MANDALABAND II - THE EYE OF WENDOR: PROPHECIES

My comments are based on the original LP. One problem is that projects like this take so long to brew, that by the time they are released, they are almost passe by definition. Such was the case here, as the album did not see release until late 1978, when apathy towards prog was only exceeded by apathy towards pretentious concept albums.

Despite and perhaps partly because of the all star cast, cohesiveness is lacking, and, rather than subtle purposeful contrasts, we see bipolar mood shifts in a lot of the material. The best here is top notch neo prog before its time - in particular the powerful one-two punch of "Florian's Song" and "Ride to the City" on side 1, and "Witch of Waldow Wood" and "Silesandre" from Side 2. Lush atmospheres and compatible vocals a la 10CC meets BJH. Actually, it is 10CC meets BJH.

Contributions from Maddy Prior and Justin Hayward are also valuable if not stellar, but the rest is definitely overblown, particularly the last few tracks, where we start wishing for any ending, even a tragic one.

So, a mixed bag. The Eye of Wendor is definitely in the second tier of the multi-artist extravaganza's that were thrown together frequently during the 1970s.