AERIE FAERIE NONSENSE

On their debut, In the Region of the Summer Stars, The Enid charted out a new path for symphonic rock, rooted in late-19th century romantic symphonic music. It had all the rhythmic subtlety, rich orchestration and vibrant emotion one finds in Elgar, Puccini, Rachmaninoff and Mahler. Aerie Faerie Nonsense takes the raw materials of the debut album and pushes it into a territory that no other band has before or since approached. That's because carrying out their chosen style requires an expertise in rubato, articulation and dynamics that classical musicians struggle over many years to acquire. The Enid formula isn't one that can easily be emulated.

The first side of Aerie Faerie Nonsense is a symphonic suite in itself, bookended by bristling high energy numbers Mayday Galliard and Childe Roland, each full of counterpoint and instrumental detail. Robert John Godfrey's keyboards at first seem to be the foreground focus. Rather than the overt synth and organ flash of a Wakeman or Emerson, Godfrey forms miraculously authentic orchestral textures with the keyboard technology of the day, sometimes requiring stunning virtuosity. But we've learned over time that guitarist Francis Lickerish provided a lot of the melodic soul of the album. The duo guitars of Lickerish and Stephen Stewart weave through these rich arrangements, proving once and for all that the electric guitar is capable of more powerful melodicism than any other instrument yet invented by man. The slower track on the side, Ondine features Lickerish on lute and is absolutely enchanting.

Side two is probably the defining moment for this band. Fand is a continuous 17-minute symphonic movement that reaches far into the ethereal depths of the English imagination. A mythical tale is told with late- romantic orchestration filtered through rock and electronic instrumentation. It's done with confidence, mastery and inspiration. A brooding opening gives way to grand musical gestures that come in waves, with peaks of soaring electric guitar and rock orchestra that defy the needle to stay in the vinyl groove.

The release history of this album is confused. The band revisited Fand in a few different studio re-recordings, which have their strengths and weaknesses. The album itself was largely re-recorded in the 80s. Although the "updated" versions are pretty cool in their own way, I recommend getting to know Aerie Faerie Nonsense in the original versions as released in the fall of 1977 to get the full force of what they achieved. Then take a listen to the live Fand from Hammersmith, which is one of the greatest live performances ever put on record.

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