Prog Britannia - Album Reviews

INCOMING!!! A burst of machine-gun percussion opens fire on "Butter Queen", a storming hard rocker all about the real-life groupie Barbara Cope who was known to spread it around amongst the rock fraternity. It boggles the mind what she used to do with a slab of butter and it's probably best left to the imagination. Barbara was intimately acquainted with the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, and Robert Plant once said of her, "Whatever happened to the Butter Queen? She got cheap and started using margarine," so maybe butter really IS better than marge after all. Tragically, Barbara Cope died in a house fire in 2018 at the age of 67 when she was overcome by smoke after successfully rescuing her 93-year-old mother, but the legend of the "Butter Queen" lives on forever. We're getting all Dazed and Confused now to the sound of some thunderous Led Zep- style power-riffing with "Daze", another sonic blast from the past with Gunnery Sergeants Paul & Adrian Gurvitz blazing away in a take-no-prisoners, rapid-fire Rambo rampage, backed up by some powerhouse drumming from Lance Corporal Mike Kellie. The power trio of Three Man Army sound like they're armed and dangerous and ready to rumble. This blitzkrieg album should come supplied with camouflage cream, combat fatigues and Meals Ready to Eat (or MRE's in army jargon), known derisively by army grunts in the field as "Meals Rejected by Ethiopians". FIRE IN THE HOLE!! Take cover and batten down the hatches because there's no let-up in the incredible pace of this album as the Gurvitz brothers unleash another fast and furious fusillade of fire with "Another Way". It's a real Stormbringer of a song with a syncopated funky Rock groove, featuring sudden dynamic bursts of guitar riffing sounding not unlike machine-gun fire, which is no less than what we've come to expect from the Three Man Army of romping, stomping stormtroopers. This dynamic British trio are about as likely to perform a weepy romantic ballad as the proud British navy are likely to name their next magnificent aircraft carrier the HMS Vulnerable, but hang on a minute, what's this..... ATTEN-SHUN! Stand at ease, because it's time now to take a breather as there's a complete change of pace for the title track "A Third of a Lifetime", ironically recorded two thirds of a lifetime ago. It's a beautifully lush instrumental piece featuring gorgeous guitars and vivacious violins, designed to take the listener on a magic carpet ride before ascending the Stairway to Heaven. This lovely musical extravaganza may not have the benefit of vocals, but this epic sweeping soundscape will surely inspire you with a Whole Lotta Love. It's as romantic as a candlelit dinner for two at an exclusive restaurant, only without the annoying little Spanish waiter serenading the courting couple with his third-rate flamenco music, when all they want to do is pay him to just go away and leave them alone. There's another instrumental "Nice One" to round off Side One now and a very "Nice One" it is too, featuring pounding sledgehammer drumming and heavy blues guitar riffing, and be prepared for some stratospheric guitar glissandos too. Those effects pedals and amps are turned up to the max with enough guitar reverb to send the music soaring, swirling and echoing higher up into the heavens than a Eurofighter Typhoon!

Opening Side Two now is a song that's so good, the band named it after themselves. Yes, it's "Three Man Army", another solid slab of pure unadulterated hard and heavy Rock, only this time, it's locked and loaded with a powerful anti-war message, as these lyrics reveal:- "I came a long way from my home town, at 16 years of age. They told me that I'd be a brave man, and killing's all the rage. Why should we stand here and fight? No one seems to know, and no one seems to care." ..... Give peace a chance, although there's no chance of peace breaking out any time soon when the Gurvitz brothers are out on the rampage with their twin blitzing guitar attacks. The sonic assault on the eardrums continues with "Agent Man", featuring the familiar trademark machine-gun delivery we've come to know and love by now from the riff-meisters. This is guitar heaven! If the Gurvitz brothers haven't yet stunned you into submission, then have a listen to "See What I Took". This song is incredible! On the surface, it might appear as a typical slice of early 1970's countrified Pop, but lurking just underneath the surface like a predatory shark are some pounding killer guitar shredding solos which are just waiting to rip the song to shreds. This is like Grateful Dead meets Black Sabbath. You really have to hear it to believe it! If your eardrums are in need of a well-earned rest after that all-out sonic attack, then the penultimate tune "Midnight" makes for a very pleasantly laid-back instrumental interlude, featuring some simply sublime organ soloing and soothingly mellow guitar leads, demonstrating that there's more to the Gurvitz brothers than just storm and thunder hard rockers. Three Man Army are going out in a Blaze of Glory with their final song "Together", which is sure to delight fans of Led Zeppelin and the Moody Blues together. This rousing 7-minute-long epic combines the Mellotron magic and majesty of Nights in White Satin with the rip-roaring anthemic glory of "Stairway to Heaven". It's a tremendous album highlight to close this stunning album, and if the other nine blazing songs are all glowing stars in the galaxy, then "Together" is a brilliant supernova!

Prepare yourself for the storming Gurvitz Blitz of Three Man Army! Their thunderous Led Zeppelin-inspired Hard Rock is guaranteed to lift you out of a Black Dog depression and inspire you with a Whole Lotta Love. If you're left feeling Dazed and Confused and Trampled Under Foot following four months of lockdown during this frightful Chinese Virus year of 2020, then this uplifting album will take you up the Stairway to Heaven. "A Third of a Lifetime" was recorded two thirds of a lifetime ago, but The Song Remains the Same through the passing of the years for their timeless brand of Rock & Roll. Three Man Army are tooled up with bandoliers of thrumming power chords and heavy percussion ammo, so expect No Quarter as they rampage and blitz their way through ten sonorous songs. If you're lucky enough to find this rare album Over the Hills and Far Away in a record store, then that will be a Celebration Day!

"King Progress" opens in bright and lively style with "Mr Screw", a song with an upbeat uptempo Funk-Rock groove to it. The "Mr Screw" of the title refers to the British slang for a prison officer, and the angry prisoner (singer) sounds like he has an axe to grind about prison conditions, although they can't be nearly as bad as sitting through an entire series of Prisoner Cell Block H. That really would be cruel and unusual punishment. The song has an underlying air of menace about it, a bit like the kind of underlying air of menace you might experience if you walked into a Las Vegas Casino run by Robert De Niro, while in the backroom, Joe Pesci is busy beating some poor unfortunate gambling cheat's face into a bloody pulp, just before putting his head in a vice and then taking him for a long midnight drive out into the desert..... Well, maybe "Mr Screw" is not quite as menacing as that.

It's time now to light up a joss-stick and chillout to the far-out psychedelic vibes of "Since I Last Saw You", a song with a dreamy and laid-back mellow groove. This song is as cool, calm and collected as Bono from U2 with his wrap-around shades and slicked-back hair, although if Bono really IS that cool, why did he name himself after a dog biscuit, and why does he wear sunglasses at night!? ..... Anyway, "Since I Last Saw You" is a song that floats along melodiously on a wispy purple haze of swirling smoke from a middle-eastern hookah or shiska pipe. It's the kind of tripped-out psychedelic music you might have heard playing in the groovy Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco back in the "Summer of Love" year of 1967. If you're in the mood for crossing your legs in the lotus position in preparation for a long laid-back session of transcendental meditation - or even tantric sex if you're feelin' really adventurous and have a willing partner - then this is the song for you.

The weather outlook is sunny and warm for our next song..... If you're a sun worshipper, then you might just be a "Sunshine Freak", because that's the title of the third song on the album. If you've ever wanted to experience the lovely feeling of a warm Summer Breeze making you feel fine, and blowing through the jasmine of your mind, then you can do it right here from the comfort of your armchair with this glorious burst of radiant Sunshine Pop. You don't even need any Warp Factor 7 suncream to enjoy this song and there's absolutely no risk of going red in the sun like the B-52's "Rock Lobster". This vibrant Folky Pop number is flying high like the Byrds, only without the jangly sound of Roger McGuinn's twelve-string Rickenbacker guitar, and if you're lucky enough to be listening to "Sunshine Freak" while the sun is shining outside, then throw open the patio doors and Let the Sunshine In during this present-day Age of Aquarius.

And now we arrive at the title track: "King Progress". It's an old-fashioned, plaintive Folky ballad with a somewhat melancholy air (aren't all ballads melancholy by their very nature!??), featuring gently lilting guitar strings, mournful cellos and sweeping violins. The music has something of an Elizabethan feel to it, which could be down to the sound of a crumhorn. It's the kind of medieval madrigal that might have been played at some great merry-making banquet in Elizabeth 1's or Henry VIII's time. Yes, this charmingly sweet ditty is a real feast for the ears. Picture the lavish scene where copious amounts of food and wine have already been consumed and half-eaten chicken legs are being carelessly thrown over the shoulder, accompanied by the sound of breaking glass, as empty wine glasses are thrown into the blazing hearth fire with gay abandon. Not to mention lusty wenches who are ready, willing and able to be bedded down for the night to the accompanying sound of creaking rusty bedsprings. Well, one always lives in hope.

There's no doubt about it, the fifth song "Doubting Thomas" is a rompin' stompin' Folk-Rock knees-up from beginning to end, in the best traditions of some of Bob Dylan's livelier Folk-Rock numbers, and as an added bonus, the song features a Dylan- style harmonica solo too. This uptempo country-tinged melody bounces along merrily on its way for over four minutes. It's hardly the kind of authentic country music you might hear played at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, but then again, these are country boys from the back streets of London, England. The playfully silly lyrics leave one in no doubt that "Doubting Thomas" is not to be taken too seriously:- "Is this another tale of Doubting Thomas?, Very devious man is he, Keeps his goldfish in the bathtub, His sister's strange, a sight to see, Fight for territorial waters, He has a bit tiny taste of ass, His wife is frying him piranha, We think they're smarter with the bass." ..... As you can see, the lyrics make no sense whatsoever, but it's all jolly good fun at the end of the day and the party atmosphere sounds like a wonderful time was had by all involved.

If you've ever suffered from sleepless nights, then you'll certainly be able to relate to the next song: "Insomnia". This dreamy downtempo number with its spaced-out laid-back ambience might even help you drift off to sleep and "trance-port" you to a land of blissful sweet dreams. Just kick off your shoes and lie back and think of England as you listen to this marvellous piece of music from a bygone era a half-century ago, when up-and-coming British bands like Jackson Heights were recording albums of this high calibre on a regular basis. In fact, comparing this gorgeous slice of musical nostalgia with some of the mindless Pop we hear played regularly on the radio today, is a bit like comparing an exotic ride on the Orient Express from London to Istanbul with champagne and caviar, to a British Rail cattle-class trip from London to Sc**thorpe with bread and water. It's really no contest at all.

And so, alas dear friends, we've reached the seventh and final song on the album: "Cry of Eugene", an absolutely beautiful album highlight. This is a classic case of saving the best song until last, so get ready to experience eight minutes of musical magic and sheer delight with the echoing sound of a guitar soaked in reverb, bathed in a virtual aurora borealis of vibrant psychedelic colours. This calming and hypnotic music is a hauntingly beautiful psychedelic relic from the sixties and a true lost album treasure in the wonderworld of prog. This moody and magnificent piece of music reminds one somewhat of some of the early classics from the Moody Blues, only without the haunting sound of the mellotron. This is what REAL music sounds like, unlike much of the instantly forgettable Pop of today (Britney Spears or Justin Bieber, anyone?), which is about as interesting to listen to as hearing the latest BBC Radio 4 Shipping Forecast for the state of the sea at Dogger Bank.

Jackson Heights have risen from the ghetto and made a very impressive entrance onto the world stage with "King Progress", an awesome album that stands out as much from some of the mediocre music of today as the magnificent Taj Mahal palace in Agra (not the local Indian restaurant) would stand out in the ("grim up north") mining town of Barnsley in South Yorkshire.