LADY LAKE

A gem of an album that definitely flew under the radar in my day and yet the opening epic, "I Could Never Be a Soldier" (11:39) (10/10), was so familiar to me when I first heard this album a few years ago. It must have received some air play on the local album rock radio stations in Detroit to which I listened. (I actually believe that a local cover band played it during the first dance concert that I ever attended in the seventh grade. The band also played "Maggie May" "Aqualung," "Locomotive Breath," and "(I'm Your Captain) Closer to Home.") The band had some very talented instrumentalists--though the flutist and bass player stand out most for me.

Many of the songs have most excellent horn play--often by multiple horns, one or two soloing, and a horn section supporting the rhythm sections.

2. "Ship" (Colin Goldring) - 6:44 (9/10) 3. "A Dog With No Collar " (Stewart Goldring) - 2:09 (9/10) 4. "Lady Lake" (Peter "Mars" Cowling, Stewart Goldring) - 8:53 awesome jazz-oriented song that turns into a Hammill-VDGG-like insidious slow build to crescendo piece. (9/10) 5. "Same Dreams" (Colin Goldring) - 2:49 (8/10) 6. "Social Embarrassment" (Peter "Mars" Cowling, Colin Goldring) - 6:30 a pre-Henry Cow idea of avant-garde craziness? (8/10)

An excellent album that deserves more attention. Great arrangements, great sound reproduction and engineering, with the rendering of some very creative ideas. A 4.5 star album that I'm bumping up for the sake of exceedingly high creativity.