THE TURN OF A FRIENDLY CARD

It is good to see the APP moving beyond their normal boundaries, by including an almost side long suite on this album. Not since their excellent first album had they ventured beyond fairly basic song structures and melodies. "The turn of a friendly card" suite is however as bit of a cop out, since in reality it is three separate tracks on a related theme, book-ended by a fourth piece.

The first side of the album consists of four mainstream pop related songs. "May be a price to pay" is sung by the intriguingly named Elmer Gantry, presumably not the Burt Lancaster version though! "Games people play", with lead vocals by Lenny Zakatek has a slightly adventurous instrumental middle section, but apart from that it is pure toe tapping pop rock. Zakatek returns a short while later on the similar "I don't want to go home".

The best track on the album is "Time" (no relation to the Pink Floyd track, but a close relation of "Us and them" from the same album), a lovely plodding ballad, with excellent vocals by the woefully under credited Eric Woolfson.

Side two opens with what effectively serves as a prelude to the title suite. "The gold bug" is a typical Parsons instrumental featuring some fine but uncredited sax, and melodic vocalisation.

The minute "The turn of friendly card" starts, it is clear that the quality control has suddenly been turned up significantly. This is due in no small part to the distinctive vocals of Chris Rainbow (one time of Camel, but also a notable solo artist). Rainbow sings on all but one of the sections, "Nothing left to lose" which sees Eric Woolfson make his second vocal contribution to the album. The theme of the piece looks at the futility of gambling, although it has to be said that any examination of this heavy topic here is very superficial.

The orchestration which features throughout the suite comes to the fore on "The ace of swords", an effective instrumental passage. The following "Nothing left to lose" has some of the strongest melodies on the album. Eric Woolfson offers a wonderful vocal performance to complement the reflective lyrics. The track develops through a brief reprise of the "Snake eyes" theme into one Ian Bairnson's most aggressive guitar solos and a reprise of the title song to close the album. The final instrumental passage provides a wonderful coda to this superb piece.

In all, certainly not an album without blemishes, but one of the APP's strongest and most resilient offerings. The title suite is essential listening for all those who have found something to enjoy in the collective's other albums. Recommended.

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