FIRST UTTERANCE

All of my esteemed fellow reviewers have failed to provide one essential piece of information: what were they on when they made this album? It must have been excellent stuff, because mere creativity alone can't account for the warped genius displayed here (and after all, it was 1971). Listening to Wootton croak "Diana" as if deep in the throes of ancient grecian ecstasy and the lilting pagan-angelic harmonies of "The Herald" is enough to throw open the doors of perception for even the non- narcotic folks. I truly believe some, if not all of these musicians have glimpsed the beyond; all the later sci-fi epics of the progressive world pale in comparison to the pastoral but dangerous world supplied or implied in these works. What a different world ours was in 1971 to produce this band- the same year that saw the premiere of Jesus Christ Superstar and the verdict of the Manson family. How would Charles have interpreted the deliciously, salaciously evil "Drip Drip", or the bacchanalian "Song to Comus"? How much better would JCS have been with songs like "The Prisoner" telling the story? How many bad (or good) trips have been caused by this album? Not nearly enough, I'll wager, for few of the druggier people I've known have even heard of COMUS. I wonder if JANDEK listened to "First Utterance" and decided to try his own stripped- down version- a punk COMUS, if you will. My questions will likely never be answered, but in my perfect world everyone will hear "First Utterance" at least once. Actually, in my perfect world we'd all be in the park, naked and stoned and dancing to COMUS.

I'll add some quotes of my own to add to maani's collection:

"Lesser mystics than COMUS have inspired religions". "When the Merry Pranksters made their awful racket, this is what Neil Cassady secretly wished it sounded like". "This is what NPR bumper music would sound like if it was made by fornicating satyrs".