FOR YOU THE OLD WOMEN

"For You the Old Women" is the debut full-length studio album by US, New Jersey based progressive rock act Mirthrandir. The album was independently released in 1976 and it took quite a few years before the Syn-Phonic label opted to reissue the album for a (at the time) CD release in 1992. Mirthrandir formed in 1973 and "For You the Old Women" is their only release from their initial run. Like many other contemporary progressive rock artists who were a few years too late to the game (artists like Yezda Urfa and Cathedral are valid references) they suffered the fate that their music was pretty much overlooked over simply never discovered during their active years as a consequence of poor distribution and marketing.

Stylistically they play an eclectic type of progressive rock with nods toward pretty much all the big contemporary artists of the era like Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and Gentle Giant. Mirthrandir are a well playing unit and lead vocalist John Vislocky III has a pretty strong voice and a decent delivery. He is not the most unique sounding vocalist, but his voice and vocal style suit the material. The instrumental part of the music is relatively complex with quite a few changes in pace and style. You´ll find both hard rocking riffs, counterpoint melodies, time-signature changes, breaks, and other adventurous musical ideas (but also epic and mellow pastoral sections). In addition to the "regular" rock instruments drums, guitar, and bass, the music also features several different keyboards/organs, and occasional use of flute and trumpet. The latter is actually a really nice touch to the music, and when the trumpet appears it provides Mirthrandir´s music with something unique, which the remaining part of their music maybe doesn´t feature too much...

...because as well performed, well produced, and well written the album is, "For You the Old Women" isn´t a particularly original sounding release. It simply wears its influences too much on its sleeves, which is why it´s a good quality album which is certainly well made and entertaining for fans of eclectic progressive rock from the 70s, but doesn´t quite reach the highest levels of excellence because of the lack of a unique sound. It´s still a highly recommendable release though and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is fully deserved.