MOTHER SUPERIOR

MOTHER SUPERIOR formed in London in 1974 and consisted of New Zealand native Lesley Sly (vocals, keyboards), Audrey Swinburne (vocals, guitars), Jackie Badger (bass, vocals) and Jackie Crew (drums, vocals). While a rare breed indeed where a band consisted of four women who played their own instruments and crafted a unique blend of British prog and standard rock with jazz overtones was unheard of but the novelty managed to attract the attention of Polydor Records which released its album. The album title LADY MADONNA was a reference to The Beatles song of the same name and the album even includes an interesting cover version that takes on a classic ragtime performance of the track. Comparisons with Earth and Fire, Fusion Orchestra and Sandrose have been made even regarding the musical style. Basically MOTHER SUPERIOR crated a crossover style of prog and classic rock that added intricate keyboard runs and subtle complexities to a more basic melodic rock approach.

While women in the 1970s were pretty much limited to the role of lead singer with an occasional rhythm instrument thrown in for good measure, MOTHER SUPERIOR not only wrote their music but performed it admirably as well. The band toured England and Europe extensively during its short existence and if you have any doubts that females couldn't be excellent musicians in prog rock then just check out the excellent instrumental "Ticklish Allsorts" on this album and you'll be set straight. Clearly from one spin of LADY MADONNA it becomes clear that it wasn't talent that was the limiting factor but perhaps image. Even though the feminist movement and women's rights were strong in the cultural consciousness, the world of prog and music biz in general probably wasn't quite ready for a group of strong women cranking out catchy yet sophisticated music of their own making. LADY MADONNA is an instantly lovable album that showcases not only some interesting prog chops but also a womanly way of tackling prog with sensual interpretations of an oft knotty angular music known for its abstractness.

With a typical LP run of just over 39 minutes, LADY MADONNA featured seven tracks opening with the instantly infectious "No Time Toulouse Lautrec" which starts things off with an eerie intro that keeps you in suspense until a funky bass, clever keyboard use and rock guitar joins in. The harmonic vocal approach adds a sensual touch to the hard rock and proggy breakdowns and keyboard runs add the proper touches to elevate MOTHER SUPERIOR out of mere Heart territory. BTW these gals emerged a year before Heart released its debut "Dreamboat Annie." The following "Just One Look" continues the songwriting ingenuity with a bouncy rocker that adds some moody atmospheric keyboards and excellent vocal harmony engineering. Also notable is Lesley Sly's honky tonk piano attacks. By the time "Mood Merchant" arrives as the third track, it's more than obvious that MOTHER SUPERIOR was much more than a novelty as a token all-female prog band. These girls were quite talented and to my ears reminds me more of crossover bands like Argent with clever hook-laden riffs, excellent tight-knit instrumental interplay and brilliant contrapuntal melodic tapestries.

Despite all efforts on the band's part, the record company didn't take MOTHER SUPERIOR seriously enough and didn't promote them. In fact despite being from the UK, a British release wasn't secured and unfortunately this band is scarcely known even by modern prog stalwarts. True that MOTHER SUPERIOR was very much in the crossover camp with instantly addictive melodies and a standard classic rock approach augmented by proggy accoutrements but was clearly talented in both the songwriting department as well as the musical delivery. Personally i was quite surprised how good this one was. While the album cover suggests a proto-version of the Runaways, MOTHER SUPERIOR was in a league of its own as far as all-female bands are concerned for this era. Unfortunately after this album appeared the lineup started to disintegrate and even male members were recruited but unfortunately momentum was lost and the band called it quits leaving this sole album as the woefully single example of an entire female band that crossed over into prog in the 1970s. This is not to be missed!