SEVEN SECRETS

Some reviewers consider the second album by this Genesis-influenced Irish band a disappontment after the debut Future Legends (1973). I'm not quite sure where I stand. It is pleasant in its hurriless, pastoral approach, but admittedly it's quite uneven and feels lame here and there. In my opinion the band strongly improved on their next two albums, both in songwriting and in production. My favourite Modern Masquerades (1975) was excellently produced by ex-Crimson Ian McDonald.

The fascinating cover art for Seven Secrets was again done by vocalist-bassist Peter Farrelly. The 8½-minute opener 'Faced With Shekinah' I am now listening for the first time, from YouTube; I have the rest on the 2-cd compilation It's All Up Now, as it contains all four albums nearly completely. The long instrumental intro with a brief citation from Händel (if I remember right) isn't very convincing, but the song turns out to be surprisingly powerful and close to the style of the debut. Someone mentioned Trespass (1970) by Genesis. Think of the songs 'Looking for Someone' or 'The Knife'. 'Wise As Wisdom' has some atmospheric vocal harmonies amidst instrumental-oriented prog. There's some boring repetition too in the playing; with just a couple of minutes shorter it would be a great track.

'White Eyes' is pretty mellow, otherwise nice but the instrumental final section repeating the same laid-back theme for a couple of minutes gets boring, as if the band had suddenly totally lost direction but they had to reach seven minutes anyway. 'Garden Lady' (the B side opener on a vinyl) is a highlight, and it features a fine electric guitar solo from Vincent McCusker. However, some editing would have done good for this 9-minute composition too, to avoid a sense of aimless wandering at times. 'Three Spires' is a serene, folky acoustic song featuring a nice string arrangement especially at the beginning. I like this emotional song!

The album is mostly composed by McCusker. Keyboardist Stephen Houston is credited for 'Elizabeth' that kicks off with a very lively string section. A nice, classically flavoured song, but as the album in general, not entirely free of dull wandering here and there. The little acoustic end piece, 'The Seventh Secret', is marred by the irritatingly phoney old man's narration. This interesting album of pastoral prog has so many weak spots and a rather weak production that I can't rate it higher than three stars.