Friday 20th April

If I am not careful you will think that all my musical influences came from Adrian.  That’s not true, of course, but it is true that I had managed (before meeting him) to quite successfully isolate myself from most of the musical explosion that occurred in the sixties and seventies.  Adrian used to play this record all the time, and it was one of the few I really loved.  It is a beautiful and haunting record which cleverly marries the sounds of a ‘rock’ band with a full orchestra, to the point that some of the songs are almost mini-symphonies with subtle variations of sound and texture.   The album starts off with ‘She Said’ a strange melody and haunting words of almost regret. “She said, ‘why don’t you come and stay with me.’” The song features a really quiet middle section before a great whooshing of sound as the orchestra is dragged back in; I always find myself full of excitement as I anticipate this surge of sound.  This must be one of the best opening songs of any album as it sets you up perfectly for the rest of the record.  The best known song is ‘Mocking Bird’ – a classic in every way, but my very favourites are the two almost acoustic songs ‘Vanessa Simmonds’ and ‘Galadriel’.   No matter how sad I am feeling those opening lines “She comes up with the morning sun, to tell me life has just begun, Oh what it is to be young”  never fails to lift my mood and make me feel good, which is all that you want from music; the ultimate drug.

Of course, they were never really fashionable, even in the seventies, and one gets reactions varying from laughter to derision if one mentions them these days.  But these fools do not know what a gem they are consigning to the dustbin of popular music.  Go listen.