PRE

This is an excellent album made in 1973 and don't be fooled by release date, this is genuine 70's symphonic music that everyone was so used to at the time. The closest comparison would be Yes style in the time of Close To The Edge and Yes Album. Sometimes even vocals are so similar, I think you could fool a casual listener that "Ascetic Eros" is a lost Yes song; longer songs are also divided in multiple parts with different themes and moods similar to their fashion. Keyboard work may sometimes remind of ELP, and bowing guitar brings some diversity into the songs.

"Water Meeting", "Ascetic Eros", "Firmer Hand" and 19-minute "Ballet For A Blind Man" are all great songs and while I did compare them to Yes earlier, they are original and melodic enough and they sound refreshing to me, but I don't how more experienced listeners would feel. These outweigh the lesser shorter songs by a truckload so they shouldn't bother you. I did give 4 stars though cause they are mostly acoustic ballad oriented, and when listening to them in the order they don't really foreshadow how great the rest of the album is. But that is probably just nitpicking on my side, I really recommend this one.