SKY 3

When I was 20, I read an old Italian encyclopaedia of rock and I got curious about strange bands (in fact those of progressive rock), like Sky, or Van der Graaf, mixing rock music with classical music or playing strange instruments like an electric saxophone. So I looked for Sky vinyls, but they were nowhere to be found. Then one day my father took me home Sky3, who had found in Lyon, France. In that record Steve Gray entered the Sky line-up to replace the famous Francis Monkman. And so in my record collection Sky3 appears but not the first two, considered excellent.

When I listened to the album I had a lot of expectations, but I was quite disappointed even if the sound of the disc was very good, clear: unlike the wall of sound of Phil Spector, you felt very good and distinct instruments, close as if they played in front of our ears .

The short opening and closing themes (both by Flowers) are not significant. The first track is easy listening at the end; in fact, it was chosen as a single. Westwind, written by Peek, is quite good, but does not take off; and then, finally a great piece: Sarabande. Excellent. But the credit belongs to Mr. Georg Friedrich Haendel, although the arrangement of John Williams is excellent. The last song of the side A, "Connecting Rooms", by the drummer Fry, is a nice surprise: a wonderful mini suite with three movements, which goes from romantic, to sweet, to twilight, to the enthusiast. Magnificent piece, the best of the album.

The second side begins, like the first, with a well-beaten piece, then come the two compositions of Gray, which in my opinion are the weak point of the album, especially the slow and discharged "Hello". Gray does not seem particularly original and creative to me. The album is redeemed in the final with the huge circus number of "Dance of the Big Fairies", an entertaining piece with an irresistible performance of the tuba, with piano and harpsichord to delineate a folk dance, whether Greek or Arabic is not known. "Meeheeco" follows, from the Mexican inflections, another good piece (in both there is the hand of Flowers), then the final track.

The peaks of the album are Connecting Rooms and DanceBF; in the second instance Meeheeco. Sarabande is the other peak. The rest of the Lp is quite mediocre, however always dignified ... I wonder how the first two albums are with Monkman, I suppose more originals. Maybe I will find them. This is an album however discreet. Vote 7+. Three stars.