I’ll admit to not knowing a whole bunch about these guys, other than they were English. Originally released in ’77, the band sounds like a cross between Yes and Styx. They passed me by back in the day, and I’m not sure why as this is a very enjoyable Prog album. It’s all here: weird fantasy subject matter, overblown arrangements, and great playing.
Opener Away From Asgard is classic Prog fare and done very well. The title track does make me think of Styx, as it’s very reminiscent of their early work. Eerie Lackawanna has a somewhat Supertramp feel to it with a cool funky guitar pattern. Midnite Lite is more of the same and sounds a tad like Gentle Giant. Side closer Love To Share is the weakest song the album and sounds a bit like The Beatles to my ears.
Side 2 kicks off with Train From Nowhere and has a guest appearance from non other than Robert Fripp, which is apt as this song does feel like a Crimson outtake. Listen starts off in epic grandiose style and then slows the pace right down. On The Run is the heaviest sounding track on the album, and the last track, Spread Your Wings has a quirky choppy start then is more of a straight ahead rock song with some nice guitar.
Not a bad album, and would I like to listen to earlier albums to see how proggy they were originally – apparently this album has shorter songs and is more accessible.
7/10 from The Grooveman.
