FUCHSIA

Like many my age, I grew up with Pink Floyd and the first album of theirs I purchased was 'Relics' and concentrated my listening energies on their early years (still love that album). So coming to these songs again is like revisiting old friends, but friends who have changed but are still incredibly familiar. It was important to Tony to stay true to the naivety and delight of the originals, but also make them such that they fitted within his own canon and that he is definitely achieved. Fans of the originals will delight in that he has made them his own, yet still they are still as magical as they ever were. By bringing in just a drummer, cello and violin (plus a recorded on "Bike") and providing everything else himself he has managed to create something magical and special, taking us all back to those days when he used to see Syd in his element. This is not about updating the songs and bringing them into the 21st century but rather treating them with respect and making them part of Fuchsia. Superb.

The album blossoms into life with "Gone with the Mouse", a very proggy-sounding song which sounds like Fairport Convention with bells on. One wonders what a song with such an obscure title could possibly be about. Well, it's a tale of derring-do in a medieval kingdom with gallant knights battling to defend a maiden's honour, in time-honoured tradition. The song is abounding with the sound of acoustic guitars, violins & cellos and lovely vocal harmonies from the 3-part girl choir. This song is as English as strawberries & cream at Wimbledon with the charming English accents of the singers very much in evidence. It's traditional English Folk with a progressive twist, and very good it is too. This album promises to be very special indeed if this opening number is anything to go by. Once more into the breach dear friends with "A Tiny Book", one of the two long songs on the album with a running time of just over 8 minutes. There are cellos and violins galore on this song, giving it something of a classical feel. The Prog-Folk elements are all there though, with fast-paced drumming, dextrous guitar riffs and constant changes of pace. It's compulsive, it's progressive, and above all, it's very impressive. Onwards and upwards now with "Another Nail", another tale of nefarious goings-on in medieval times. There' a long 3-minute instrumental intro in this entertaining fast-paced number. It's a real humdinger of a song, guaranteed to get the feet tapping with its sprightly rhythm. In keeping with the medieval theme of castles & kings and gallant knights, the song opens with these lyrics, "Is that your daughter, Drinking some water, Laid on an altar, Selling a king for his crown?" ....... It's another 7 minutes of pure Prog-Folk joy and delight. The intriguingly-titled "Shoes and Ships" is up next. The cryptic lyrics are a mystery wrapped in an enigma, but who cares when the music is this good!? If you like the conventional Folk-Rock of Fairport Convention, and you'd like to hear it given an unconventional progressive twist, then this is the album for you. We come to "The Nothing Song" now, although this 8-minute wonder has everything! It's a lively and stirring number that proudly wears it's English heart on its sleeve. It's all about a day in the life of a typical Englishman, going out on a Saturday night, and having a long lie-in on Sunday - and what better way to spend a Sunday morning than lying back and listening to this wonderful album. And now for the penultimate song on the album "Me and My Kite", a jolly little tune with whimsical lyrics to lead us onto the seventh and final song, "Just Anyone", to play out the album. It's a brooding and mysterious song with enigmatic lyrics and it's a marvellous ending to a superb album overall.

For any fans of Prog-Folk out there who are looking for something fresh and original in the style of Fairport Convention & Fotheringay stirred into a progressive cocktail, then look no further than this compelling album of English Prog-Folk at it's very best. Fuchsia are blooming marvellous!

The feel of Canterbury is still there, strings very much a key part of the overall sound, elements of ISB, loads of acoustic guitar but also enough electric to provide cut through at the right times, but at front and centre is Tony's voice and some wonderful tunes. It took me a long time to work out exactly who Tony was reminding me of, apart from his own work of course, and that is the mighty Ashley Hutchings. Like Ashley he is a master of whatever genre or style he is playing, and whatever song I am listening to is the one I favour most ? which makes it really hard to write a review I can tell you! I don't know how long Tony has been in Sydney, but this is a fully idiosyncratic English album, and if someone told you that this was recorded straight after the first one then it wouldn't take much persuasion. That the songs are also new as opposed to ones being dusted off which were written all those years earlier shows that Tony has lost none of his skills over the years.

At the end I only really have one question, and that is given this was originally came out in 2013 and would have been boosted by the vinyl reissue a few years ago, can we have the third now please? This is class music, which drips with quality and substance, full rich oak as opposed to the plasticity and false nature of so much music in the world today. For lovers of prog folk, who wish for the psychedelic naivety, which is often missing these days, and also for anyone who just wants to relax into something very special indeed.

There is a whimsy about this album, an Englishness, which is hard to describe. At times they remind me of ISB, at others it is more Gryphon, while then they mix in psychedelia to create something that is incredibly atmospheric and immediate. It is the type of album I can listen to all day, with Tony's vocals often to the fore, with ethereal backing vocals creating a backdrop for the music to play against. Sometimes it is the bass leading the way, while at others it is the cello, so that although one trio supports the others it is often the other way around. I hadn't come across this album prior to this reissue, but FDM are really showing the way in grabbing classic albums and then making them available with the true thought and care they deserve.

Firstly, they are keen to point out that this is a fully licenced reissue, nothing dodgy here. Also, being on FDM it is available on vinyl, but also being FDM they have extended it to a full double album with additional songs. The full package comprises the original album, which was released on the Pegasus label in the UK and Kingdom in France, plus a second disc of early demos and new recordings of old songs, including a 15 minute demo recorded by the band before they signed to Pegasus that only exists on a slightly-worn acetate. There is a 15 minute DVD with Tony Durant talking about the album and what happened to him and Fuchsia after the initial release, along with a 60" square fold-out poster of the original album cover, which was drawn by Anne Marie Anderson (who also designed Caravan's 'Land Of Grey And Pink'), a 24pp A4 magazine, with Richard Morton Jack's comprehensive 'Flashback' feature and a reproduction of Tony's handwritten lyrics from the time, all in a gatefold sleeve, with new sleeve notes written by Tony, including his description of each track on the bonus album on heavyweight colour vinyl.

There is something incredibly magical about this album, one that I can easily play time and again. Majestic, wonderful, indispensable, essential, this is music from a time gone by brought back to life with care.

The group is directed by lead singer and guitarist Tony Durant, who fleshes out Fuchsia's acoustic/electric sound with a predominantly female band on violin, cello, viola, harmonium and piano. Opener `Gone With The Mouse' is softly energetic and lively, propelled by forcefully jangling plugged-in guitar strums, sighing plaintive backing vocal longings from the girls and lightly proggy orchestral-like violin interludes that soar gently with confidence.

`A Tiny Book', one of the more ambitious pieces at eight minutes, is a mini-suite of subtle reprising passages that seamlessly move in and out of each-other, darting through everything from frantic electric bursts, wearily wistful ballad ruminations and regal-flecked pomp in the finale that would make Gentle Giant green with envy! Pay close attention to this track - Tony's likable voice here often sounds like the results of a lovechild between the Floyd's Syd Barrett and the nasally Steven Wilson of the early Porcupine Tree works! But moving on, `Another Nail' is bookended with violin-fuelled whimsy that wouldn't have sounded out of place on Caravan albums like `For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night' before crashing into a politely wilder vocal psychedelic runaway rocker with a touch of Pink Floyd/`The Piper at the Gates of Dawn's `Astronomy Domine' to it!

The B-side's `Shoes And Ships' is one of the strongest tunes on the album, a fragile yet elegant folk-popper with frequent orchestral reprises in place of a vocal chorus and a longer instrumental acoustic guitar outro, and it almost sounds like a template for a million indie-pop/folk bands ever since. The playful and loopy `The Nothing Song' practically screams Syd Barrett and his `Madcap Laughs' and `Barrett' albums, and along with some darker little traces locked in, there's a deliciously bent and slightly `off' quality to it all! It's a psychedelic romp that throws in everything from big percussion crashes, rumbling drums, dramatic orchestration, with shambling acoustic guitars alongside manic and mischievous electric guitar soloing.

`Me And My Kite', a favourite amongst fans of the album and group, is a gorgeously twee pop-charmer with a sweet and achingly simple chorus, and the dreamy bluesy guitar bends of closer `Just Anyone' again reminds of the earliest Floyd works.

Sadly, sparse advertising and failed touring opportunities lead to the premature demise of the group soon after, until a compilation of unreleased and related pieces entitled `Fuchsia, Mahogany and Other Gems' emerged in 2005, and more excitingly a revamped modern line-up assembled by Mr Durant, now based in Australia, delivering a well-received proper follow-up `Fuchsia II: From Psychedelia...To a Distant Place' in 2013. But for over forty years now, this charming self-titled work has been Fuchsia's defining musical statement, one that holds an effortlessly melodic crossover quality that would also likely appeal to non-folk fans, and it has retained its infectious and precious charm ever since.

Four stars.

This is an album that is of its time, the production is basic and at times frustrating, but when you listen to the songs you start to appreciate the complexities of what the band where trying to achieve. The album starts off with the majestic 'Gone with the Mouse' a song that glides along and then changes tempo and speed in that prog/folk way. Whats interesting about the record is that it captures that early seventies prog/folk scene really well with songs like 'Me and My Kite' and 'Shoes and Ships'. This is an album that is a real gem, its a pity that the band did not go on to make more records, they have something really special here.

4.5 stars; B+; a near-masterpiece of progressive rock music and a shining example folk-founded rock music.

Yet here we have one of the more fulfilling comebacks I can remember. I don't know how Durant has done it but he has managed to incorporate the acoustic whimsy and vivacious strings of that long ago chestnut and modernized it without plasticizing it. The songs are more instantly appealing as befits the modern era, but the themes are more serious, with an unanticipated immediacy. The arrangements are less airy than those of long ago, reflecting a density that permeates our lives with time and responsibility. No more ditties about flying kites! One of the most enjoyable aspects is Durant's insistence in taking his time throughout this release; you either take your time too or you will miss out, and that's a life lesson I think.

The best tracks here are the first 4, all brilliant, tackling all manner of modern subjects, from urban alienation in "Melancholy Road" to the clash of women's basic rights with religious extremism in "Girl from Kandahar" to isolation amidst ultimate connectivity in "Lost Generations", all arranged sympathetically There is even an memoir of sorts in "Fuchsia Song", one that anyone old enough to look back through a smoky lens can appreciate. Still, it's probably "Rainbow Song" that not only attaches both eras but ties a chromatic bow around them. The final piece, "Piper at the Gates", is also noteworthy, including a searing guitar solo as Durant explores individual and combined legacies in the face of change.

This eminently enjoyable and, we can now say, long overdue, release does not so much fill in the gaps between where Mr Durant was and where he is, but instead includes us all as passengers and participants, whether we began our journey in wartime, boom time, the psychedelic era, in the internet age, or anywhere in between. Highly recommended..

Durant was not keen of complex arrangements or trully adventurous concepts, his aim as admitted was to build popular music orientations around string sections in an orchestral mood and the final result is very close to his likings, like THE BEATLES jamming with ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA with a touch of early RENAISSANCE.The overall atmosphere with the major use of simple-tuned acoustic guitars and female choir parts kind of remind of CARMEN on their less Andaluz-influenced side.But Fuchsia's music is also dominated by instrumental string arrangements in a Classical Music path, supported by a smooth rhythm section and the acoustic guitars of Durant along with his decent vocals.The album would have been trully original back in 1971, but I am not sure it has stood well against the sands of time.It sounds quite dated, easy-listening and far from the true aspects of progressive music, although there is a certain charm coming out of all these grandiose string parts dominating the album.The tracks sound very similar to each other with the same elements heard time after time without a wind of change throughout.

The band did a few concerts back in the days but lack of promotion and a promised but never fullfilled tour by their manager led to the demise of Fuchsia, shortly after their debut was released.

For fans of E.L.O., British Folk Rock or Orchestral Psych/Prog, Fuchsia has a decent value among their collection's item.For the rest be warned that this is a quite accesible release, closer to British Psych than the emerging prog movement...2.5 stars.