ORION

After the releases from Kayak, Earth &Fire and Finch the Dutch label Pseudonym Records surprised the progheads with the release from the obscure Dutch progrock band Pantheon. I had never heard of them, they existed between 1971 and 1974 and were once the support-act for famous fellow Dutch progrock bands Focus and Solution and The Steve Miller Band, their absolute highlight! In 1974 Pantheon called it a day because of the usual problems with money, at that moment the band members were no older than 21 years!

The five original compositions from their 1972 album Orion sound elaborate, melodic and varied featuring some wonderful twists and turns. The colouring of the songs is beautiful with organ, flute, saxophone and acoustic - and electric guitar, even a modular Moog synthesizer (in the short The Madman)! The musical influences are obvious from Ekseption and Solution (brass) but also Focus (organ sound and Jan Akkerman-like guitar work) but Pantheon doesn't sound as a clone. The highlight on this CD (that contains 3 bonustracks) is the long titletrack delivering lots of shifting moods, great build-up parts and powerful saxophone play. Enjoy this melodic and accessible progressive mix of rock, jazz and classic from my home country.