Comus: A pagan rock appreciation

Earlier in the year, I bought a CD entitled “Gather in the Mushrooms: The Best of the British Acid-Folk Underground 1968-1974”. To give a flavour of the vibe of the collection (or at least the vibe aimed for) , the opening track is ‘Corn Rigs’ by Magnet, taken from the film ‘The Wicker Man’, a film which no doubt many of ye will be familiar. Not every track fits the bill (the sinful omission of Chinese white, for instance), however, the closing track is one of the most beautiful tracks I have ever heard: “The Herald” by Comus.

Comus played a dark pagan acid-folk-rock from around 1969-1972, when they split, only to reform briefly in 74 to record a follow up album to their debut masterpiece, First Utterance. Most of the tracks are somewhere between the 5000 spirits period Incredible String Band and ‘Witches Promise’ era Jethro Tull. However, Comus’s uniqueness comes from the vocals: Roger Wooton has a voice that could be compared the Family’s Roger Chapman, yet even shriller and more manic (yes, it is possible!). Playing the goddess to Wooton’s horned god is the soaring angelic voice of Bobbie Watson.

The pagan theme is strong on the album, which will come as no surprise to those of ye that have heard of another Comus, that is the sorcerer kin of the woods in John Milton’s 17^th century tale. The lyrics are dark and brooding, dwelling on such themes as rape, sacrifice, murder and madness, giving the album a dark run-through-the-forest feel.

The Herald, however, has to be heard to be believed. It is haunting soaring, melancholic and uplifting (on a personal note, it gives me the same feeling I get when I here ‘Morning Glory’ by Tim Buckley, the Goodbye & Hello version that is). I believe this to be one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever recorded.

The album First Utterance was recorded in 1970, and released in early 1971 to little critical and no commercial success. Never destined for mainstream consumption, it’s fate was compounded by the fact that the underground music scene had fragmented. Perhaps as a reaction to the sometimes bewildering eclecticism and cross-pollination of the later half of the sixties, rock had fragmented into discrete and mutually exclusive categories. Following the success of the Band in the United States and Fairport’s ‘Liege and Lief’ in the UK, folk-rock metamorphosed into purist rootsism, while rock was rock (Jimmy Pages occasional forays into folkisms not withstanding). Thus a band like Comus, essentially acoustic folk-rock (no drum kit either!), but driven by the ethos of the late ‘60s, fell between the two stools of roots and rock. Their masterpiece sold thin on the ground and has hitherto been unknown to all but the select few willing to shell out small fortunes for rare psychedelic masterpieces (Meic Stevens wonderful ‘Outlander’ suffered the exact same fate, for the exact same reasons).

Music fans however have been served well by Sanctuary records, who have recently released “Song to Comus: The Complete Collection” a two-disc collection of all their recorded work. Yesterday, the CD arrived through my letterbox, and I listened to the first disc (First Utterance, the accompanying EP and a demo track) about three times. I can’t wait to get home and play it again.

I would like to thank the compilers of the Gather in the Mushroom’s compilation for introducing me to the music of Comus; Sanctuary records for re-releasing their entire output; and of course Comus themselves for creating this wonderful music in the first place.

You can find out more about Comus at http://www.progarchives.com/Progressive_rock_discography_BAN D.asp?band_id=912

I got my copy from www.101dc.com but you could also try https://www.freakemporium.com/ which specialises in 60’s and 70’s underground recordings.