IN SEARCH OF ANCIENT GODS

I have never been a completionist as far as Bruford goes, so I think the reason I bought this back in the 70s, apart from its low sticker price, was because I had loved the film "Chariots of the Gods", and in particular its majestic soundtrack, which enthralled me as a 13 year old. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered a repetitive disc of hackneyed synthesizer themes that sounds more like a cheap porn soundtrack than anything. The best track is probably the first, but it's pretty dispensable even with lowered standards, and what follows is of less interest still.

This really isn't even good enough to compete with most of the new age music that followed a decade or more later. At least that often had some sense of beauty about it. While this might be taken as inoffensive background listening if you are concentrating on something else, my rating is based on the fact that it really is only for the committed collector and has very little to distinguish or recommend it, ie- the compositions, the playing, and the arrangements are all mediocre at best, but more often abysmal. The "progressiveness" is virtually non-existent, as the pieces remain buried in their opening chords, unable to emerge in any meaningful way.

I suspect the high vinyl value in today's market is due to a combination of poor collective memory, an irrational love for all things Bruford, and the likelihood that most outlets had to throw out their abundant excess in much the same way as our crazed mothers disposed of our comic books back in the day. Only our comics actually had artistic merit.