THE 3RD MAJESTY

Proggers are suckers for an expert and elaborate forgery. This guitarless, keyboard-led power trio from Norway have just the thing to slot between your Le Orme and Triumvirat albums. They did it - they got the drum micing and the tape saturation just right. I think if somebody had handed me a beat up record cover with ring wear I could have been completely convinced this was a period product of 1973. The lyrics are the weak link, unconvincingly cosmic in a way that sounds spoofish. Luckily, the musical backing isn't throwaway music. The writing is good, harmonically creative if not original. There's no Mellotron, but plenty of Hammond, Clavinet, Wurly piano and judiciously applied mono synths. Add a refreshingly flexible drummer who sounds like he hasn't heard any Rush and a bassist who makes a bold sound that isn't always growly picked Rick. This, the A-side epic, is a great ride. I especially think they captured some magic in the quiet parts.