IN SPITE OF HARRY'S TOENAIL

Well, this comes advertised as a complex and medieval,a blend of GENTLE GIANT, VDGG and JETHRO TULL. And so it is. The playing is at a high level, but this is a difficult listen at times.There are no synths or organ on this release. Now the follow up record "Lady Lake" is a phenomenal recording while this one is rough with grating vocals at times. An adventerous and challenging album to say the least.

"Long Live Man Dead" is divided into two parts.The first section opens bombastically with vocals. Not a fan. What follows instrumentally is great. The second part comes in at 4 minutes and is pastoral with gentle guitar and flute. Reserved vocals 6 minutes in. A powerful sound before 8 minutes turns to a calm before it ends. "Peter" opens with what sounds like a party as flute and violin take over. Sombre vocals and acoustic guitar come in. Not a fan of this dirge. It blends into "Snails" which is better with those outbursts of sound that come and go. The aggressive vocals and guitar are a highlight on this album after 5 minutes as odd-metered drumming and dissonant sax follow. Nice.

"Time And Space" opens with gentle guitar, flute, recorder and vocals. Drums and a fuller sound before 2 minutes as horn and flute follow. Not a fan of the vocal style. Nice instrumental section 5 1/2 minutes in. I'm not a big fan of the flute and vocal sounds 7 minutes in. "Who Spoke" is pretty much acoustic guitar and fragile vocals. "In Spite Of Harry's Toe-Nail" opens with flute and gentle guitar. The vocals are so much better on this one which makes a big difference in my enjoyment of it. The vocals stop 2 1/2 minutes in as guitar and drums take over. Great passage ! The tempo picks up before 4 minutes as bass and drums stand out. Harmonica before 5 minutes with some beautiful guitar a minute later that goes on and on to the end of the song. Amazing.

It certainly takes longer to digest this album and appreciate than the followup, but it's worth the patience.