Rock On! Wednesday, 29 November 2023 – Spirogyra, Trees, Comus, Mellow Candle & Jan Dukes De Grey
Psychedelic, heavy, prog and more innovating sounds spanning the late 60s and the early 70s – Wednesday August 15th. Dan’s pick of the week: Spirogyra (St. Radigunds), Trees (The Garden of Jane Delawney), Comus (First Utterance), Mellow Candle (Swaddling Songs) & Jan Dukes De Grey (Mice and Rats in the Loft).
Deze muzikanten uit Canterbury ontwikkelden een van de betere voorbeelden van prog-folk of folk-prog. De oorspronkelijke bezetting bestond uit Martin Cockerham als zanger en gitarist, de mooie en bij progheads welbekende Barbara Gaskin op zang, Steve Borrill op bas en Julian Cusack op viool.
Prog Archives review: “Spirogyra’s first album is the closest thing that comes to Comus’s First Utterances. It actually pre-dates it by a few weeks! Please note that Dave Mattacks will drum on al three albums but will never be a member! He was busy in Fairport Convention at the time and will also drum for Jethro Tull during the 80’s. Barbara Gaskin is also known for her work with Hatfield And The North (as one of the Northettes along with Amanda Parsons) and her work with National Health and in the 80’s with Dave Stewart and Bill Bruford!
What we have here is superb folk rock , avoiding some of the clichés (no done-to-death covers of traditional tunes) , inventive enough to be classified as folk-prog. The main writer Cockerham is also often engaging in great duos with Gaskin and this is , along with the violin of Cussack and Borril’s great bass lines, the main reasons for sounding so close to Comus! But where Comus was dark and demonic, Spirogyra is more political and romantic. (…)
They saved their best track to close the album. The Duke of Beaufoot is simply riveting and really holding your attention much the same way that Traffic did with John Barleycorn Must Die. I simply cannot recommend this album enough if you are into intricate folk rock ambiances.”
Wednesday, November 29 2023 12:00 noon CET Brussels – 11 a.m. GMT London. Repeated: 16:00 & 20:00 hrs CET Brussels, 3 p.m. & 7 p.m. GMT London
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