LADY LAKE

Having established their brilliance with the thrilling debut In Spite Of Harry's Toe-nail, Gnidrolog casually upped the ante with their second effort, which was also released in 1972. The multi-talented quartet of Colin and Stewart Goldring, Peter Cowling, Nigel Pegrum was boosted by flautist/saxophonist John Earle for Lady Lake, and the album they produced is a radiant one.

I Could Never Be A Soldier is a brilliant emotional anti-war epic, the zenith of the band's angst-laden lyrical themes as Colin Goldring's character moves from flippancy to an urgent plea for reason. Musically, the evoluation of the piece is astounding, a slow build-up and the volcanic eruption of emotion that coincides with its choruses, brilliant flute turns before a surprisingly brassy finish puts the lid on my favourite Gnidrolog song ever!

It might be my favourite song, but the opener does not quite win the accolade of their most beautiful track ... which goes to the second piece Ship! I defy you not to be moved by the fact that "the sons of the sons of the sons found out that the fire of the stars and the sands go out." Gnidrolog's skill in adding layer after layer of beautiful accompaniment to what might otherwise have been a simple chorus, makes for an outstanding track that thematically recalls VDGG's Refugees.

A Dog With No Collar is a brief but extremely melancholy work that seems to have been borne out of a poem ... with just four lines a powerful picture is painted. The title track is another exquisite, albeit somewhat discomforting epic that provides proof that Gnidrolog could jazz-rock with the best of them, if they so chose. A mass of aching strings and dazzling saxes this one.

My least favourite piece is probably Same Dreams which is a little bit of a glam-rock ballad ... a good enough piece, but far from Gnidrolog's best. Thankfully, order is restored with the concluding Social Embarassment which overcomes the bizarre lead vocals of John Earle to register some truly arresting jazz rock moments and a spectacular conclusion ... if you want to draw a trite comparison, it's almost like Soft Machine meets Gentle Giant!

Gnidrolog made magical music. Two albums worth of it. Track them down. ... 92% on the MPV scale