SANDROSE

I finally got an old Musea CD reissue of this. Well, better late than never, given I've heard of this group for literally years and heard of their reputation. One of those albums I should have owned in my early days of collecting prog rarities and obscurities (but around 1993-94 I never heard of them, not until around 1999). It's apparently one of the first titles Musea ever reissued back in 1988 (it's not the first release on the label, as they released stuff as far back as 1986). It seems Sandrose was already a rarity and collectible even back in 1988. I don't have the money on me to get an original LP copy to begin with. First released in France in 1972 on Polydor, it received a UK release the following year, but the French original does feature the gatefold the UK pressing lacks. Whatever the case it seems Sandrose has been a Musea best seller.

OK, the one band frequently brought up is Earth & Fire. Certainly, like the Dutch band in question, a female-lead band with Mellotron. But Earth & Fire had pop sensibilities that made them big in their home country. Sandrose didn't. If you replace Rose Podwojny with a male vocalist, it's not too terribly different from early UK prog found on Vertigo and Neon, like Spring, Gracious, Cressida, and Beggars Opera (particularly Waters of Change). A lot of French prog bands I've heard tended to be spacy with a King Crimson or Pink Floyd influence (Pulsar, Carpe Diem, Arachnoid and Artcane comes to mind), but clearly Sandrose follows the early UK prog template of those bands mentioned. So in that case, if you like those UK bands mentioned, you'll have no problem adapting to this. The only trouble may be Rose Podwojny. While she's quite accomplished for an 18 year old, she sometimes had trouble controlling her voice when hitting loud or high notes, so it ends up a bit shrilly. But like those UK bands, Henri Garella packs it with lots of Hammond organ and Mellotron, Mellotron fans certainly need this album as its packed with it. "Vision", while I love the mood and vibe shows some of Rose's disadvantages with her singing as she sounds a bit strained in places. I still love this piece. "Never Good at Sayin' Good Bye" sounds very much like Cressida with a female vocalist. "Underground Session (Chorea)" sounds like it should be a bunch of nonsense, but actually it's just a wonderful extended piece with some nice jazzy parts. "Old Dom is Dead" was actually released as a single, again showing that UK influence. "Summer is Yonder" is a cover, but I can't seem to pinpoint who did it, other than J. Cockenpot is credited. "Metakara" is clearly different, this is a Henri Garella instrumental where he cuts loose on clavinet and Hammond organ. I gather this was towards the end of recording as he never used a clavinet elsewhere. Reminds me of Brian Auger's "Ellis Island" from Julie Driscoll & Brian Auger & the Trinity's Streetnoise from 1969. The last one features a German title "Fraulein Kommen Sie Schalaffen Mit Mir". It's a real short piece, just a bunch of goofing about. I'm glad they didn't try polka here. While the focus seems to be on Rose's singing and Henri's keyboard playing, it seems the mastermind of Sandrose is guitarist Jean-Pierre Alarcen. The only flaw may be Rose Podwojny, as her voice can be a little hard to take in, but the music is very much the classic it is. Worth your time.