"A Quest for Prog" is a series of 50 Progressive Rock reviews to be written over a year. The band selection is taken from the book in the first post on this blog. And the albums I am reviewing is based on the highest user ratings for each band on Progarchives.com.
The Enid - In The Region Of The Summer Stars (1976)
Produced by John Sinclair
Robert John Godfrey: Keyboards
Stephen Stewart: Guitars and Bass
Francis Lickerish: Guitars
Glen Tollet: Bass
Dave Storey: Drums and Percussion
Dave Hancock: Trumpet
Track listing:
Side one:
01. The Fool...The Falling Tower (6:16)
02. Death, The Reaper (3:59)
03. The Lovers (5:17)
04. The Devil (4:14)
Side two:
01. The Sun (4:39)
02. The Last Judgement (8:12)
03. In The Region Of The Summer Stars (6:19)
Released in 1976 “In The Region Of The Summer Stars” is the debut album by English band The Enid. Formed in 1975 by former Barkly James Harvest member Robert John Godfrey with Stephen Stewart and Francis Lickerish. The three had previously played in a Kent School band called Finchden Manor. The band had success during the punk explosion which most other Progressive band failed to do. “In The Region Of The Summer Stars” was partially re-recorded in 1984 the band look to put the album back in print and discovered the second side masters were missing.
The album begins with “The Fool...The Falling Tower”. “The Fool...” being a short piano piece and “...The Falling Tower” begin reminiscent of Frank Zappa with a Glam Rock feel. The track is quite progressive moving around in the way a free Jazz quartet might. There are burst that very orchestral in feel and there are even some timpani’s used at the more epic moments. The guitars and keyboards are really strong and the bass has a funk feel similar to the sound Les Claypool would adopt with Primus. Cool tune.
“Death, The Reaper” is a slower more symphonic tune. The track is grandiose with medieval sounding guitars and keyboards. Tubular Bells and Timpani’s used to added emphasis to the track. It sounds assured and confident but the track does drag a bit.
Next is the muzak “The Lovers”. This tune goes to the extreme of the theme by being cheesy elevator music. The arrangement is quiet and slight and seems extremely timid. This is music that will never stand out and always be wallpaper.
The opposite of the theme is “The Devil”. In this song the band is trying to sound evil but it comes across as being kind of jaunty and happy. The playing is really good in this track and the band is really playing with changes in tempo and time signatures. To be honest the track is a bit silly but it is fun at the same time.
Side two starts with the overblown “The Sun”. It didn’t like this track much at all. It is a dreamy classical Flute and Piano piece that really doesn’t go anywhere.
Next is the “The Last Judgement” which maintains a military drum through the track. This gives you the feel of a battle but one that does drag on a bit. The keyboards are the star with the sound being similar to the Clockwork Orange Soundtrack. The track has some good parts like the breakdown in this song which features Timpani’s and echoed voices.
The album ends with the title track “In The Region Of The Summer Stars”. This track has a classic era Pink Floyd feel to it some very Gilmouresque Slide Guitar. The song is very upbeat and optimistic song which really builds and gets better as the song progresses. Nice end to the album.
This album is a bit hit and miss. There are some really good pieces (“The Falling Tower” & “In The Region Of The Summer Stars”) but there are also some really bad tracks (‘The Lovers” & “The Sun”) there rest is just alright.
4/10
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