JULIAN'S TREATMENT

The "First Chapter: First Prophecy - First Oracle" opens forbiddingly to the haunting ethereal sound of Savarin's solo organ. The music has a very dark and doom-laden atmosphere with vocalist Cathy Pruden announcing ominously:- "Out of the cinnamon sky a face appears, Out of the tamarind byre, come darkest fears and the first prophecies." ..... The portentous doom and gloom ambience sounds very foreboding and it's enough to send a shiver up the spine and give you a touch of the heebie-jeebies, a bit like a well-known Bee Gees tribute band. The "Second Chapter: The Coming Of The Mule" is magnificent. Watch out though, because this is an angry mule with attitude! It's a vibrant keyboard piece featuring some outstandingly powerful guitar outbursts which kick like a recalcitrant mule. This incredible music picks up in pace midway through and thunders along to the finish-line like a runaway express train. The "Third Chapter: Phantom City" does indeed sound like a train rumbling along down the tracks at full-speed ahead. The pulsating music barrels along relentlessly with the wailing vocals of Cathy Pruden sounding like she's on some weird psychedelic acid trip. This express locomotive song is loaded with so much speed and incredible energy, you feel as if the "train" might be derailed at any moment. The "Fourth Chapter: The Black Tower" slows down the pace slightly, but there's still enough latent power and energy contained within this awesome music to illuminate a lighthouse with one million candle power. The powerful combination of Julian Jay Savarin's tremendous keyboards and Cathy Pruden's incredible vocal range are what really lifts this music into higher out-of-this-world realms. After all, this IS a science fiction themed album where the music sounds just as fantastic as the fantasy sci-fi storyline. The "Fifth Chapter: Alda, Dark Lady Of The Outer Worlds" is a magical mixed bag of tricks, featuring quiet and introspective keyboard pieces combined with wild dynamic outbursts of raw energy and power with Cathy Pruden's incredible vocals soaring right up into the stratosphere and beyond. In the words of Hawkwind, this stunning album debut represents "Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music! There's a complete change of pace for "The "Sixth Chapter: Altarra, Princess Of The Blue Women", a beautifully laid-back Jazzy number with some charming honey-coated vocals from Cathy. The haunting other-worldly music sounds like it could have come straight out of a 1960's sci-fi movie. This gorgeous music is simply sublime!

Side Two opens with the "Seventh Chapter: Second Prophecy - Second Oracle", a haunting piano and organ prelude with a dark foreboding atmosphere where Cathy Pruden ominously warns us again:- "Out of the cinnamon sky a face appears, Out of the tamarind byre, come no more fears." ..... Spooky! The "Eighth Chapter" is divided into two 3-minute parts:- "Part One: Twin Suns Of Centauri" and "Part Two: Alkon, Planet Of Centauri". Part One is a heavenly celestial organ piece with occasional dynamic outbursts of reverberating guitar. Part Two represents a complete contrast though, where the music suddenly bursts into life with latent energy and vigour and where Cathy's incredible vocals take us on a wild psychedelic acid trip across the universe. The "Ninth Chapter: The Terran" is a storming Jazz-Rock keyboard instrumental that thunders along at lightning speed. This is the kind of barrelling powerhouse Rock music that might inspire you to skip the light fandango, and turn cartwheels across the floor, although try not to do yourself an injury. The "Tenth Chapter: Fourth From The Sun" is obviously a reference to the planet Mars. It's another boisterous and rollickingly good Jazz-Rock number, but We all know by now there are no such things as Martians, but Cathy is convinced she's "The daughter of the fourth from the Sun" and who are we to argue? After all, this was 1970, long before probes landed on the surface of Mars and proved beyond reasonable doubt that we weren't going to have a War of the Worlds-style Martian invasion any time soon. The "Eleventh Chapter: Strange Things" takes us on a magical journey across time and space into another musical dimension. We're on a TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimension in Space) ride back in time to 1970 for an explosive rabble-rousing burst of high-energy Rock & Roll. Set the controls for the heart of the Sun, because we're coming to the end of our wild intergalactic ride across the universe now with the final "Twelfth Chapter: Epilogue - A Time Before This". This nine-minute-long stellar masterpiece is an ecstatic galactic, psychedelic pleasure trip back in time of truly epic proportions. This incredible album of Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music has gone into orbit and achieved instant five-star status with this fantastic out-of-this-world conclusion.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, came an album of such awesome brilliance, it shone like an exploding supernova. "A Time Before This" IS that album!

Laurens Hammond was a natural born inventor: at the age of 14 he had already designed a system for automatic transmission for automobiles, at just 17 years old he successfully claimed his first patent for a barometer, and during the years Hammond created an array of other inventions, from clocks to cinema's first 3D glasses. But we progheads are of course very grateful for Hammond his invention of the electric tonewheel organ , this distinctive and powerful keyboard turned out to be pivotal for the development of the progressive rock. How would, to name a few, The Nice, ELP, Yes, Focus, Trace, Earth & Fire, Uriah Heep, Deep Purple, Brian Auger's Trinity and Camel have sounded without the Hammond organ? And on a smaller scale the Hammond organ was very important for the socalled Early British Progressive Rock movement: bands that made very melodic and harmonic progrock featuring an omnipresent Hammond organ sound, from Rare Bird, Bram Stoker and Fields to Quatermass, Beggar's Opera and Gracious. And Julian's Treatment, in this review I would like to put the focus on this interesting band, and their second album entitled Waiters On The Dance, from 1971.

The prime mover of Julain's Treatment was Julian Savarin who was born in Dominica. He moved to the UK in the early Sixties and was impressed by the London music scene. Soon Julian decided to found his own band, in order to start his ideas about a science fiction trilogy he was working on. He began rehearsing with the musicians John Dover (bass), Del Watkins (guitar), Jack Drummond (drums) and Cathy Pruden (vocals). In june '70 the label Youngblood released their first album A Time Before This. But due to problems with management, promotion and money Julian's Treatment had to demise. Julian returned to writing, concentrating on the second part of his trilogy he had in mind. But one year later Julian was approached by Birth Records to make a new album and Julian decided to form a new band, with only bass player John Dover from the first line-up. Other musicians of Julian's new band were Nigel Jenkins (guitar), Roger Odell (drums) and Jo Meek (vocals). In 1973 the second album Waiters On The Dance was released, not credited by Julian's Treatment but Julian Jay Savarin. Again, there was a total lack of promotion and exposure. Nowadays these two albums are very highly priced collector items. But we don't have to worry about what happened to Julian, he has became a famous writer. First in Japan and later worldwide he succesfully published lots of novels, for instance Waterhole, The Quiraing List, Naja and Hammerhead.

But back to themusic on Waiters On The Dance (1971), remarkably is that the new female singer Lady Jo Meek her voice is pretty similar to former singer Cathy Pruden, perhaps a bit more crystal clear and less 'occult inspired'. Four of the six tracks contain a catchy mid-tempo, powerful female vocals, harder-edged electric guitar and a propulsive rhythm-section: Stranger (subtle strings arrangements and piano work),The Death Of Alda (nice colouring with Mellotron brass and violins and exciting break featuring powerful drum beats and a fiery guitar solo), Cycle (fluent Hammond solo with hints from Brian Auger and jazzy guitar play) and Soldiers Of Time (layers of Hammond).

The two longer compositions are more varied, elaborate and adventurous. First Child Of The Night 1 & 2. The start is Vintage Keyboard Heaven: majestic Hammond waves with the Leslie tremolo sound and Mellotron flute, first soaring and then gradually more lush to a sumptuous outburst, goose bumps! Then flowing shifting moods between slow, hypnotizing and bombastic, with a long and raw guitar solo (accompanied by swelling Hammond) and a final part with exciting work on the Hammond and Mellotron, along harder-edged electric guitar work. This is all topped by splendid vocals, perfectly matching with the different climates. And second my highlight, the instrumental Dance Of The Golden Flamingoes: a very dynamic and compelling atmosphere, halfway a mindblowing Hammond solo (great use of the drawbars to create different moods), followed by a fiery guitar solo and in the end bombastic with a breathtaking Hammond ' and Mellotron sound. To me this evokes Japanese Cosmos Factory (psychedelic Hammond climate) and Museo Rosenbach (a blend of glorious Hammond and Mellotron eruptions), again goose bumps! Listening to this captivating composition I wish that he had written more of that kind of long Hammond drenched tracks, alternating between rock and psychedelia, with a running time of only 31.23 that should have been possible, perhaps an Esoteric reissue?

This second album is superior to the a bit more 'embryonal' sound of his debut album and especially recommended to the Hammond aficionados. But also to progheads who are into the unsurpassed 'aural warm bath' late Sixties/early Seventies sound, by Hammond inspired bands like Rare Bird and Bram Stoker, and Dutch prog pride Earth & Fire.

On the surface this album has Always provided the things I love the most about early progressive music. There's the Hammond organ, obviously, and it comes in abundance. The glorious Power of the ever so Mighty organ strikes down like the hammer of the Gods. Then there's the fuzzed out guitar, the sort of dry drum sound and great bass playing. To top things off the singer, lady Jo Meek, offers great passionate vocals. Oh, and then there's the sci-fi or fantasy lyrics. Just amazing.

But then I sort of grew tired of it. I now know that I did not spend as much time listening to all the songs as I did with the opening, Child of the night 1&2. Now there's a song, ef ever there was one. Dramatic and climatic with an organ that simply overwhelms you. Now, the years passed and listening to the album seemed less important. But then I picked it up again and to my surprise I found it was way better than I remembered.

Apart from the amazing opener the remainder of the album is really outstanding. The music shifts and turns but retains the overall feel. I will not go through every track but "Dance of the golden flamingoes" is really Worth mentioning. It is by far the heaviest track on the album with a brutally simple but effective riff played by the guitar. It's got some of that groovy sound of London in the early 70's but not without a serious amount of prog. The ending "Soldiers of time" leaves the listener in a desire for more but from what I can gather Julian Jay Savarin never made another album, which is a shame.

If you are into early 70's prog rock with fantasy lyrics, demanding but not that overly complex, this album is a real treat. Earthy, powerful, emotional, dramatic, surging and passionate. Great stuff and one of my favorite albums. My love for it endured and grew over time. Top stuff.

Here's how I felt Waiters on the Dance improved on A Time Before This: more mature compositions, and that groovy '60s vibe has been thankfully toned down (that groovy '60s vibe on A Time Before This got me thinking of the 1968 movie Barbarella, even though the music on that film was basically easy listening kitsch and nothing like Julian's Treatment). The music takes on a harder edge, with more upfront guitar, but Julian's organ is ever present and recognizable as ever, and what I really love is he includes the Mellotron on half the songs, and does it quite nicely. Favorites of mine include "Child of the Night 1 & 2", "The Death of Alda", "Cycle" and "Soldiers of Time". "Cycle" has an organ that reminds me of the intro to Web's "I Spider" (the title track from the 1970 album of that name), but faster pace, and I love that jazzy break (almost reminds me of the Doors' "Light My Fire" with Brian Auger-like jazzy Hammond organ playing).

What I also love of Waiters on the Dance is the cover. Had I seen this in the flesh at some record store, I would have not hesitated to buy a copy (had this been 1971, that is, unfortunately I wasn't alive in 1971, the prices asking for an original these days are downright criminal - thank God for reissues). I am not familiar with Julian Jay Savarin's novels, I do know that both A Time Before This and Waiters on the Dance were part of his Lemmus trilogy. Regardless, of the two that became albums, I definitely prefer Waiters on the Dance, it's great stuff I highly recommend.

''A time before this'' is a charming British Proto-Prog/Psychedelic Rock gem, where Savarin's mood for cosmic, jamming and atmospheric music eventually surfaces via the emerging progressive scenery, as the album is dominated by his work on Hammond organ and his tendency towards sinister MARSUPILAMI-like psych manifests and THE NICE-inspired semi-Classical piano and organ smashing.Cathy Pruden's beautiful voice adds some sort of CURVED AIR/RENAISSANCE touch to the music, although the Classical influences are rather limited and the organ-driven jams appear to be a regular commodity beween Savarin's ideas.So, what you'll get here are some long, instrumental organ-based pounds, which still contain a nice intellectual depth, lots of dreamy female voices, which sometimes turn into dramatic and crying performances, and some fantastic flute drives by Del Watkins, the man oddly will become more known for his impressive flute improvisations throughout the album than his reduced guitar chops.Concept helps the album pass through different climates, from discreet Classical preludes to powerful organ waves and from narcotic psychedelic deliveries to some harder parts with a more pronounced electric guitar.Breaks and tempo variations are strong components of Savarin's story as well as the storytelling lyrics with the 9-min. title-track summing up what this band was all about, an extended psychedelic jam on guitar, flute and Hammond organ with scratching parts and vocal-centered themes.

Very much a product of its age, which still owns a respectable place among the early-70's British Proto-Prog albums.Loads of Hammond organ, fiery grooves and some great, driving flute soloing.Recommended.

Musically, "A Time Before This" is a mix of 70s prog and psychedelic rock. Everything sounds very spacey and or mysterious. The organ and flute solos are done quite well, and they are very mystical and fantastical in their presentation. The guitars have almost a hard Hendrix feel to them, though less technical. They certainly aren't the dominant instrument, as everything works really well together. The band plays really well off of each other. Also, some really strange song structures, such as on "The Coming of the Mule", complement the music seriously. Lastly, Cathy's vocals are female to the core: very powerful with a slightly hardened edge to them, but also somewhat faint in the mix. Much of the album is instrumental, but we are blessed with her interesting vocal style often enough.

The theme here is really weird. Just strange. We get to hear all about Altarra, the blue-skinned goddess/princess and the fantasy world in which she lives and rules. Now, I don't know about you, but I like fantasy and sci-fi. But this album seems more like an acid trip talking than a serious musician or author writing lyrics. The keyboardist, Julian Savarin, was a sci-fi author, and so he wrote this compelling work of fiction from his strange imagination. The funny thing is that they work. No matter how strange this album is, it works pretty well. I wouldn't call this a masterpiece. Maybe not even excellent. But I would call it a very strong 3 star album that is worth listening to soon.

Julian Savarin, musician and writer of science fiction, is the author of one of the the most striking albums of the early '70s. "A Time Before This" is an interesting "sci-fi opera" with characters such as Alma, Dark Lady of the Outer Worlds, and Altarra, blue-skinned alien princess. Musically, the entire album is based on the organ played by Savarin, while other instruments like flute and guitars do not have the same relevance. The warm and bluesy female vocals of Cathy Pruden is perfectly in tune with the band's psychedelic approach; without doubt the interpretation of the singer makes an important, perhaps crucial added value to the album.

Not always the music is extraordinary, but much of the album is extremely enjoyable. Although the length of the record, the listening is pleasant and surely not too challenging, often based on rather catchy organ riffs.

All songs are played in psychedelic/jazz-rock style, with the omnipresent Hammond organ. The best moments are in my opinion The Coming Of The Mule, Phantom City, The Dark Tower, The Terran, Fourth From The Sun, Alkon, Planet Of Centauri, and Strange Things; the two prophecies of the oracle help to create a wonderful sci-fi atmosphere. Not always, howewer, the quality of the music is excellent, for example in the closing title track and in Alda, Lady Of The Outer Worlds.

Surely not a masterpiece of progressive, but an album of good quality, accessible to all lovers of classic rock, funny and original. Final rating: 6 / 10.

Best song: Strange Things