WOEBOT: You can't judge a book by its cover. Or a Record.

I've been putting an article together on Prog Rock for FACT magazine, and in the process of getting stuff together I picked up these two from the collectors section upstairs at the Music and Video Exchange. It was a little reckless of me, but I was completely sold on the cover art. What great covers!

Sad to report that, unlike what is suggested, Quintessence are not the British incarnation of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, but a motley bunch of post-Moby Grape plodders attired with a gossamer-thin skein of eastern mysticism. I should have trusted my instincts when I noticed one side of the elpee was dedicated to a live performance at Exeter University. Wow, cosmic!

And Camel are not an electro-fixated, synth-addled power-prog outfit as is perhaps hinted by the banks of ARPs and EMSs listed impressively at the head of their personnel break-out, but something like your breathing soft-rock nightmare.

There are though, as I discovered and share in the piece, plenty of Brit Prog splendours. Pick up a copy if you can. You can even subscribe here...

Comments

Jesus! I had that Quintessence album, cost me a quid in a market in Milton Keynes - think I only bought it cos 'Mahabharat' used to be on TV at the time. I'd forgotten who had done it (I can't remember whether I later flogged this, lost it or gave it away), now the mystery's revealed.

If I remember right, the first song sounds like the theme tune to one of those old BBC kids' dramas with lyrics "Ride, cosmic surfer, ride!" and there's another song sampling a load of cows and sheep (which the Clash may have ripped off for one of the Sandinista tracks). And there was a load of blurb on the back cover about freaking out in your pad. Shit, I wish I still had it now

Posted by: martin | January 31, 2006 09:31 AM

>Shit, I wish I still had it now

Well if you go upstairs to the Notting Hill Collectors M&V you can pick up this copy cos I packed it right back there with its tail between its legs ;-)

Posted by: WOEBOT | January 31, 2006 05:10 PM

For my sins, I saw Camel in the mid-70s at the, er, height of their powers at The Johnson Hall, Yeovil. They weren't much cop.

Curved Air were loads better.

Posted by: kek | January 31, 2006 06:53 PM

kek, you never fail to impress me. and yes, curved air.

Posted by: WOEBOT | February 1, 2006 07:41 PM