TELEGRAM

True Myth was a canadian progressive rock band, well at least in the first "half" of their career. In 1979 they released their self-titled debut on Warner Bros. Records. According to the band it was the first digital rock recording to be made in Canada. Housed in a beautiful gatefold sleeve it was a very strong and exceptionally well played progressive rock album. It was diverse too, ranging from fierce rock, to softer Yes-influences, from jazz fusion to classic and some typical north american late 70s rock. Seems like the song "It's Got To Be" was a sign for things to come.

Two years later the band released "Telegram", this time also in Europe. In the span of these two years the band shed almost all of its progressiveness in favor of straightahead pop/rock, even bordering on yacht rock at points. Small, very small reminiscences of their progressive rock roots are found in places. "21st Century Man" while being a fairly unremarkable and simply structured song at least sports some proggy keys towards the end. "Thunderchild", probably the best song on the album is a tad more heavy than the rest with good guitar playing and some great drum breaks again towards the end of the song. "Growing Up" sounds almost like a lost Supertramp song ("Even In The Quiestest Moments" era) with its Helliwell inspired woodwinds and Davies-like staccato piano. The album closes with the completely instrumental, synth/piano-driven "Silent City" with sparse sounds of thunder turning towards rain in the end. It is a nice sendoff and probably the closest thing resembling their first album.

I want to state that, while being a relative disappointment after their magnificent debut album, "Telegram" is not a bad record. When taken as a late 70s/early 80s rock album, it works quite well. Nothing on here is openly offensive. Songs like the opener "Give It Up" or the penulitmate track "So Confused" are fairly good songs. The album may be low on highlights, but also low on lowpoints. When taken as a progressive rock album however, which is the criteria on this site, it has almost nothing to offer. It has never been released on CD, the only track on YouTube at this moment is the aforementioned "Thunderchild" which warrants a listen or two. Other than that you are better off sticking to the first album.