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Direct Link To This Post Topic: Comus appreciation thread
    Posted: March 13 2018 at 02:28
There were earlier Comus-threads, but you canīt write them anymore, so I started a new one. To me Comus has been among Caravan and Faust some of the really great bands I have started to listen quite recently. I have known existence of these bands and really wanted to listen them, but just havenīt got earlier time. I think Comus is possible the most underrated progband, really hadnīt got enough respect itīs time, although reviewers liked them, also I think havenīt got enough it this time. Although First Utterance is the greatest, I really love all of their albums, specially I was really suprised how great their later Out Of the Coma is, one of the greatest old prog bands new albums! And really doesnīt low my respect they made only three albums, I think itīs better high quality with only few albums than low quality with large discography. Of course it wouldnīt be impossible, they would have make many great albums, if they just had more possibilities to that.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2018 at 06:29
Is it really so that hereīs no love to Comus?
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2018 at 07:26
I guess Comus is the biggest of the minor cult-bands* on PA and First Utterance is about the ultimate (prog)cult album. I guess its somewhat quiet because you came a little late to the party. The aforementioned album was slaughtered by critics and forgotten back in the early seventies - but post internet/Prog Archives its not overlooked or underappreciated anymore as its 14th on RYM's 1971 albums with over 6000 ratings and 271 reviews. That's actually higher placed than classics such as:

Histoire de Melody Nelson
Pawn Hearts
In the Land of Grey and Pink
Nursery Cryme
The Yes Album
There's a Riot Goin' On
Journey in Satchidananda 

*=not as big as Magma, Can, Residents etc... bands with large discographies.

I love them for their debut album and Diana EP alone + they were absolutely insanely fantastic live. But I hate their follow-up To Keep From Crying... Out of a Coma is ok but too conventional, straightforward and predictable for me to really care/revisit. 



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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2018 at 07:46
I appreciate spinning 1st Utterance every once in a (long) while but I don't have much to say about it.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2018 at 08:37
I love Comus. I like all three studio albums very much and adore bonus tracks such as "Winter is a Coloured Bird" (were I to pick one Comus favourite song, this would be it), "All the Colours of Darkness" and "In the Lost Queen's Eyes" (my favourite release I have of the band is Song to Comus).

First Utterance is one of the greatest cult albums there is in my opinion and it attracts both love and loathing -- gets very strong reactions. I find "Drip Drip" rather sickening, and some can't stomach the album at all. There are those that say that great art inspires extreme feelings, love and hate, exultation and revulsion, First Utterance is one of those albums.

I think of To Keep From Crying as an underrated album. I like it a great deal, and the songs "To Keep From Crying" and "Children of the Universe" are superb to me ears (just for those alone I would appreciate the album), but Touch Down", "Waves and Caves", and the bluesy "Get Yourself a Man" are also highlights for me.

I like Out of the Coma plenty too. My favourite song off it is the gorgeous "The Return" -- although I would rather oboe or perhaps bassoon in it to saxophone -- love the saxophone but it just doesn't quite work her that well for me. I do wish that they'd come up with a studio recording of "The Maalgard Suite" -- it's wonderful, but the recording quality is poor.

I'm going to lazily post a review I wrote of To Keep From Crying as I want to say more, but lack time:

To Keep From Crying might just be the antidote some of you need from the dirtiness you feel from having listened to "Drip Drip".
If I were the tearful type, I'd say that all the disdain this album gets has barely kept me from crying. I wish more people would join the light side of Comus while still appreciating the dark side. Not only do I think that this album does not get enough respect from those who love First Utterance, but I wish that it got more attention from those who hate Comus based on the rather dark and disturbing, pagan themed conceptual album called First Utterance.

To Keep From Crying is a fun and I think dynamic album that I have recommended to various people who loathe Comus because of First Utterance, and while none of my attempts have so far worked, you can't Keep me From Trying. It's not necessarily that I think that they will like this album, but I want to show people that there is another gentler and happier side to the group. I hear Comus called by people who are not referring to the first album specifically but to the group generally, disturbing, gross, vile, soul destroying and gut wrenching. Generally these people have no familiarity with To Keep From Crying and so it doesn't even factor into their views of the band -- it's like the album doesn't even exist since it's so overshadowed by its sinister older sibling. But beyond that, I look at First Utterance in much the same way as watching a horror film or reading a horror novel.

First Utterance has a concept, and a creepy one at that. I think some who could easily take watching a film that has such themes and would not assume that the filmmaker is someone who condones brutal behavior have a harder time with music that deals with the same subject matter. Like lyrics are supposed to be authentic and heartfelt and not fictitious or something. Just because one writes about defiling a virgin in song, poem, novel or film does not mean that one condones the act, nor does listening to it or reading it mean that you condone it. And just because you tell a pagan story does not necessarily make you a pagan -- I mention this because some religious people are offended by it, and think it's Satanism. Sure, some might say that you're sick for being entertained by it or writing about it, but that's another angle. Incidentally, I think that the film The Wicker Man with its pagan themes works well with First Utterance (and I recommend the soundtrack to folk lovers who love pastoral music with creepy undertones). And no, I have not forgotten that I'm here to talk about To Keep From Crying, but it is hard not to compare it to First Utterance, and for me too when I first heard To Keep From Crying I couldn't help but compare it to the debut, and while I was pleasantly surprised by To keep From Crying because I had low expectations, it did seem on the whole a poor follow-up album. It's over the years that I've come to rate To keep From Crying much more highly and think that it's a very good album in its own right.

So... some are highly critical of the band Comus based solely on First Utterance, while others are highly critical of To Keep From Crying based on their love of First Utterance. Comus is losing out either way. I think each is very good in its own way, and in the ways that they overlap since despite the differences, both albums have musical similarities.

Like the earlier Comus album, this album also has plenty of beauty and a level of eccentricity. Like with F.U. the vocals on To Keep from Crying will grate with some at times. Yes, this is not the acid folk masterpiece that First Utterance is, the direction has changed, but there's still plenty to love in this album. Some of the music on this album would not be musically out of place on F.U. To Keep From Crying is not a harrowing experience, nothing wrong with up-beat, and there is much for varied tastes to enjoy.

From the moment I heard this album I thought the songs "Children of the Universe" and "To Keep From Crying" absolutely terrific which mix beautiful folk with an electrifying rock dynamic, and have fabulous build-ups. Five star songs. Wonderful! I also loved "Touch Down", "Waves and Caves", and the bluesy "Get Yourself a Man" is for me a real treat. That's already most of the album, but I didn't like the rest of the album much. As the years passed I found that I really like the whole album, and I appreciate the contrasts in the album. There's more going on in this album than you might notice at first -- it's not some lame slice of commercial pap, though it is more commercial than F.U. It is a different beast. The To Keep From Crying beast wants to be played, cause to not play it would make it sad, but doesn't want to play, play, play with you in a most bestial manner.

For those that hear this album sl*g.ed by fans of First Utterance, and those that automatically dismiss Comus because of some songs on First Utterance (shame on those who can't appreciate the pastoral and rather creepy beauty of "The Herald" at least ;) ), please give the To keep From Crying album a chance before you judge the album based on what you've heard or before you judge the band harshly overall due to thematic perceptions.

I actually have this album on Song to Comus, and appreciate it even more there for how it contrasts with the music of First Utterance -- dark versus light. For those that don't have this or First Utterance, If you can get your hands on Song to Comus, that is better than getting this alone. The bonus tracks on that album alone are stunning, and you don't know Comus until you've heard "Winter is a Coloured Bird" and "All the Colours of Darkness".

The music on this album is essential to my music collection... It's also one of those albums that I don't want to end, partially because it ends so wonderfully with the song "To Keep From Crying".

Edited by Logan - March 14 2018 at 08:38
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2018 at 08:58
Big fan of First Utterance, radically different, angular & edgy with tortured vocals, love it. Less a fan of the second album. The recent album was 'interesting' I could put up with the sound quality of the old live material. The new material wasn't bad, could have been longer.

If I'm in the mood for this kind of thing then First Utterance is the the go to album.


Edited by Nogbad_The_Bad - March 14 2018 at 08:59
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2018 at 09:25
This is the kind of band that you love or hate. Personally I
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2018 at 09:52
Never quite understood what people found so repulsive about First Utterance. A brilliant psych-folk album imo.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2018 at 11:11
Originally posted by Larkstongue41 Larkstongue41 wrote:

Never quite understood what people found so repulsive about First Utterance. A brilliant psych-folk album imo.
If anything, I would think its in the pre "death" growling vocals. The music, though it's weird, is quite pastoral and well played.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Edited by SteveG - March 14 2018 at 11:15
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2018 at 11:47
^Yes...some nice folky prog going on but some of the vocals are a bit hard to deal with.
IMO...it's one of those prog things that gets too much acclaim.....it's simply not that great.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2018 at 12:50
Originally posted by dr wu23 dr wu23 wrote:

^Yes...some nice folky prog going on but some of the vocals are a bit hard to deal with.
IMO...it's one of those prog things that gets too much acclaim.....it's simply not that great.
The demonic vocals, the instrumentation, the energy and intensity, the raw beauty - there's nothing quite like it. Its one of those prog things that deserves all its acclaim... but the music is obviously just not right up your alley/not for you.   
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2018 at 13:01
First Utterance is nearly pure excellence all the way through. Their second is basically the opposite of that. Their third is in-between, but certainly closer t the bottom. 

All that said, my collection would be incomplete without FU. 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2018 at 14:20
In regards to First Utterance - the 2nd track ‘The Herald’ is out of this world !! The other cuts don’t quite live up to the excitement I get from this piece, but still an excellent album.
To Keep From Crying is way different, but has some outstanding songs - Touch Down is my favourite.
The bass playing is superb on this album. And they had Keith Hale on keyboards - he did a stint with Hawkwind later on !

Edited by Tom Ozric - March 14 2018 at 14:22
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2018 at 19:18
Originally posted by Saperlipopette! Saperlipopette! wrote:

Originally posted by dr wu23 dr wu23 wrote:

^Yes...some nice folky prog going on but some of the vocals are a bit hard to deal with.
IMO...it's one of those prog things that gets too much acclaim.....it's simply not that great.
The demonic vocals, the instrumentation, the energy and intensity, the raw beauty - there's nothing quite like it. Its one of those prog things that deserves all its acclaim... but the music is obviously just not right up your alley/not for you.   

It's  all so subjective......isn't it? And you know what they say 'opinions are like.....well... you know the rest.

;)
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2018 at 21:15
First Utterance and Diana are brilliant - really love it. 

I need to listen to the other albums more before I fully make up my mind on those.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2018 at 21:39
Despite the bad recording quality, I've gotten a lot of mileage out of "The Malgaard Suite." It's a real shame the original studio recordings were scrapped.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2018 at 23:54
Originally posted by Logan Logan wrote:

I love Comus. I like all three studio albums very much and adore bonus tracks such as "Winter is a Coloured Bird" (were I to pick one Comus favourite song, this would be it), "All the Colours of Darkness" and "In the Lost Queen's Eyes" (my favourite release I have of the band is Song to Comus).

First Utterance is one of the greatest cult albums there is in my opinion and it attracts both love and loathing -- gets very strong reactions. I find "Drip Drip" rather sickening, and some can't stomach the album at all. There are those that say that great art inspires extreme feelings, love and hate, exultation and revulsion, First Utterance is one of those albums.

I think of To Keep From Crying as an underrated album. I like it a great deal, and the songs "To Keep From Crying" and "Children of the Universe" are superb to me ears (just for those alone I would appreciate the album), but Touch Down", "Waves and Caves", and the bluesy "Get Yourself a Man" are also highlights for me.

I like Out of the Coma plenty too. My favourite song off it is the gorgeous "The Return" -- although I would rather oboe or perhaps bassoon in it to saxophone -- love the saxophone but it just doesn't quite work her that well for me. I do wish that they'd come up with a studio recording of "The Maalgard Suite" -- it's wonderful, but the recording quality is poor.

I'm going to lazily post a review I wrote of To Keep From Crying as I want to say more, but lack time:

To Keep From Crying might just be the antidote some of you need from the dirtiness you feel from having listened to "Drip Drip".
If I were the tearful type, I'd say that all the disdain this album gets has barely kept me from crying. I wish more people would join the light side of Comus while still appreciating the dark side. Not only do I think that this album does not get enough respect from those who love First Utterance, but I wish that it got more attention from those who hate Comus based on the rather dark and disturbing, pagan themed conceptual album called First Utterance.

To Keep From Crying is a fun and I think dynamic album that I have recommended to various people who loathe Comus because of First Utterance, and while none of my attempts have so far worked, you can't Keep me From Trying. It's not necessarily that I think that they will like this album, but I want to show people that there is another gentler and happier side to the group. I hear Comus called by people who are not referring to the first album specifically but to the group generally, disturbing, gross, vile, soul destroying and gut wrenching. Generally these people have no familiarity with To Keep From Crying and so it doesn't even factor into their views of the band -- it's like the album doesn't even exist since it's so overshadowed by its sinister older sibling. But beyond that, I look at First Utterance in much the same way as watching a horror film or reading a horror novel.

First Utterance has a concept, and a creepy one at that. I think some who could easily take watching a film that has such themes and would not assume that the filmmaker is someone who condones brutal behavior have a harder time with music that deals with the same subject matter. Like lyrics are supposed to be authentic and heartfelt and not fictitious or something. Just because one writes about defiling a virgin in song, poem, novel or film does not mean that one condones the act, nor does listening to it or reading it mean that you condone it. And just because you tell a pagan story does not necessarily make you a pagan -- I mention this because some religious people are offended by it, and think it's Satanism. Sure, some might say that you're sick for being entertained by it or writing about it, but that's another angle. Incidentally, I think that the film The Wicker Man with its pagan themes works well with First Utterance (and I recommend the soundtrack to folk lovers who love pastoral music with creepy undertones). And no, I have not forgotten that I'm here to talk about To Keep From Crying, but it is hard not to compare it to First Utterance, and for me too when I first heard To Keep From Crying I couldn't help but compare it to the debut, and while I was pleasantly surprised by To keep From Crying because I had low expectations, it did seem on the whole a poor follow-up album. It's over the years that I've come to rate To keep From Crying much more highly and think that it's a very good album in its own right.

So... some are highly critical of the band Comus based solely on First Utterance, while others are highly critical of To Keep From Crying based on their love of First Utterance. Comus is losing out either way. I think each is very good in its own way, and in the ways that they overlap since despite the differences, both albums have musical similarities.

Like the earlier Comus album, this album also has plenty of beauty and a level of eccentricity. Like with F.U. the vocals on To Keep from Crying will grate with some at times. Yes, this is not the acid folk masterpiece that First Utterance is, the direction has changed, but there's still plenty to love in this album. Some of the music on this album would not be musically out of place on F.U. To Keep From Crying is not a harrowing experience, nothing wrong with up-beat, and there is much for varied tastes to enjoy.

From the moment I heard this album I thought the songs "Children of the Universe" and "To Keep From Crying" absolutely terrific which mix beautiful folk with an electrifying rock dynamic, and have fabulous build-ups. Five star songs. Wonderful! I also loved "Touch Down", "Waves and Caves", and the bluesy "Get Yourself a Man" is for me a real treat. That's already most of the album, but I didn't like the rest of the album much. As the years passed I found that I really like the whole album, and I appreciate the contrasts in the album. There's more going on in this album than you might notice at first -- it's not some lame slice of commercial pap, though it is more commercial than F.U. It is a different beast. The To Keep From Crying beast wants to be played, cause to not play it would make it sad, but doesn't want to play, play, play with you in a most bestial manner.

For those that hear this album sl*g.ed by fans of First Utterance, and those that automatically dismiss Comus because of some songs on First Utterance (shame on those who can't appreciate the pastoral and rather creepy beauty of "The Herald" at least ;) ), please give the To keep From Crying album a chance before you judge the album based on what you've heard or before you judge the band harshly overall due to thematic perceptions.

I actually have this album on Song to Comus, and appreciate it even more there for how it contrasts with the music of First Utterance -- dark versus light. For those that don't have this or First Utterance, If you can get your hands on Song to Comus, that is better than getting this alone. The bonus tracks on that album alone are stunning, and you don't know Comus until you've heard "Winter is a Coloured Bird" and "All the Colours of Darkness".

The music on this album is essential to my music collection... It's also one of those albums that I don't want to end, partially because it ends so wonderfully with the song "To Keep From Crying".
Great post! I was preparing to myself when listening first time To Keep From Crying that I will be disappointed. But I really like that album too, although of course didnīt think itīs the same kind of masterpiece as First Utterance. Also I really like Out Of Coma, not again as great as the first, but really great album when thinking itīs made old progband (only progbands that come into my mind that have done also really great albums in the older age are Haikara & Faust).

Also, what is not yet mentioned here is how delightful voice Bobbie Watson has! If I was a young man and she too, I would try to marry her just because her voice (I have same thoughts also towards P J Harvey, Kate Bush, Sandy Denny, Jacqui McShee & Janis Ian). Itīs also amazing how her voice is still great in Out Of Coma!

And yet about possible hate of First Utterance, because I really canīt understand lyrics while I am listening if I donīt have lyric sheet with me, itīs very little rough I have found from First Utterance. And really specially "the Herald" is just absolutely beauty to me!
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 30 2018 at 08:34
I met Bobbie a few years ago, she's lovely, plus a friend of mine played violin in the band when they played in Scandinavia & Japan.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 30 2018 at 13:08
Someone burned me a whole bunch of cdrs years ago of mostly obscure prog/proto prog and "first utterance" was one of them. I'm sorry to say that I was not very impressed. Still, I will probably buy an official copy one day just to have it in my collection. I have since given away all those cdrs. 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 30 2018 at 13:12
Originally posted by Stool Man Stool Man wrote:

I met Bobbie a few years ago, she's lovely, plus a friend of mine played violin in the band when they played in Scandinavia & Japan.
Oh, I am jealous to you!
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