TOWARD THE SUN

The "Yes-clone" debate. I care not to be honest with you. Yes, the vocalist sounds uncannily like Jon Anderson with a very high, gentle voice. Yes, the bassist has a sound that is a bit Squirish. And yes, they have flowery lyrics and a fantasy album cover here. Whether the similarities are intentional or not is for those who care to debate. All I know is I like this album, side 1 is especially good with side 2 not so much. I'll get the criticism out of the way right off the bat: this band has moments of "sweetness" that might be toxic for some. They have the same kind of syrupiness at times that you will find in other 70s 2nd tier bands like Sebastian Hardie, Tai Phong, and Styx. Their composition is not as complex or aggressive as Yes, being more in the gentle modes (usually) somewhere between Moonmadness and Willowglass. So if you bristle at the thought of those kinder, gentler fantasy 70s prog albums you will want to pass. But..

If you like such albums then you will like this one!! I can be awfully cynical myself but if you can swallow the Anderson-like vocals I think this is really good, accessible symphonic. Druid were a band formed by two friends from Berkhamstead who won a Melody Maker contest which awarded them a record deal among other prizes. It would be a blessing and a curse.

The material is very warm and inviting and will pull you right in if you let it. The songs are generally speaking slower and mellower than Yes and less complex than Genesis but are every bit as gorgeous as both. They are very well constructed and focus mainly on being engaging and melodious first, with flash only displayed occasionally. A mellotron lover's dream, the whole album floats on a cloud of 'tron that is used perhaps a bit too much for some. The style is like Sebastian Hardie but a little more varied I think: often the pace is deliberate like SH but I find the payoffs more interesting. I'm never looking at my watch like I do with Hardie who seem so repetitive at times. Druid always has another interesting avenue to pursue around each musical corner. "Voices" begins with an upbeat introduction with Dane and Brewer running riffs off each other. After 3 minutes of rather muscular (by Druid standards) chest beating on the guitars, the lovely mellotron and vocals begin. It then redefines the word you see used a lot to describe this kind of music: lush. The keyboards provide the background along with solid bass guitar for Dane's expressive lead guitar playing, he is quite good in a Latimer way of peeling off emotional leads. "Remembering" builds slowly and beautifully with more amazing, slow leads towards the end. "Theme" sounds very Camelish throughout to me and even throws in a bit of sax and a jazzy e-piano solo. It also features some of Dane's most exciting lead guitar. "Toward the Sun" nicely blends a country vibe into the acoustic opening. The parts are so nicely layered here that you won't care about words like "derivative" if you just love beautiful music. "Red Carpet for an Autumn" is a very nice feather in the cap, just a nice solo piano melody for a bit until the vocal and mellotron pick it up. The first of two 10-minute closing tracks is "Dawn of Evening" and it begins with soft keyboards and gentle wordless vocals until we hear bells being chimed. The band comes in at about two minutes and Dane begins some nice leads. The bass is pretty chunky in the section where the verse begins. The latter section injects some acoustic guitar and a change in the verse structure, plus some nice keyboard effects to spice things up a bit. Dane closes with a nice electric solo. The album ends with "Shangri-La" which is one of the two tracks Druid played in the famous contest that won them their record deal. It's a pleasant and ambitious piece focusing on the journey of one's life and the search for truth, and fulfillment of dreams. While not exactly "The Revealing Science of God" it does showcase the groups obvious talents at nicely arranging their feel-good material with drama and flair.

"Toward the Sun" easily gets 3 stars and I'd go another ½ star perhaps, worth checking out for fans of sweeter 70s symphonic. Side 1 is solid 4 stars but side 2 drags the overall score down a bit. The group went on the road after this album but faced some backlash from winning the contest and had trouble getting press from other publications as they didn't want to tout Melody Maker's find. Druid would make a second album but fold after that as punk emerged. They are not an essential prog experience by my standards but are an enjoyable find for those who have all the essentials and are looking for some new symphonic to enjoy.

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