GRACIOUS !

Since 1969 KC "in the court.", not forgetting the fantastic 1969 Colosseum "valentine suite", the progre movement took tremendous force. 1970 is a crucial year as styles were being created. Curiously one of the most glorious albums of the seminal year didn´t achieves deserved recognition to be lifted to mainstream team.

Obviously I´m talking about music creativity, richness and expressiveness in the vein of Gentle Giant and Italian Progre School. I´m not talking about bands that later got fame and success. I´m talking about the vertigo label 1970 masterpiece GRACIOUS "S/T". Looking to the external cover it remains in secret its fantastic art picture inside the fold open cover. Is it also a metaphor to the incredible music hidden in a non recognized album ?!

Why Gracious "s/t" is one of the most important and better albums ? Again we must look to history chronology (please take a look in my review about the 1986 Coda "sounds of passion"), to not get confused in giving the deserved merit to artists. Please, the cars inventors are more important than the inventors of sport cars ;-). The year is 1970 when Britain made progre birth. Hey, Gracious is previous to SPRING (****,1971)and FANTASY (***1/2,1973).

To compare with the future mainstream bands, I´d like to give my personal rate to some 1970 productions (even if I don´t hear some of them for more than 10 years), see if you agree. I know that our mood , personal taste, cultural background and knowing how to play an instrument for example, can influence in many perspectives the rating, so I´m far from being rigid : GENESIS "Tresspass" 4 ****; YES "Time and a word" 2 **; VAN DER GRAAF " H to him who am I ." 5 *****; GRACIOUS "S/T" 5 *****; PINK FLOYD "Atom Heart mother" 2 ** - ironically, I guess this was the selling top chart of 1970 among the progrees; JETHRO TULL "benefit" 3 ***; ELP "s/t debut" 3 ***1/2 stars; KC "in the wake of poseidon" 3 ***; GENTLE GIANT "S/T debut" 3 ***; CURVED AIR " air conditioning" 2 **; NEKTAR "journey to the center of the eye" 3 *** 1/2 stars; EGG "S/T" 3 ***; MARSUPILAMI "S/T" 3 *** 1/2 stars; WEB " I spider" 3 *** 1/2 stars; BEGGARS OPERA "act one" , STRAWBS "dragonfly," CRESSIDA S/T I did not had the chance to listen.

1970 progre related albums : BJH "S/T debut" 4 **** ; DEEP PURPLE "in rock" 5 ***** ( a ground break record); TRAFFIC " Joe Barleycom must die" 4 ****; SUPERTRAMP "S/T debut" 3 *** 1/2 stars.

In fact, Gracious "s/t" sounds to me like a record of the future years for its audacious, amazing, great taste for arrangements and compositions, production, uplifting humour , vocal and instrumental performances ( I love that harpsichord), they achieve magic chemistry. The 1970 "Oscar " better progre albums goes to Gracious and VDGG " H to him.", as you see above some mainstream were at that time not mainstream yet. Unfortunately, the 2nd Gracious "this is" [4 **** stars] of 1972 was not as impressive as the debut, anyway a great album, for reasons I can not understand Gracious finished their career. Thanks to all seminal bands of progre research and innovation.

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