THE MARVEL WORLD OF ICARUS

A great addition to the Prog Archives and a real pleasure to be giving it it's debut review here. I must say though, where they got the jazz/fusion tag from is anyone's guess. The LP is actually pretty commercial sounding - more of that in moment, a bit of brief history first.

All members of Icarus were huge fans of Marvel Comics, hence the basic concept of this LP. As you can see from the track list, each title is based on a marvel character. Sadly at the time, the head of Marvel found out about this shortly before release and demanded a 50% share of the royalties. Instead of giving in, the record company simply withdrew the LP. Several copies of the originals slipped out of course. I'm glad to say one of these slipped and found it's way into my record collection, where it will be staying. Like most rarities of this nature, it has been re-issued. Not sure if Marvel are getting their cut this time round though. I'm sure they're making enough from the recent spate of films.

Anyway the music: As said before, pretty commercial sounding. No lengthy or wild instrumental passages at all here. What makes this one stand out is the sheer variety of compositions and brilliant songwriting. Tracks like 'Fantastic Four' and 'Thor' are pretty bluesy, 'Iron Man' veers into a Psych territory and 'Madam Masque' is a beautiful ballad. Due to the nature of the concept, it is simply great fun to listen to. All musicians are competant and the singer has a great voice.

As a result of the withdrawn LP, the band split. Yet another of these one album wonders. As usual leaving me thinking, imagine if they'd made more, we'll never know. Well worth a purchase!

PS - Fact - As read a few years ago in a reputable music mag, this band were the first to play in Romania. Apparently they went down a storm!

Step into the world of Superhero lunacy

Being a huge Marvel fan I had to check out this oddity from the early 70s by Icarus. It certainly did not disappoint and gets better as it goes along. It begins with strange chanting and chaotic jazzy time sigs and then progresses onto some inspired flute work especially notable on 'Fantastic Four' and 'Conan The Barbarian'. I love the psychedelic flavours on Thor that even becomes a blues rendition towards the end.

The lyrics are downright cheesy but non compromising as to the content. This could easily work as a soundtrack to Marvel comics, and of course it was a lawsuit waiting to happen, the band being slapped on the wrist for using the coveted superheroes. The album is a fun romp and never takes itself seriously but has some seriously brilliant musicianship. The saxophone solo in Thor is dynamic for instance.

'Black Panther' is rather a slinky thing like the super hero herself, and there is a great flute solo and jazzy vibe with lyrics such as, "watch out for the panther now!" and it carries on about the white man and the black man, in true 70s style.

'The Man Without Fear' features a cool rocking beat, and crazy lyrics, "he's the one they call the man without fear, when all the fight is over he's thinking of his lover only, wishing that he could see her, wanting to be just near her only, but he must hide his sorrow for he knows that tomorrow, lonely, for he must hide his sadness and fight the human madness." The flute solo follows again and it is as good as Ian Anderson. This is groovy and worth a listen.

'Silver Surfer' is a sheer psychedelic composition with phased vocals and a rather melancholy atmosphere. The musical swirls are real freak out. Lyrics are very cool, "Nothing can stop your cosmic power, even the super humans cower, Oh Silver Surfer, ride, ride, ride the sky." You have to admire the approach of this band who have decided to pay homage to Marvel without flinching in their tenacity.

'Things Thing' is a short thing. It kind of boogies along steadily like 12 bar blues with some raspy vocals, and the scorching sax solo is backed by wonderful tom toms. Some lyrics, "Deceiving so unbelieving" is all I can make out.

'Captain America' is a rocking loud blaster with some quirky lyrics, "who's the saviour of the nation?" and the flute solo once again similar to Jethro Tull style.

I have to say this is a real blast from the past that deserves recognition with a fresh approach and fun content. Perhaps it should be played in the background at comic conventions. Marvel should have looked at this as a wonderful advertisement for their product rather than demanding 50% of profits. The record was withdrawn and hardly saw the light of day, but hopefully now it will have some impact.

The late 1960´s produced some of the most groovy and interesting pieces of jazz-rock. The melting and fusion of jazz and rock results in a blend of extremely delicious chops and music. Blood, Sweat & Tears, Chase, Chicago and several other bands really took the development of rock music several steps further. This was, of course, before the jazz- rock/fusion side of music turned into the severely slick fusion of the later 1970's. The slick side of things is not my cup of tea. The grittier, dirtier and harder rocking sort is more in line with my taste.

So, having established my love of jazz-rock, I now proclaim the immense impact the world of Marvel had on my childhood. Batman and the Hulk was always my favorites among the superheroes but the all filled up my imagination, back then. I guess that is why I have always had a soft spot for this, the only album, by the british jazz-rock outfit Icarus.

Jazz-rock and the superheroes of Marvel. Now that's a great way to start off the day. It must be. The cover suggests a whole lot, as does the mythical status of this album. Severely affected by Marvel wanting 50% of the sales and the record company's (Pye, that is) decision to withdraw the whole thing because of that, crippled the band and left them without an album to promote. The reviews of the time were not raving either, so in hindsight the band struggled.

The musical content, apart from the great cover and mythical mumbo jumbo surrounding the album, is, however, not all that it is cracked up to be. There are great moments and there's good ones but the album is really not that brilliant or fantastic. The musicianship is nigh on perfect but the material is in itself mostly alright. The lyrical content is entertaining and fun, which makes this listenable.

Though the songs have slightly differing styles, the overall feeling is one of more or less similar tracks. There are really no fantastic stand-outs. The ballad "Madame Masque" is really on of the more recognisable ones, due to it's mellowness. Most of the tracks are harsh jazz-rock, performed with great intensity. "Conan - The barbarian", "The Hulk" and "Black Panther" are among the best tracks of the lot.

When listening to this album I dig the music. It is groovy and great but it is not among the greater albums of the genre. It is sort of a novelty act. Fun and entertaining, not bad at all but not brilliant either. The only album Icarus made is primarily, I think, known for it's obscure nature and lyrical themes, rather than the music on the vinyl. I would not really recommend this album if approached with the oppurtunity to promote the jazz-rock record of all time. It would not even end up in the Top 10. That does not mean you shouldn't give this album a go. It is fun, entertaining, groovy and certainly an interesting piece of a time and musical landscape long gone. I cherish my CD edition and play it every once in a while. It is, like I have said often enough in this review, great fun and full of good though not outstanding music.

a very unique and excellent prog music ..

Well, yeah ... the first time I heard the music I kept laughing at it as the music turned out to be unique and it's something that was very hard for me to describe. It's my bad habit tend to categorize music into genre or subgenre that sometimes make me difficult to classify and at the end, especially with this release, I gave up categorizing it ....as music is played to enjoy and not to categorize or cataloguing them into certain type of genre or subgenre. As this was originally recorded in 1972, the concept work by the British progressive rock group only available one year due to the dispute with Marvel Comics. The Marvel World Of Icarus was a concept work based around the Marvel Comics stable of superheroes. Taken from the original master tapes, this first-ever official reissue (2007) - includes comprehensive liner notes, band quotes and previously unpublished photos - tells the fascinating story behind the album as well as documenting the wider adventures of Icarus during their 1968-72 existence.

Let's talk about the music. You might classify the music under regular classic rock type of thing similar to Captain Beyond even though it's not really similar. Yes, the music is quite raw and not clearly rock in nature but for sure it's a progressive one as I can find many time signature changes as well as style changes. In my case, the music really astonishes me as it blends various kind of music with sort of jazz, rock, pop as well as afro american style as well. The recording style is raw as it was i think intended to be like this - it sounds really great to my ears. The music moves nicely in relatively fast tempo with mostly upbeat style blending stunning guitar, dynamic flutework as well as saxophone solo along many tracks featured. The flute work I really love and it can be found many segments in the album. The basslines are also very dynamic combined with excellent drumming. In terms of style changes the band demonstrates it in various songs for example in Thor (8th track) where the music suddenly changes its style into slow tempo one. I do not read the Marvel Comics but I am very sure that the songs provided here were intended to represent the superheroes characters as described in the comics.

Overall, this is a highly recommended album with full four-star rating as the music is unique, rich in composition and textures, and most importantly it is cohesive as whole concept album from the opening track into the concluding one. As this is based on comics, the musical style heavily based on story-telling with powerful vocal work. This albu has become my regular playlist for months as I really like the style. Do not think of any symphonic or eclectic or any kind of neo prog music .....just enjoy listening the music - and I am sure you will find joy with it. Keep on proggin' ...!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

ICARUS were an obscure six-piece British band who released just one album during their brief lifetime. The album "The Marvel World of Icarus" (1972) was based on famous superhero characters from Marvel Comics, with band members adopting various superhero names for the recording of the album. Legend has it that the album had to be quickly pulled from the shelves due to a dispute between Marvel Comics and and the band's record label, Pye Records, with the result that the album now has the status of a very rare (and expensive) collector's item. This superheroes album won't save the world, but it's saved itself a well-deserved place in Prog-Rock history. Let's step into the Marvellous World of the Fantastic Four now and check out the thirteen fantastic superhero-themed songs on the album.

After the Marvellously over-the-top spoken-word "Prologue", we're weaving a tangled web with "Spiderman". This is an all-out psychedelic sonic assault with the raspy-voiced singer sounding like he's badly in need of a throat lozenge. This raw and earthy blues-tinged psychedelia has a similar sound to some of Iron Butterfly's heavier numbers. The fun superhero lyrics deserve a mention too:- "His secret senses tell him what to do, Who's that punk - a man in red and blue? Spider-Man is going to prowl, Oh, look out, The web's behind you now!" ..... It's Marvel-lous music designed to set your spidery senses tingling, and it's kind of ironic that we're now listening to "Spiderman" on a website on the World Wide Web. The "Fantastic Four" are looming into view next, featuring a prominent flute at the forefront, which sounds like a psychedelic version of Jethro Tull. The "Fantastic Four" of the title are Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Girl, the Flaming Torch and the monstrous Thing. They represent a force for good in the world, battling a bevy of villains and evil-doers, in the manner of a typical "Governator" movie starring Arnold Schwarzeneggar. Hulking into view next comes the jolly green giant himself, the "Hulk". You wouldn't like him when he's angry, and he sounds mildly annoyed in this stirring Blues-Rock number, so watch out, because this song sounds mean and moody. This bluesy number is Jazzed-up by the sonorous sound of a sensational saxophonist who's really on a rollicking shirt-ripping roll here. We're entering the supervillain world of "Madame Masque" next, which turns out to be a bluesy romantic piano ballad that's very reminiscent of Chris Farlowe's "Handbags and Gladrags" (the theme from The Office). There's another supercharged burst of high and mighty Jazz-Rock for "Conan the Barbarian", which brings to mind the raw uncut power of blues legend Graham Bond. Beware the "Iron Man", because he's along next, although he's no relation to the Black Sabbath song of the same name. No, this is more of a Roaring Forties gale force blast of the saxophone in another Jazz- Rock spectacular.

Take cover! It's all storm and almighty thunder for the first song on Side Two: "Thor", which opens dramatically to the sound of a thunderous lightning bolt from the blue. The music is a loud and anthemic tribute to the mighty Norse God of War, "Thor", so be prepared for a cannonade of musical artillery fire and thunderous fireworks in this powerful blast of audio dynamite. Stalking stealthily into view next is the "Black Panther", but this is no silent creeping panther - this is a rousing and reverberant Jazz-Rock refrain on the rampage that jumps up and bites! Have no fear, because "The Man Without Fear" is here, fighting for what is right in another tale of derring-do. This song is a magical mixed bag of tricks, featuring a whole kaleidoscope of musical colours, alternating between uptempo bursts of fluty Jazz-Rock energy, blended together with some mellower bluesy passages. We're on the Magic Bus to California next, because gliding into view now on a gentle wave of beautifully- harmonious melody is the "Silver Surfer". It's a soft rippling wave of sensual sound and pleasure which reminds one of the laid-back psychedelia of the American band, It's a Beautiful Day. Icarus have perfectly encapsulated the sound of American west-coast 1960's rock with this amazing song. Every day is a beautiful day when you can listen to gorgeous rejuvenating music like this. It's back to basics next for "Things Thing", a good old-fashioned slice of unadulterated British Blues-Rock, and finally, flying in now to save the world at the last moment is "Captain America", a roaring storming two and a half minutes of rabble-rousing Rock & Roll.

"The Marvel World of Icarus" is a hard-hitting album of bluesy Jazz-Rock in the uncompromising style of the raspy-voiced Graham Bond. The album is a real Liquorice Allsorts box of contrasts though, featuring a good serving of storm and thunder songs, some raw and earthy blues numbers, and sprinkled with a pleasant confection of sweet and tender melodies. It's an album full of superheroes and super songs. All in all, there's something here for everyone.