THE LUCK OF EDEN HALL

The Luck of Eden Hall may not be a band that will appeal strongly to those who listen exclusively to progressive rock, but if you have a taste for psychedelic rock as well as rock from the late 60's and early 70's in general this is a band that needs to be placed high on your list of artists to check out. "Victoria Moon" is as good a starting point as any other with this band. They are known for releasing consistently high quality material, and this CD is no exception.

Vintage oriented psychedelic rock with a firm orientation back to the late 60's and early 70's is what The Luck of Eden Hall provides on their latest studio effort "Alligators Eat Gumdrops". Not an album for those who seek out bands trying to challenge norms and conventions, but a charming acquaintance those with an interest in psychedelic rock from yesteryear should find satisfying. Especially if occasional details reminding of later day Beatles are seen as a positive detail.

Personally I think the cover versions are the most intriguing ones on this occasion. It's not a case of superb versus mediocre though, but more a case of superb and very close to that. The cover of The Doors Crystal Ship kicks off in an elegant manner, with gentle guitar licks backed by Mellotron and half spoken vocals on top, with psych dripping guitar intermissions and concluding with a majestic assembly of Mellotron and psychedelic guitar details.

US band SRC are given a run next, and in this take at least Black Sheep comes across as a song with a distinct 60's beat influence hiding beneath dark toned droning guitars and majestic, flamboyant organ motifs, complete with a nifty and effective psychedelic guitar solo in the middle.

Of their own originals, I found Bangalore to be on par with the opening two pieces, again with something of a 60's beat music feeling hiding somewhere and perhaps primarily in the vocals department, with an effective blend of chugging 70's style hard rock type guitar riffs and a brilliant recurring sitar motif as the key elements and contrasts of this fine piece. Concluding effort This Is Strange didn't impress just as much, the effects treated verse arrangement and gently psychedelic laced recurring guitar solo feature well planned and executed but not quite managing to conjure a magical experience out of this late 60's oriented heavy psychedelic construction.

Overall this is a very strong production, among the most interesting releases that Fruits de Mer Records have issued so far in their existence. At least of the ones I've had the pleasure to experience so far.