NEUTRONS

Neutrons is one of those bands I've known for years, ever since I got into Man. Neutrons included future and past members of Man, like Phil Ryan and Will Youatt, Martin Wallace and Ray Williams, plus Gentle Giant drummer John Weathers (who'd join Man in the 1990s). Non Man-members included Stuart Gordon of the Incredible String Band (he was very briefly with them around 1972) and teenaged Caromay Dixon on additional vocals (she did make a guest appearance on Man's The Welsh Connection). I have been of two minds with Man, as their music seems to be that in general. I really could do without that bar band boogie stuff, but they really shine when they explore more adventurous psych and prog rock. Neutrons, at least on this, their debut albums tend more to the adventurous side of Man's sound, "Living in the World Today" could pass for something Man would do, a nice jam feel to it while "Feel" is more acoustic folk with Caromay Dixon providing additional vocals. "Mermaid and Chips" seems to be Phil Ryan's show and it's just him on keyboards and vocals, although Caromay provides additional vocals. This is nothing short of incredible, I can't get enough of this! There is a choral approach, probably influenced by the tradition of Welsh choral singing, but make no mistake, this is full-on prog. I particularly dig the organ passages. "Dangerous Decisions" is another piece that wouldn't be out of place on a Man album, particularly Back into the Future. I'm most fond of the synth solos on it. "Going to India", like "Feel" is more folk-oriented and not my favorite. Only the last piece "Snow Covered Eyes" is more in line of the Man music I don't like, the boogie-oriented material. Black Hole Star (not Sun, don't know why I have Soundgarden on my mind even I'm not a fan of theirs) is not a perfect listen but there are some great stuff to be heard and well worth hearing.

NEUTRONS were founded by keyboardist Phil Ryan and guitarist Michael "Will" Youatt, both having played on a couple of MAN albums, joined by Gentle Giant's drummer John Weathers, Incredible String Band's violinist Stuart Gordon -- who also brought his young girlfriend Caromay Dixon as an additional vocalist -- , and a couple of other chaps. The group made only two albums in their short existence in the mid-70's before Phil Ryan returned to Man and Will Youatt founded one-timer Alkatraz. Neutrons' debut Black Hole Star (1974) is very good but its follower Tales from the Blue Cocoons is slightly less inspired and less progressive. Stuart Gordon with his violin is absent on this album, and also Weathers was replaced by average drummers. Nevertheless, this is a fairly enjoyable album for a listener of the 70's psych/folk/jazz flavoured classic rock.

Ryan's work on synthesizers, piano and organ is definitely the star of the show. The opener 'No More Straight' is basically rather MAN-like, jam-oriented piece with sparse vocals, but synths are deliciously lively and comparable to MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND. 'Northern Midnight' is a nice, relaxed song with folky nuances and strong contributions from both keyboards and electric guitar. Somehow the song's atmosphere reminds me of Peter Hammill's 'Candle' in his 1971 Fools Mate album. 'Come into My Cave' remains a bit boring.

Caromay Dixon's innocently charming, folky voice has only appeared on background this far, but she sings the brief acoustic number 'Live Your Lie' and 'L'Hippie Nationale' which is musically quite dynamic and has a faint [non- symphonic] early YES vibe. 'Take You Further' has a nice jazz groove, much jazzier than STEELY DAN, as the electric piano may even bring Chick Corea to one's mind. In between vocal parts, backed up beautifully by Caromay, there are cool instrumental passages. The instrumental piece 'Welsh R. Blunt' is also very jazzy and has a Canterbury-like playful feeling. The ending song 'Jam Eaters' features Caromay again on lead vocals.

I hadn't been listening to Neutron for years. Even though I still prefer Black Hole Star, this second and last album is actually whole lot more delightful than I remembered it to be. Unfortunately it's a bit short at 35 minutes. 3½ stars rounded up.

Especially the CD containing both Neutrons albums is warmly recommended if you like the mentioned bands.

A short-lived British supergroup, formed by ex-Man Phil Ryan (keyboards, vocals) and Will Youatt (bass, guitar, vocals) along with Gentle Giant's drummer John Weathers at the end of 1973, all of them played together in Pete Brown & Piblokto! in early-70's.The three of them actually recorded Neutron's first couple of tracks (''Living in the World Today'' and ''Snow Covered Eyes'') at Rockfield Studios near Monmouth, before being joined by Martin Wallace (guitar, vocals), Taff Williams (guitar, bass), ex-The Incredible String Band Stuart Gordon on violin and female singer Caromay Dixon.The rest of Neutrons' debut ''Black Hole Star'' was recorded in mid-1974 at Chipping Norton Recording Studios and the album was released in September 1974 on United Artists.

The debut of Neutrons was a mixed bag of MAN-like artistic Classic Rock and Classic 70's Progressive Rock, apparently sounding quite charming but a bit incosistent.There are some very good tracks like the opening bluesy Progressive Rock of ''Living in the World Today'' or the instrumental ''Dangerous Decisions'', which is beautiful, high class Progressive Rock with dominant piano and synth deliveries, short but great guitar moves and impressive keyboard solos in the vein of GENESIS.''Dance of the Psychedelic Lounge Lizards'' is another piece reminiscent of GENESIS' offerings with GABRIEL-esque vocals, highlighted though by Gordon's extraordinary violin drives.''Going to India'', ''Mermaid and Chips'' or ''Feel'' are soft but not equally impressive pieces with somesort of RENAISSANCE/YES/ILLUSION feel, but while they create a very deep atmosphere, they do not seem to have something new to add to an already saturated prog scene.''Snow Covered Eyes'' and ''Doom City'' is another pair of decent pieces, good organ work strong bluesy guitar parts, drawing heavy Psych/Prog influences in the vein of MAN.

Neutron's music is well-played and executed, while some moments on this album flirt with the grandiosity of the biggest prog acts of the time.On the other hand the lack of a strong personality and the shadow of MAN's music that covers the release prevent ''Black Hole Star'' from being a trully shiny star.Still recommended if you like all kind of 70's Prog.

I had no big expectations for this band, since it's almost completely forgotten and ignored. But what a charming album! First some obligatory band info: the founding members, keyboardist Phil Ryan and bassist 'Will' Youatt had a vision of a band of their own when the latter had joined Pete Brown's Biplokto! for gigs, which group broke soon after. But before NEUTRONS started life, they both joined MAN for a couple of years/albums (and Ryan returned to MAN in 1975 when NEUTRONS broke). But this is quite a different band than the guitar-oriented MAN! More emphasis on keyboards, either organ or MMEB-style playful synths. Singer-songwriter Martin Wallace was thought to be a frontman but the album includes only one of his songs because Ryan's and Youatt's ambitions got bigger. Wallace's Eastern-flavoured 'Feel' is a folkier song than the rest, but a fairly good one, like all tracks actually. GENTLE GIANT drummer John Weathers and INCREDIBLE STRING BAND violinist Stuart Gordon were added to the line-up and they brought just the right ingredients to the whole. Gordon brought also his girlfriend, 17-year old Caromay Dixon, as an additional vocalist.

'Living in the World Today' rocks deliciously, reminding distantly PINK FLOYD's 'Run Like Hell' for the guitar riff and two male vocals singing in turns from different speakers. It and the last track were recorded before the line-up was complete and they are the most rocking ones. Elswhere you hear some psychedelia. Some tracks sound a bit like NEKTAR. Quirky 'Mermaid and Chips' is fantastic, sort of a cross between Gentle Giant and 10CC, showing in full bloom the lovely sound and style of the band. 'Dance Of The Psychadelc Lounge Lizards' is as interesting as the title! Very charming 'Going To India' sounds a bit like early (Prologue-era) RENAISSANCE, but with more tongue-in-cheek hippie feel. 'Doom City' is a bluesy song, maybe the least interesting but nice nevertheless.

So, to say that NEUTRONS were just a spin-off of MAN is a bad understatement. Their second album (still good if not as great as this) was made under worse circumstances and it sadly doesn't share the same cheerfulness, the joy of playing, as this one. They both are released as a single CD in 2003, which is very recommended.

A very great measure of gratitude goes out formally to my PA colleague "synthphony" , who has urged me to get this absolute unknown album from the glory days of the 70's and offer up some critical review of the music within. Former members of welsh rock legend Man have combined their talents with Gentle Giant drummer John Weathers and violinist Stuart Gordon (of Incredible String Band fame) among others , to dish out a debut pot-pourri of original music , lush with various moods and structures, veering into space-prog a la Steve Hillage, folk and good straight ahead rock. "Living in the World Today" is a flighty groove that has a rifling theme, jangling guitars that will eventually sear the horizon, very funky (like Chicago's "I'm a Man", ain't that a coincidence?), a superb whistling synth solo to plunge this deep into prog expanses, the bass thundering down below and the marshalling drums doing the rest. A Brian Auger inspired organ run seals the deal. Exhausting! But an outstanding track nevertheless. "Feel" relies instead on a gentler premise, a slight Welsh country/folk consideration, a loopy electric solo very close to what Hillage could weave. "Mermaid & Chips" is odd, piano dancing in dissonance with the breathy vocals , the strings sliding in and the Northettes-like female vocals. The repeated chorus is hypnotizing ("Every time I get a bit closer, I seem to get a little bit near" ) and provides a great deal of enjoyment , a definite for Canterbury fans as well as Gentle Giant (there are so many of you, hugs and kisses!). On "Dangerous Decisions", the band decide perilously to delve into even proggier attempts , a complex tapestry of insistent rhythms, slippery synths and expert soloing by Phil Ryan. Simply fantastic from first second to last. "Doom City" is another screamer, a funky urban groove, close to Manfred Mann's celebrated covers of Bruce Springsteen or perhaps even near 10CC territory but Taff Williams really lets a mean guitar rip in glowing blaze, a jewel electric guitar solo that will stick your ass to your chair. Need I say brilliant! As for "Dante of the Psychedelic Lounge Lizards" (Now THAT'S a prog title! No typo by the way, its really "Dante"!) , the violin thrashes wildly, swirling in tandem with the spacy vocals, very fun and cheery, yet completely creative and memorable. "Going to India" is amusing, a clever little ditty ("no more doctors giving us pills") hahahaha , sweetly pastoral and hippie-ish , a bluesy guitar rant and more visceral violin. Some obligatory sitar and tablas ushers this one out. Finally, we finalize the disc on another organ fueled romp, the sinuously insistent "Snow Covered Eyes", a luscious outburst where all the players excel at doing it just right.

The second album is also on this compilation, that I found by pure chance and "Tales from the Blue Cocoons" is no downgrade by any measure, the playing just as intense and groove laden, even though Weathers is now replaced by unknowns Stuart Halliday and Dave Charles on drums. "No More Straights" is exemplary of the creative juices that were pressed into this ill-fated group, playfulness combined with intelligent playing (a common context back then in the UK, with bands like Wishbone Ash, Argent, Traffic, Man, 10CC and many more). "Northern Midnight" is a masterful 6 minute piece that flies close to Hillage territory again, both vocally and instrumentally, a delicate piano musing leading into more developed circumstances, nothing overtly complex but definitely showing its 70's sheen, highlighted by two guitar solos, first by Will Youatt and then Taff Williams bleeding one in for good measure. "Come into my Cave" is a romping piece that evokes simple pleasures, again featuring dual guitar blasts from the two afore mentioned protagonists, a breezy/bluesy escapade that finds appeal immediately. The somewhat unexpected synth solo really slings this into proggy territory, showing clearly why this was not better received by the poppier crowd. "Live your Lie" has female vocalist Caromay Dixon warbling nicely between two acoustic guitar panels for a brief journey into folkier expanses. "L'Hippie Nationale" as the name implies has a hippy-trippy feel that gusts gently, hints of Caravan and Donovan in the air, pleasing in a simple sense. Back to a funkier groove (they do that very well) with the glorious e-piano leading the way on the Traffic/10CC inspired "Take you Further", 12 string guitars welding with wah-wah electric phrasings, shuffling bass and drums adding to the insistence and spotlighted by a masterful electric piano solo that will evoke smile from ivory ticklers everywhere. Another tune that needs to be appreciated by all fans. With a typical English wacky title like "Welsh R Blunt or the Dexedrine Dormouse ", you know this will a quirky slab of instrumental insanity and it is! Phil Ryan's arsenal of keyboards include synths, organ and piano to brilliant effect, recalling Dave Stewart's glory days with playful conviction ,while Taff handles the bass, rhythm and lead guitars with deserved aplomb. Very near Hatfield/National Health terrain, this is certainly inspired stuff. "The Jam Eaters" is lightweight prog-pop, organ and synths blaring brightly with Dixon swooning to the mike, the flow measured and vaporous. Nothing special for this lad. The bonus track is "Suzy and the Wonder Boy", a clear rock and roller (a hint of Cat Scratch Fever riff from "the Nuge"), bar room hilarity, raise your tepid pints boys and girls , sing along to the trippy guitar solo and honky-tonk piano. All in all, a perfect example of a "must have, no one else has", type of album that will provide tons of fun to those wishing to relive the more obscure titles from the incredible "Golden Era". I was surprised, entertained and gratified. Thank you Keith....Easily 4 egocentric molecules .

Second and sorry to say last album by the NEUTRONS, "Tales From The Blue Cocoons" took the progressive tendencies of the first album and rolled in a slightly more pop 70's feel to it. In many ways these guys remind me of art rock bands likes of PLANET P, 10CC and CITY BOY. The NEUTRONS were the genius of Phil Ryan (Organs, synths) and Will Youatt (bass, guitars) who were both part at times of the Welsh progressive giants MAN. In contrast to their debut album, "Tales.." takes on a slightly more accessible sound and a different feel with the insertion of female vocals of Caromay Dixon on several tracks. Even with Stuart Gordon and John Weathers gone in the line-up this album still carries some pretty cool GENTLE GIANT mannerisms. The album boasts some fantastic keyboard and guitar work all surrounded by some pretty clever song writing and vocalizations.

Formed with members of the Welsh Progressive Rock band "MAN", a drummer from "GENTLE GIANT" and a string player from "The INCREDIBLE STRING BAND" , The NEUTRONS were a brief stint but left behind 2 fine albums with "Black Hole Star" as the debut in review. The NEUTRONS were the genius of Phil Ryan (Organs, synths) and Will Youatt (bass, guitars) and featured GENTLE GIANT's John Weathers (drums) and "The INCREDIBLE STRING BAND's" Stuart Gordon (Strings). The end result is a mix of music which sounds a lot like a fusion of GENTLE GIANT with RENAISSANCE with 10CC tossed in. This brilliantly recorded album shines thru with a high degree of progressive emotions and prowess never getting too over the top. The fine folks at BGO Records have remastered and combined their only 2 albums on 1 long play CD which I would highly recommend you invest in.