CARGO

This is the eponymous disc published by Cargo, dutch heavy prog band. Cargo consist of Willem DeVries on bass and vocals, brothers Ad and Jan De Hont on guitars, and Denis Whitbread on drums. Born as "September", they has no great success in their early career. Changed its name to Cargo, they decided to release their first and only album in 1972. "Cargo" is a real gem of the underground prog scene, that can be added to the large list of "lonely" masterpieces published by bands virtually ignored by the mass, but really appreciated by prog-heads (such as Space Shanty by Khan, "lonely" masterpiece of the Canterbury scene, released the same year moreover). The disc contains four tracks of very good heavy prog, in which the guitar carpets of brothers De Hont intertwine with funk and psychedelic sounds. So we hear space atmospheres alternating with more heavy and rhythmic sections, following the classic hard rock style while maintaining a reasonable degree of originality (we're still talking about a prog band!). DeVries's singing is fairly anonymous to me, while doing his job pretty well. Particular attention should be paid to the production, which is perfectly balanced and able to enhance the sound of each instrument as only the tube mastering of those years can do. In conclusion, if you appreciate the work of bands like Atomic Rooster or Wishbone Ash, this album is for you.

Vote: 3.75 stars, rounded to 4.