the album. It's a hauntingly atmospheric song with a deliciously slow build-up after a deceptively quiet beginning. The spacey song features a delicately-played Hammond organ, laid-back acid guitar riffs, steady drumming, haunting ethereal voices and some atmospheric sound effects. The memorable song explodes into a full bore psychedelic jam of dramatic intensity around about the 9-minute mark, which should delight fans of way-out Acid Rock. Track 2 "Poor Lady" is a pure out-and-out rocker which maintains the fast pace from the previous song. Track 3 "Walk on the Bad Side" starts quietly with a gentle melody before bursting into life with some heavy guitar riffing and fast and wild Hammond organ-playing. Track 4 "Woman of a Thousand Years" is another up-tempo number with the ever-present Hammond organ blending nicely with acid guitar riffs and powerful drumming. Track 5 "Change Me" is one of those powerful and dramatically memorable songs that could have gone on to become a classic if it had received some radio airplay. Track 6 "It Takes a Woman" is another fast-paced Hard Rock song with a change of pace at the end to keep things interesting. Finally, this brings us to the second epic song "Birth, Life & Death" to play out the album. Everything is thrown into the mix for this song, including frantic Hammond organ-playing, wild psychedelic guitar riffs and a pounding drum beat, and the song also features a dramatic change of pace midway through, before concluding with a tremendous crescendo of sound. It's a perfect ending to a classic album.

This memorable album grows on you with repeated listening and it should appeal to any fans of British Psychedelic Rock.