SOLAR FIRE

Respect to the band to combine progressive rock and classic rock elements in such a crispy and catchy piece of work and introduce an advanced planetary concept. Manfred Mann Earth's band brings other progressive rock bands' influence to the table: King Crimson (listen to the epic "Father of Day, Father of Night", The first composition is not overly complex but very epic, solemn - the guitar and keyboards excelling in creating dense atmosphere. Moog, synths, organ and mellotron are all represented. Would you ever say that the song was penned by Bob Dylan?

"In the beginning, darkness" is a hard-rock classic song with progressive keyboards.

"Solar fire" finally shows some irregular rhythm by the band. The male and female vocals are powerfully combined. "Saturn, Lord Of The Ring / Mercury, The Winged Messenger" is the definitive masterpiece on this album and one of the best progressive rock tracks by the band. Starting off as a hard-rock piece with interesting chord sequence. Things calm down and a furious moog/guitar tandem based on a traditional rock rhythm takes the stage. I like moog playing in particular. It reminds me of some Kansas tracks that put weight on guitar/keyboards while maintaining straightforward bass/drums.

The suite "Earth, the circle part 1/2" are muscular Moog and synths matters but not pretentious. The latter part 1 is actually also a beautiful composition with short-lasting vocals.

It remains one of my top bands album and greatly recommended especially to newbies in prog that are looking for an accessible entry.