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ASYLUM (JAP. LTD. PAPERSLEEVE ED.)
CRESSIDA
1971 , UK - Out of print/Fuori stampa
Label: UNIVERSAL
ALBUM REVIEW
A year later their promising debut Cressida puts off Asylum. This new effort introduces a lot of differences even though their remarkable sound is left intact. One of these is represented by some line-up changes. The surprising John Hayworth, who appears as a writer only with the worderful album closing Let Them Come When They Fall, is here replaced on guitar by John Cullen reducing a lot his predecessor’s role. The lovely Mellotron sound is left back in place of a real violin section: this choice enriches the instrumental parts with a great symphonic approach. The bass lines, performed by an improved Kevin McCarthy, are more recognizable than in the past reminding sometimes of Chris Squire’s. Some wind appearances (oboe and flute) refined a lot of passages, too. On the other hand Angus Cullen, whose vocals fit perfectly the feeling of the compositions, confirms an intense interpretation and contributes with writing the major number of the songs, the shorter; while, the longer ones comes from the above-mentioned Hayworth and probably the real leader of the band, the keyboard player Peter Jennings. In fact, he wrote the album masterpiece, the nine minutes long Munich and play all his parts alternating the unmistakable Hammond organ and the revalued piano especially in the jazzy moments. It has been a pity that, as for many bands of that time, the lack of popularity, due to the insufficient sellings of the records but also to the bad critics in some reviews, made the band splitted up. Asylum is an essential gem in every prog fan collection. (Eventyr) For further info visit one of the following websites: Rate Your Music, Prog Archives, My Space, or Progweed. Italian readers can especially visit the following ones: Arlequins, Wikipedia
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