IS A FRIEND ?

THE PARLOUR BAND have the unusual distinction of being from the Channel Island of Jersey near the French coast, which technically makes them a British band, even though they're not from Great Britain or the United Kingdom. The Parlour Band had a brief lunchtime in the spotlight with just one rare album to their name: "Is a Friend?" (1972), but they weren't about to hang up their instruments just yet, because they changed their name firstly to "A Band Called O", and then again to "The O Band" after moving to Leicester in the English Midlands. They recorded four more albums there in the mid-1970's, before the band finally went their separate ways in 1977.

These Jersey boys really know how to Rock!! The album opens in barnstorming style with the rip-roaring Jazz-Rock number "Forgotten Dreams". There's no chance of sleeping through this song though. It's a Hammond organ driven blast from the past (with shades of Brian Auger) that barrels along relentlessly for nearly three incredible minutes. The peaceful island of Bergerac and Beaujolais and Jersey cows will never be the same again. Onto Song No. 2 now and we're about to meet the "Pretty Haired Girl", a bright and bubbly Pop concoction about a girl who's sweet and nice, which sounds as warm and refreshing as a glass of pink champagne on ice. You can take comfort in the next lovely song too because it's "Springs' Sweet Comfort", a dreamy psychedelic flowers-in-your-hair number that's just as gently laid-back as the song title implies. You can almost smell the aromatic incense wafting over you in a purple haze of smoke. This song's as psychedelic as an explosion at a paint factory. After that dreamy song, it's time now to wake up and smell the coffee for "Early Morning Eyes", a lively jingly-jangly guitar number that's very reminiscent of the high- flying Byrds, and very good it is too. You can Turn Turn Turn and shake your Tambourine along to this danceable early morning wake-up call, or if you're not feeling that energetic, you can simply tap your feet along to the beat. It's all aboard the train now for "Follow Me", another catchy upbeat song to close out Side One, where the singer repeatedly urges us all to follow him around the mountain, until he finally runs out of steam.

And now we arrive at the big production number and the highlight of the album so far: "Evening". This gorgeous song features heavenly harmonies to die for, dynamic power chords and soaring vocals backed up by the tremendous sound of the Hammond organ. In fact, it's everything you could wish for in the best of Prog-Rock and had the potential to be a huge hit, if only... Sadly, the song was never released as a single, so it wasn't even a hit in Jersey, never mind the rest of the world. Anyway, don't be sad, because as Evening draws to a close it's time for some midnight romance with "Don't Be Sad". It's a gently lilting Folk refrain, so just lie back and relax and let this beautifully-crafted mellow ballad carry you away on a sea of blissful sweet dreams. This very impressive album continues with "Little Goldie", a warm- hearted song that sounds as sweet as honey and features some simply sublime guitar vibes. The penultimate song is an uplifting salute "To Happiness", when you're already halfway to happiness if you're lucky enough to have this wonderful long-lost album in your treasured prog collection. And finally, "Home" is where the prog is for an epic 3- piece suite to close the album. This sweeping seven-and-a-half minute long masterpiece is very reminiscent of The Beatles and makes a suitably fitting tribute to a marvellous album.

The Parlour Band's superb one-off album Is A Friend that deserves a warm welcome in any Prog-Rock fan's home.