MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

Jadis' first proper album - the earlier self-titled release was actually a collection of demo recordings, produced by friend of the band Steve Rothery - is a charming collection of guitar-focused neo-prog tracks. The main driving force for the band is Gary Chandler and his guitar playing, with loyal drummer Steve Christey on drums on all their releases and a number of different bassists and keyboardists drifting in and out over time.

In the case of this album, the band were lucky enough to have Martin Orford and John Jowitt of IQ as guests to round out the lineup - Jadis having befriended IQ as a result of numerous gigs as support act to them, and the album itself was the first release on Orford's Giant Electric Pea label.

The end result sounds an awful lot like a sunnier, more optimistic version of early IQ, with perhaps a bit of influence from IQ predecessor band The Lens, but I wouldn't say this is purely down to Orford and Jowitt's presence. Gary Chandler is very much the primary soloist and spotlight instrumentalist on the album, with Orford's keyboard work only creeping in here and there to provide a little texture, and his guitar style is rather reminiscent of Mike Holmes' work in IQ and The Lens. In particular, both Holmes and Chandler seem to be greatly influenced by Steve Hackett's work of around the time of Spectral Mornings and Defector.

The end result is an album which is a real treat for fans of prog guitar, particularly recommended for those who are into early IQ and the better Hackett solo works. That said, it's far from perfect - Chandler's vocals, in particular, are a little weak, and indeed the album would have probably been stronger had it been an all-instrumental affair. But even with this taken into account, More Than Meets the Eye is in my reckoning easily the best Jadis album; I don't particularly feel the need to spin it very often, but if you want to see whether the sunny world of Jadis is for you then it's probably the best entry point.