Chris Neal-Winds Of Isis 1974 Aust Prog LP Mellotron

	A$		25
	$		17

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Chris Neal-Winds Of Isis 1974 Australian Prog LP.

Tracks: Prelude
Into the Valley of the Ancients - a Glimpse of Isis
Full Moon Lightning - the Field Test
Ritual Eternal - Initiation of the Searcher
The Legend
  From the Castle the Winds Arose...
  Through the Corridors of Time, Including the March of the Undead - Temptation to Turn Back
  Carnival of the People - a Brief Respite
  Nightmare - Isis Unveiled
  Dance of the Astral Shadows - Beyond the Point of No Return
  Flight From the Unknown
  Ashes to Ashes

Lable:M7 Cat# MLFA-050. Record is visually Ex-. Cover is VG. This is an ex-radio station copy, there is a large white sticker on the front top LH cnr with some letters and numbers in large black felt tip pen. There is thick tape along the spine. (You may be able to remove this carefully leaving a little residue. The coloured tape was applied for coding purposes not to repair the spine.) There is some light edge wear particularly on the opening and bottom edges. The glue is lifting along the top seam. There is just a hint of ring wear at the top and bottom inside the gatefold. The lamination on the front and back covers is great with no tears or ripples. There are some letters and numbers written in black felt pen on the b side label. (see scans)

The following bio comes from the Prog Archives website:  http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=3855

Chris Neal biography
Chris NEAL is an Australian composer and multi instrumentalist who has done most of his tune smithing far from the world of progressive rock. His focus has been on soundtracks for movies and television for much of his 40 plus years in the music business. Many of us may inadvertently know of NEAL's work from him being the composer of the theme and other music from early episodes of the TV series "Farscape", performed by the NEAL family trio of Chris, Toby and Braedy under the name SUBVISION.

What brings Chris NEAL to the attention of the progressive rock community is the album "Winds Of Isis" (WOI), an Australian rarity from 1974. In this work NEAL offers up large doses of Mellotron vibes, plus gives us passages where he could be mistaken for Mike OLDFIELD or David GREENSLADE or Keith EMERSON in the given moment as he takes on playing duties for almost all the instruments used. WOI is largely a keyboard-driven work, though NEAL proves he is a bona fide guitarist and drummer as well as someone prepared to put almost anything through the Mu-tron synthesiser. The list of instruments used on WOI (mentioned in approximate order of appearance) reads: Moog synthesiser, piano, Mellotron vocal choir, Mu-tron scream, valley bell, Mu-tron Leslie wow pedal wind, Hammond B3 organ, celeste, glockenspiel, Hammond organ bass pedals, acoustic guitar, Mellotron cellos, Chinese marching drum, clavinet, triangle, Mellotron strings, bass guitar, finger cymbals, Mu-tron choir, drums, mandolin, Gibson electric guitar, sleigh bells, nose flutes, Mu-tron clavinet, Mu-tron guitar, bottleneck guitar, recorder, harmonica, cowbells.



After "Winds Of Isis" Chris NEAL has spent most of his working time on the aforementioned movie and television soundtracks. There are nearly 20 feature film scores credited with NEAL as the composer, and upward of 1,000 hours of television drama featuring his work. In 2005 NEAL, along with son Braedy, won the APRA (Australian Performing Right Association) Award for Best Music for Children's Television for "Foreign Exchange: Episode 1".



Chris NEAL has long been active in ensuring that film and television composers in Australia retain the rights associated with their work. He joined APRA in 1972, and has been on the APRA board as the Non-executive Writer Director since 2000. NEAL is also a founding member and past President of the Australian Guild of Screen Composers, as well as a founding member of the Australian Federa...Chris NEAL is an Australian composer and multi instrumentalist who has done most of his tune smithing far from the world of progressive rock. His focus has been on soundtracks for movies and television for much of his 40 plus years in the music business. Many of us may inadvertently know of NEAL's work from him being the composer of the theme and other music from early episodes of the TV series "Farscape", performed by the NEAL family trio of Chris, Toby and Braedy under the name SUBVISION.

What brings Chris NEAL to the attention of the progressive rock community is the album "Winds Of Isis" (WOI), an Australian rarity from 1974. In this work NEAL offers up large doses of Mellotron vibes, plus gives us passages where he could be mistaken for Mike OLDFIELD or David GREENSLADE or Keith EMERSON in the given moment as he takes on playing duties for almost all the instruments used. WOI is largely a keyboard-driven work, though NEAL proves he is a bona fide guitarist and drummer as well as someone prepared to put almost anything through the Mu-tron synthesiser. The list of instruments used on WOI (mentioned in approximate order of appearance) reads: Moog synthesiser, piano, Mellotron vocal choir, Mu-tron scream, valley bell, Mu-tron Leslie wow pedal wind, Hammond B3 organ, celeste, glockenspiel, Hammond organ bass pedals, acoustic guitar, Mellotron cellos, Chinese marching drum, clavinet, triangle, Mellotron strings, bass guitar, finger cymbals, Mu-tron choir, drums, mandolin, Gibson electric guitar, sleigh bells, nose flutes, Mu-tron clavinet, Mu-tron guitar, bottleneck guitar, recorder, harmonica, cowbells.

After "Winds Of Isis" Chris NEAL has spent most of his working time on the aforementioned movie and television soundtracks. There are nearly 20 feature film scores credited with NEAL as the composer, and upward of 1,000 hours of television drama featuring his work. In 2005 NEAL, along with son Braedy, won the APRA (Australian Performing Right Association) Award for Best Music for Children's Television for "Foreign Exchange: Episode 1".

Chris NEAL has long been active in ensuring that film and television composers in Australia retain the rights associated with their work. He joined APRA in 1972, and has been on the APRA board as the Non-executive Writer Director since 2000. NEAL is also a founding member and past President of the Australian Guild of Screen Composers, as well as a founding member of the Australian Federation of Film and Television Associations.

Aussie Chris Neal's one and only claim to fame in the progressive rock field is the 1974 Mellotron-drenched instrumental offering Winds Of Isis.

The work itself is competent, though not overly complex, and Neal displays good skills on the Mellotron and the other keyboards employed, as well as the various guitars, bass, drums and other percussion he plays. He also has a penchant for the Mu-tron synthesiser, which is put to good use throughout WOI. With the exception of some bass playing and drumming on a few tracks, Chris Neal plays all the instruments, somewhat in the mould of Mike Oldfield. At times the music takes on a very Oldfield type of sound, too.

My favourite track is the side-long, seven-part epic, "The Winds Of Isis Legend", which explores many moods over its nearly 20 minute time span. "Ritual Eternal", WOI's next longest track at a bit over eight minutes is another highlight.

Throughout the album one is reminded of keyboard greats such as David Greenslade (the Pentatauch Of The Cosmogany album comes to mind, though I haven't heard this in some time), and touches of Keith Emerson or Rick Wakeman. There is even a little honky-tonk style piano here and there as would be used by messers Emerson and Wakemen from time to time.

A disappointment is that there are no liner notes to support the story of what appears to be an instrumental concept album. (To help there are what appear to be 'clues' at the end of some tracks to give a little context, for example "Into The Valley Of The Ancients" is followed by the contextual reference "a glimpse of Isis".)

An album recommended for Mellotron enthusiasts! 3.5 stars for this Australian rarity, rounded to 4.0 as decreed by the laws of mathematics!

This album is listed for set sale elsewhere on ebay for amounts of $100+. I will start this fairly low due to the slight cover defects but this is still a great copy of a rare and sought after prog rock rarity.

Vinyl:
M, mint condition, unplayed, with no marks on playing surface and labels as new.
M-, mint minus, either unplayed, with minimum scuffs caused by paper sleeve, or played once or twice only and still as new.
EX, excellent condition, record played carefully, very clean surface, minimum scuffing. 
VG, very good condition, scuffing or signs of groove wear but no bad scratches. Only minor pops or crackles.
G, good condition, well played with plenty of scuffs, light scratches and groove wear.Noise evident but no jumps.
F, fair condition, playable but heavily scuffed or scratched, with a lot of surface noise. Maybe minor jumps from scratches.

Covers:
M, Mint - As New
Ex, Excellent – Very little ware – no marks or worn corners
VG, Very Good  – some minor wear and some minor marks visible 
G, Good – worn cover, may have creased corners, heavier marks, small tears but still complete
F, Fair – cover is worn and maybe torn.

(+ or - means a little better or worse).

( Note : This item is located in Australia )
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