Prog Britannia - Album Reviews

Thrusting a pawn forward to the centre of the board with the bold "Opening Move", you could be forgiven for thinking this is YES when you hear the dynamic opening chord sequence. This is an energetic and adventurous keyboard piece which also features a bassoon. Imagine the grand symphonic sound of YES with a bassoon player included and that's the powerful piece of music you have here. There's also a gentle flutey middle passage to give the music a medieval banquet atmosphere, although this impression doesn't last for long, as the music slowly builds up into a crashing crescendo of sound for the dramatic finish when the slightly discordant chords reminds one of some of Van Der Graaf Generator's more experimental works. It's a powerful "Opening Move" to this musical game of chess with a striking "pawn storm" of sound in the centre of the board, designed to grab the listener's attention right from the outset.

Onto the second movement now with "Second Spasm", which opens in traditional medieval feast style with the sound of a crumhorn. You can almost picture Robin Hood and his Merry Men dining with Maid Marion at an exotic banquet with a lavishly-laid-out table. There's no time to dine on a feast though, as we're in full proggy mode just one minute into this 9-minute-long piece, when there's an outbreak of dynamic (and very modern) keyboards to spoil the medieval party atmosphere. The music returns briefly to the flutey medieval theme of a banquet hall, and then we hear the sound of a slow marching rhythm in which gallant knights might have marched into battle in old days of yore. The finale transforms into a powerful quick-march, which brings to mind intrepid medieval knights jostling and jousting on the battlefield to save a beautiful fair maiden's honour in time-honoured tradition.

Side Two opens with the third movement: "Lament". It's an 8-minute-long, three-piece-suite, opening to the harmonious sound of a bassoon and the crumhorn floating along on a gently melodic wave of sound. The acoustic guitar and rhythm section reminds one of the Prog-Rock band Renaissance, which seems somehow appropriate, as Gryphon's unique blend of musical styles is loosely based on the Renaissance music of the Middle Ages. In fact, this music wouldn't have seemed too out of place if it HAD been played in Henry VIII's time, although there would have been no power source to plug the modern electronic keyboard into. Putting that minor detail aside though, the middle section of the suite is a really laid-back mellow groove, but try not to get too laid-back as there's an uplifting and unrestrained grand finale to this Renaissance-style (in both senses) musical extravaganza. This is the kind of flutey folky Renaissance music you could picture yourself listening to at a medieval banquet attended by gallant knights and lusty wenches dining on a suckling pig, whilst being entertained by jolly jugglers and merry magicians, although you're more likely to hear this music played now at a 21st century medieval banquet revival night.

It's "Checkmate" now for the fourth and final movement on our chess-themed Prog-Folk album. This medieval style Prog-Folk instrumental will transport you back in time to the Renaissance court of Henry VIII where gay (in the old sense of the word) wandering minstrels and court jesters entertained the King. The music might have the flutey sound of Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, but it's actually the antiquated crumhorn and a recorder that gives the music a Renaissance feel to it. In modern times in England, this is the kind of jolly Folk music that Morris dancers might prance around to, looking slightly ludicrous wearing bell pads on their shins and waving sticks and handkerchiefs in the air, although to be honest, most sensible people in England would go out of their way to avoid Morris dancers. Anyway, back to the music at hand. The music's not TOO folky, because there's enough prog elements included here to keep the prog-heads entertained, including staccato stop-start changes of tempo and an outbreak of Rick Wakeman-style keyboard virtuosity for the sonorous grand finale to this 10-minute Prog-Folk epic.

If you're in the mood for some proggy Folk which conjures up images of gallant knights rescuing fair maidens in distress, then this might be just the album for you. Some of the music on this unique album might sound folky and medieval, but it's given a proggy 20th century upheaval.

The album opens with the energetic rocker, "Time Will Be Your Doctor", a song that was also covered by Tucky Buzzard. This song is your prescription for a good healthy dose of booming and bombastic solid British rock. The dynamic keyboard player and wild fuzzy guitarist are really in their element with this powerful percussive piece. It's upbeat, it's up-tempo, and it's uplifting, and it's just what you need to keep the doctor away. The curiously titled "Mrs Prout" is another stentorian blast from the past that sounds like it's on anabolic steroids. It's a song with a powerful throbbing rhythm with all the explosive energy of a stick of dynamite, so light the blue touch paper and stand well back because this song is a blast. The unrelenting pace continues with "Just Look Around You". There's no time for a breather as this is another thunderous foot-stomping forte that barrels along at full velocity. This is sonorous supersonic British Rock that's as solid as a block of granite. We're nearly halfway through the album now with "Afternoon Out", another full-force fortissimo with a pulsating rhythm going full speed ahead and building up into a dramatic crescendo of sound for the powerful finale. I doubt if many people have actually witnessed the powerful drummer on this album in action, but judging from his frenetic non-stop energy displayed here, he must be as lively and animated as Animal from The Muppet Show.

Side Two opens with "More Than I Am", an uplifting and upbeat song that's positively overflowing with optimism as these lyrics reveal:- "I try to be more than I am, I'm doing all I can, And I'm more happy than, The greater could be man." ..... It's another lively, high-powered song, driven by the unstoppable power of the Hammond organ. There's no let-up in the incredible pace of this album with "Country Boy", a rammin' slammin' rocker with all the power of a hydraulic ram, so stand well clear because this is music with a ballsy take-no-prisoners attitude. There's no let-up either for the timeless "In Our Time", a window-rattling, wild guitar and keyboard jamboree. This is rollicking rock & roll as it's meant to be, so play it LOUD! The album closes with the short playful piece "A Word from Big D", in which we get to hear the quack of the Fuzzy Duck!

This powerful album is as solid as a proverbial rock with an unrelenting pace from beginning to end. It's an album with timeless appeal, featuring a glorious combination of the powerful Hammond organ sound and psychedelic fuzzy guitar riffs. The "Fuzzy Duck" album is not particularly proggy - it's just a good old-fashioned slice of Classic British Rock.

"Fish Rising" consists of three long suites of music and two shorter songs. The album opens radiantly with the four-part "Solar Musick Suite", the longest piece on the album at nearly 17 minutes long. The first part "Sun Song (I Love It's Holy Mystery)" bursts into view like a brilliant ray of sunshine. This warm and melodic prog is positively glowing in rainbow colours with some simply sensational soaring guitar riffing from Steve Hillage. He's in fine voice too with his rich silver-toned vocals adding to the sense of warmth. It's a joyous and uplifting song with a flower-power message of love and peace and eternal optimism as these lyric reveal:- "So people look into each others eyes and gaze at them with certainty, We're gathered here today from all around to celebrate eternity, The spirit in the air is never far immersed in our totality, And the answers that we sit and hope to find, Are living here in side of we." ..... This joyful and invigorating music feels like the burgeoning arrival of spring, where colourful flowers are blooming in a twisting and transitional dance of new growth, as mother nature shakes off winter's cold embrace. This is warm and radiant music to stimulate and rejuvenate the soul. The "Solar Musick Suite" merges effortlessly into "Canterbury Sunrise", a lively Jazz-Rock instrumental, giving Steve Hillage a chance to really shine with some impressive soloing and with Dave Stewart providing sterling accompaniment on the organ. Next up is "Hiram Aftaglid Meets the Dervish", a wild and uninhibited whirling dervish of stirring Canterbury Scene music that's very reminiscent of some of Caravan's wilder Jazz-Rock freak-outs. Finally, there's a brief reprise of the glorious opening "Sun Song", to leave one feeling in joyously buoyant mood. Next comes the simply-titled "Fish", which is a bit of a tuneless mess to be perfectly honest, with the discordant music thrown together in a seemingly haphazard fashion. This is a fish that would have been better left in the ocean. The only good thing about this musical mash-up is it's less than 90 seconds long. Moving swiftly on now with the dreamweaving "Meditation of the Snake", a swirling and twisting magic carpet ride of transcendental ambience that washes over the listener like a blissful dreamwave of sound.

Opening Side Two now, we're going fishing with the 9-minute aquatic suite, "Salmon Song", and it's a pretty good catch too. It's a psychedelic rainbow trout swimming in a sea of spacey guitars, combined with some heavy sonorous riffing, and not forgetting those trademark Hillage guitar glissandos which soar right up into the stratosphere. This is one fish you won't want to throw back into the sea. And now we come to the album highlight, the 15-minute-long seven-piece suite, "Aftaglid", to bring the album to a dramatic and powerful conclusion. This is a real psychedelicatessen of musical styles, featuring gently pastoral acoustics, wild psychedelic riffing and Middle Eastern mantras, all combined together into a magnificent musical melange of sound.

"Fish Rising" is an album full of psychedelic delights, featuring super soar-away soloing, spacey New Age ambience, dynamic keyboard virtuosity, and jaunty Jazz-Rock, all combined together into a delicious potpourri of Canterbury Scene music. This fish-themed album will have you hooked.

This is an album of two halves - just like a game of soccer - with the three big romantic ballads grouped together on Side One and all of the powerful heavy rockers on Side Two. "Alone in Georgia" is a tremendous album opener. It's a really big production number that Phil Spector would have been proud of, featuring lush strings and rich orchestration with the bereft singer passionately pouring his heart out over his lost love, in true romantic balladeer style. This emotionally-rich and powerful ballad is a resonant Wall of Sound that really tugs at the heartstrings with its impassioned and melodramatic lyrics:- "Left me alone in Georgia, Left me alone inside a city, Why did she go without saying, Why did she leave without a goodbye?" ..... You'd need a heart of stone not to moved by this rousing romantic rhapsody. And now we come to the title track "Ballad of a Peaceful Man", opening to the sound of a flirtatious flute and sweeping strings. This is no gentle ballad though. This is a surging and passionate power ballad that emerges into a sonorous symphony of sound with a powerful anti- war message contained within the lyrics:- "Every time I look upon the market square, There's a monument erected to the dead who fell in war, Pardon me for crying, But I've seen the sight before, I hope it never comes again, Make your mind up, It's our only chance, To live in peace or set the world alight, Alight, yeah!" ..... Amen to that! Make Love, Not War. It's a stark reminder that this song was written at the height of the Cold War, when the fate of the world was very much in the balance. The third song "Jule's Delight" really is a delight to listen to. It's a gorgeous flute-driven melody floating on a symphony of sensational strings. This dramatic music might not quite reach the sublime heights of "Nights in White Satin" or a "Whiter Shade of Pale", but it's a marvellously-rich, mellifluous melody that's best listened to at night between silken sheets of pale satin - preferably with a romantic partner for company.

The opening song on Side Two, "Messenger", is very reminiscent of Jethro Tull. It's a proggy and playful flute-driven song but with a powerful anti-war message contained within the lyrics:- "Messenger swift, Won't you tell me the words that you carry, Stop for a moment and lie with me, I pray you'll tarry, Five more young men who'll never be able to marry, How long will this war last before you die too? Before you die too?" ..... The sound of the flighty flute in the opening brings to mind the merry minstrel Ian Anderson standing on one leg with flute in hand, but it's really another dark tale about the horrors of war. Don't get too downhearted though, because there's a splash of vivid psychedelic colours in a wild and unrestrained fuzz-toned guitar jamboree for the golden grand finale. The next song, "Can Anybody Hear Me?", is a raucous out-and-out rocker with the raspy-voiced singer giving it his all. Everyone can hear him sing this song, including the neighbours, if you play this music LOUD like it's meant to be played. Again, the music sounds like Jethro Tull, but this is Jethro Tull given a burst of high-energy, foot-stomping adrenalin. This is  heavy-duty rock wearing Doc Marten boots, a hard hat and a yellow fluorescent jacket. Next up is "Old Tin Box" which rattles nicely along like..... an old tin box. It's an upbeat and up-tempo Jazz-Rock number featuring the soaring sound of a saxophone. The steady rhythmical beat is redolent of a train rattling down the tracks, so make way because this is no gravy train - this is more like an unstoppable diesel locomotive going full speed ahead. There's no let-up either for "Won't Talk About It", because this is another hard-rocking song with a take-no-prisoners attitude. It's raw and aggressive Blues-Rock where the singer sounds like he's had a bad day, but he doesn't want to talk about it, so stay out of his way. There's no doubt about it, "Won't Talk About It" is the heaviest song on the album by far. Think of Deep Purple with a flute, and that's the powerful song we have here. We're "Home Again" now for the final song on the album, which has something of a tribal native American rhythm to it, so it might just be time to get out the peace pipe and do a rain dance before returning "Home Again" to the comfort of the wigwam for the evening.

Gravy Train have really surpassed themselves with this marvellous melange of music, featuring big romantic orchestral numbers on Side One and hard and heavy rockers on Side Two. Their first album was pretty good, but they've gone one better with this album by incorporating some lovely sweeping string arrangements, giving the music a rich orchestrated fullness. This superb second album should have put them on the gravy train to success, but sadly, it wasn't to be. They were just one of many promising British prog bands who fell by the wayside in the early 1970's, but on a brighter note, they stuck around just long enough to record four great albums, which have now been given a new lease of life thanks to the modern wonder of the Internet.