MULGRAVE STREET

On the previous album, they had dropped the "Amazing" in the album title. This seems to have been done at some level as a tribute to John David Gladwin who had left before it. Gladwin was the major writer during the "Amazing" period and it was he who imparted the Elizabethan folk feel to the first 4 Amazing Blondel albums. Yet the Blondel album seemed to be operating on reserves from the previous era. For "Mulgrave Street", we see a major transformation.

Amazing Blondel is now a much less distinctive soft rock band with folk underpinnings, with Eddie Baird taking over almost all the writing and singing. Think the gentler works of the latter day Beatles for an idea, with some early 70s influences. While they are backed by former members of Free about to become members of Bad Company, the first evidence of the amplification occurs in the last song of side one after a few fairly mundane tracks. "Hole in Your Head", is a hard bluesy rocker with impressive leads by Paul Kossoff. That turns out to be atypical of the album, which returns to side 2 mellow again but with much stronger material.

"Help Us Get Along" definitely has a soft Bad Company feel to it, not surprisingly given the presence of Mick Ralph, Simon Kirke and Boz. "See em Shining" is a lilting gentle piece, while "Love must be the best Time" is a ballad with a lovely melody, but the real winner is Wincott's "Goodbye our Friends", which is a superb folk rock parting song featuring wonderful vocals, bass and piano playing.

While this isn't progressive by any yardstick, it does grow on the listener, and that is always a high commendation. Blondel wasn't so amazing anymore, but good songwriting is good songwriting, and they had it in spades even without Gladwin.

To tell the truth, I have never been amazed by this band. Purely folkish with no prog so far is the conclusion I have come up with after having reviewing their first five albums. To tell you that this one is different is maybe not the truth.

Still, the opening and longest number of this work is quite enjoyable and features some fine mood changes. Vocal arrangements and melody are also on the rendezvous during "Iron and Steel Leader of the Band". But that's how good this album is.

The problem is what comes next: a combo of two minutes' songs with little savor to be honest. Easy listening music, fully acoustic of course. It is quite difficult to take one song out of the spectrum and praise it.

The pop/folk "Help Us Get Along" just adds grain to the mill. But I am afraid that the remaining songs from this work won't take you to heaven. OK, not to hell either because melodies are crafted ("Love Must Be the Time of Your Life") but so childish?But that's how the overall mood sounds about ("Sad to See You Go") for example.

This is subpar "Crosby, Stills & Nash" or "Simon & Garfunkel". But these are of course icons to which "Amazing Blondel" doesn't belong. Two stars as far as I am concerned.