MANDALABAND [AKA: MANDALABAND I]

This is a tough album to judge. The musicians are absolutely superb. Particularly I find Vic Emerson's keyboards and Tony Cresswell's drums to be up to par with many better known prog performances. But the compositions rarely do them justice.

The album is essentially two parts. The first half is a four part suite called Om Mani Padme Hum. This is a bombastic somewhat symphonic work, that relies heavily on orchestral and choral arrangements. There are some nice passages, but much of it sounds like it was recorded in a vast cavern, giving it a mushy sound. And while compositionally, the music is fairly good, it is spoiled by overly theatrical vocals.

The second half consists of four slightly proggy tracks, that have a sound that reminds me a bit of early Yes, or possibly Flash. Unfortunately, these songs also have the overbearing vocals, which happen to be singing unbearably naive lyrics, all pertaining to Tibet and the Dalai Lama.

There is some intrinsic value to the album, based mostly on the instrumental performances. But I can't give it any more than three stars.