FOREVER BLOWING BUBBLES

The third Clearlight album (if you count Delired Cameleon Family) shows the influence of a range of acts from the Virgin stable, but incorporates their sounds into an intriguing and original vision. Old pals Gong are of course a big influence, with many of the more guitar-dominated heavy sections reminiscent of the tripped-out instrumentals on You, whilst Way opens with a Robert Wyatt-influenced vocal section before developing (as Ergotrip does) into a frenzied crescendo dominated by Zeuhlish rhythms. Meanwhile, gentle songs like Narcisse et Goldmund add a medieval folk twist to proceedings. By the time the concluding synthesiser experiment of Jungle Bubbles is reached, the listener has been taken on a fast-paced tour of the weirder end of the prog world as it existed in 1975, but may be left wondering just where precisely Clearlight's heart lies.