Jade Warrior - Last Autumn's Dream (1972)
When I first heard this, the opening track struck me as a bit too lyrically barefaced. Then I realized I wasn't appreciating how great an artistic stroke that can be. Then I realized that for all my talk of not placing importance on lyrics, I do focus on them as much as anyone else.
Now I play this album at least once a week. It's a great development on the sounds that were possible thanks to the prog explosion. Earthy, a little granola, fuses beauty and drama very well. Great electric guitar work. Beautiful, congruous use of alto flute. Tribal drumming. For all that instrumental progginess, still manages to swagger in proper early hard rock fashion. I love the lyrics on track one, they fit the music so well, and the song ends on a sort of ironic "la la la" note as if mocking my previous assessment of the song.
Top notch prog. Not hard to find (I've seen two or three in casual crate digs in the past year) even on the original Vertigo label. I wouldn't mind having this on multiple formats. I'm on the lookout for other Jade Warrior albums now.
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