IRISH COFFEE

For my money this is a very good piece of early heavy prog. It's in line with the style of Deep Purple, Atomic Rooster, and many of those, with a distinct early-UFO twinge to it in many of the tracks. A track such as Can't Take It is very heavy, and a number that any hard rock fan wouldn't hesitate to raise their fist and twirl their hair to. The majority of the record, however, is in a more melancholic tone, often slow but rarely mellow, driven by the excellent Hammond organ sounds of Paul Lambert, whose death shortly after the release of this album was apparently a major reason for the band's dissolution, likely causing their modern obscurity. Lambert plays in that excellent style that some like Jon Lord and Vincent Crane are known for, simultaneously carrying and filling out the rhythm of the track, whilst also inserting frequent heavy riffs and virtuosic licks to add the "flow" that often takes a group like this over the top from being just another heavy rock band to being something very enjoyable to listen to in its own right.

The crunchy, distorted guitar and passionate vocals keep the sound very heavy despite slow tempos and emphasis on song-writing. Competent musicianship all around, although at times the lead guitar can sound a little cold and repetitive, but still imaginative and pleasurable most of the time.

A very nice heavy prog album. In terms of the progressive side there's not a whole lot of unexplored territory being charted here, but the execution is strong and makes up for that. Recommended.