STRING DRIVEN THING

First album and a complete unknown from the public since it was released on the Concord album with only 100 copies printed, which makes it one of the more expensive albums around. Fortunately for you, this album has been released in the Cd format in a compilation: The Early Years 68-72. At the time the group consisted of a trio including Scott husband and wife team Pauline and Chris Adams and 12-string guitarist Mannion. Released in 70, this album sank without a trace, but can still be of an interest to progheads even if it sounds quite different of their better-known Machine That Cried album. We have a relatively strange mix of west-coast folk rock (CSNY-type) with classic Moody Blues period intonations and some tracks come with some mellotrons, others with string arrangements. Some acid-folk vocal arrangements can make think of a cross between Spirogyra and TMB. Somehow Genesis' FGTR's sound (but poppier) is not that far away in sprit from this album as the overall arrangements can appear to burry the original ideas.

While there are some rather out of place country feels (their West Coast influences), there are many tracks that have quite a bit of charm and although not really progressive per se, they have many endearing qualities to progheads. Not quite essential, but if you are into SDT, you might want to investigate it. The bonus tracks are from home demos (of the future album to come for the most part) and some are of poor quality, but still worth a listen, but overall this is a worthy release of TRC, which is the only correct labels marketed by the SPM/WWR galaxy. For confirmed fans only, though.