SPRING

Often revered as a classic, Spring's only contribution to recording history is a decent, generally unexciting album with some fine moments sprinkled in. The omnipresence of mellotrons is probably the most remarkable feature, and I suppose that this instrument is often used to colour the overall sound of a band, to magnify it or make it larger than life, but in the case of Spring it often seems like a concept car. Remove the hood and you find the guts are lacking. No guts no glory.

Yet this is not a bad album. Songs like "Grail" demonstrate the gentle side of mellotron strings and are quite pretty, while "Song to Absent Friends" is a very pleasant Elton John type piano ballad. "Golden Fleece" is a more upbeat piece that contrasts with the general languid nature of the album. It contains mellotron horns that have a delightfully nostalgic quality, reminding me of some genuine horns used by someone around that time, but I can't put my finger on it. But the formula wears thin on "Shipwrecked Sailor" (which nonetheless contains some sumptuous guitar licks in the break) and "Inside Out", as do the archetypal religious and mythological themes. The bonus tracks mostly miss the mark, with "Fool's Gold" being an exception.

Recommended for mellotron completists, Spring is much more proto prog than prog, and one could hardly suggest that a great many influences sprung forth as a result of this effort. Yet there is a season even for well constructed music of this ilk.