STAINED GLASS STORIES

I didn't see this one coming. I would rank this album and YEZDA URFA's "Boris" as the two best American seventies prog albums I have ever heard after BABYLON and POLYPHONY's releases. There's no doubt both bands were greatly influenced by the giants of Prog from the UK. YEZDA URFA mostly by GENTLE GIANT and CATHEDRAL mostly by YES. You gotta love that fat Rickenbacker bass on this album along with the majestic mellotron that flows freely throughout. A very Howe sounding guitar here as well. I just wasn't expecting this album to be so good. Also I was surprisingly reminded of ANGLAGARD and WOBBLER at times. Of course this pre-dates those two bands.

"Introspect" opens in a pastoral way with mellotron. It kicks in before a minute. Nice chunky bass here. It settles with mellotron as reserved vocals join in.This really reminds me of YES. Drums take over after 3 1/2 minutes then bass and guitar join in. Great sound ! The bass is huge here. Organ 6 minutes in then it settles with reserved vocals again. Amazing instrumental section starting around 8 1/2 minutes.The bass is earth-shaking. Mellotron comes and goes. Another killer section 10 minutes in. "Gong" is the only instrumental on here. Outbursts of sound come and go until it stays. It settles after 2 minutes. Mellotron follows. It kicks back in before 3 minutes. Organ and bass lead a minute later then it's the guitar and mellotron's turn. Nice.

"The Crossing" opens with vocal melodies then vocals, bass and that Howe-like guitar take over. Mellotron 2 1/2 minutes in as the bass digs deep and the guitar plays over top. Vocals are back and i'm thinking WOBBLER here. A river of mellotron follows. "Days & Changes" opens with vocals only before it kicks in after a minute. Fat bass and Howe-like guitar with mellotron leads the way. It turns kind of spacey until it kicks back in before 4 minutes. A mellotron feast 5 1/2 minutes in. The mood then brightens followed by more mellotron. "The Search" sounds so majestic to open. Vocals before 2 minutes as it settles. Mellotron too. The tempo picks up but it continues to shift. Lots of mellotron on this one.

A must have for Symphonic Prog fans out there.This won't disappoint.