MANDALABAND [AKA: MANDALABAND I]

Had this record been faultless you probably would have heard about it, but sadly this otherwise brave project is a bit plagued by its poor recording sound. Playing it loud helps though. There is actually much to like here; symphonic prog meets (Tibetan) spiritual music. An interesting musical vision with a side long suite as well. Orchestral sound palette including a choir on some passages. The keyboards are not that different from Barclay James, The Enid and ELP and the thick Les Paul guitar leads of Ashley Mulford will probably be enjoyed by fans of Hacket and Hillage. On the second track the band also shows some jazz-inspired chops with particularly fine drumming of Tony Cresswell. The musicianship here is quite good and the compositions do reach some prog bliss heavens - albeit sounding as if they were reached in a bunker. The vocals are fine too, though the lyrics are either not in English or full of dated political cliches. On some tracks the lead vocals are a bit buried in the mix, like on the opening track. The mood is quite glorious, celebratory and heavenly and people who frequent the word 'bombastic' will most certainly have their way here. The instrumental sections are particularly strong compared to the somewhat cheesier song- writing. On 'Om Mani Padme Hum (Movement Four)' the band is particularly on fire with a fine show of forceful prog rock with some great guitar solo's. The second side is bit more straight-forward and therefor more like your typical prog rock. The main riff of side two's opener 'Determination' could have been written by Yes themselves. It has yet another stellar guitar solo. 'Song for a King' sounds like it came straight from a Barclay James Harvest album. The singing on 'Roof of the World' reminds me a bit of Arthur Brown, another nice up-tempo orchestral rock track. The last track 'Looking In' is a mellow track with funk and jazz influences and soulful vocals. It ends the album with a great instrumental break-out. In conclusion; this is a nice curiosity and I'm glad to have owned the vinyl for a while, but it's a dated record that I would only recommend to real collectors of symphonic prog. For eastern influences in progressive rock I would gladly recommend mid-seventies Jade Warrior instead.