BELLS, BOOTS AND SHAMBLES

After getting very excited whilst listening to the pleasant psych(acid)-folk the band created on the debut 'St. Radigunds', I was glad to find yet another vinyl reprint of Spirogyra, this time the respected third album of this English progressive/psychedelic folk group from Canterbury.

At first spin I was slightly displeased by the differences in sound and style. On the debut Spirogyra sounded wild, original, very psychedelic in an authentic way and relentless when it comes to artistic expression (almost like Comus). I loved the relentless vocals and shouts of song-writer Martin Cockerham, though I was also a bit troubled by his not so pitch-perfect abilities as a vocalist.

On 'Bells, Boots and Shambles' the band has lost its flexible sound and sounds a bit over- produced. The band's style has moved towards the neighbouring bands of the Canterbury scene with extremely tight playing, simplistic drums on almost all the tracks (by Bill Bruford) and a less troubling and exciting impact. No more shrieking violins, no more shouts. Furthermore, the reverb-folk sound was replaced by a 'dry' recording. In exchange we get to listen to a pleasant recording with most vocals being pitch-perfect, the songs concrete and professional. Luckily, Barbara Gashkin is there to save the day with great angelic vocals on most tracks and Cockerham manages to write yet some more memorable songs. The occasional trumpets of John Boyce are a good addition to the instrumental passages and the keyboards sound professional. On the tracks on which Cockerham does sing he sounds as if very deprived from his personal style, but he still manages to touch me with his lyrics. Some vocal passages on 'The Sergeant Says' and 'In the Western World' are not very beautiful, I really would have preferred the vocal style of 'St. Radigunds'.

Conclusion. Indeed another strong prog-folk record, but I must admit I'm not too happy with the choices made when it comes to how the bands sounds much less like itself then on 'St. Radigunds'. It doesn't need a wise man to tell me that I'm not the one to decided how Spirogyra should sound, but I have my intuition. However, for fans of not too psychedelic folk rock this is likely to be the most pleasant and memorable album of Spirogyra. I can warmly recommend this to fans of folk rock, Canterbury and all-round progressive rock collectors. The small four star rating.

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