M- UK QUINTESSENCE BLISSFUL '69 EXOTIC PROG PSYCH

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INDIAN INFLUENCED UK PROG PSYCH 1969 COLLECTIBLE                                                                                  

          QUINTESSENCE

         In Blissful Company

\                                               UK - Island (orange palm tree) - ILPS 9110

SCARCE 70's British vintage vinyl collectible of the 1969 first Quintessence album, a complex brew of mushrooming prog psych & Eastern zones ... the psychedelic guitar tones alone will really 'do it' for the lot of you.... 

Standing in the shadow of bands like Pink Floyd or Procol Procol and emerging in the late sixties hippie underground scene heavily inspired by Indian culture this wonderful band has been all too often overlooked and underestimated. But in some way they had been far ahead their times in what they were doing and might be considered highly influential for what would be known many years after as world music. In fact those guys had been brought together by an announcement in Melody Maker magazine and lead vocals of Australian born Phil Jones (aka Shiva Shankar) as well as the delightful flute play of Raja Ram should become characteristic for their sound. The line-up had been completed by Alan Mostert on lead guitar, Maha Dev on rhythm guitar, Sambhu Babaji playing bass and Jeremy "Jake" Milton on drums. Soon after their foundation the band signed to Island Records later better known for hosting bands like Jethro Tull for example. Picking up eastern influences in the music of the "Fav Four" inspired by George Harrison's India trips ( & Wonderwall album) and reinforcing the general fashionable trend of late sixties psychedelic bands they created a kind of perfect "quintessence" of western pop/rock/prog and Indian raga music. During their heyday they managed to fill places like the Royal Albert Hall with their splendid concerts and they also played at the prestigious Montreaux Pop Festival.

The balance between east and west in their music used to be shifted more in favour of western influences making it quite approachable for people being not that much familiar with Indian classical spiritual music. This applies even stronger in the case of their remarkable album "In Blissful Company" from 1969 here in this listing.

The opener "Giants" presents a nice blend of song-based Indian flavoured psychedelic pop and some more jam-oriented elements and one can easily imagine that this song might have inspired contemporary bands. In "Manco Capac" Raja Ram's whirly flute play comes into action and this track offers in particular a great bluesy guitar break by Alan Mostert. "Body" comes closer to hard rock territory in terms of the guitar sound but nicely balanced by Shiva's vocals and Raja Ram's flute as well as some occasional keyboards (which were usually only sparsely present in their music). One can imagine a mix of Cream and JethroTull here. Revealing stronger eastern touches "Gange Mai" is a more playful and highly rhythmic track getting into a type of repetitive, hypnotising mood especially due to the vocals and the flute. But there's as well a lot of rock to be found here. "Chant" has droning sitar tunes and combines a "Hare Krishna" routine with an old English carol making up to a wonderful unification of eastern and western spiritual culture. In "Pearl and Bird" Shiva presents his strongest vocal performance on this record revealing an extraordinary range of his voice. "Notting Hill Gate" which had been released as well as a single quite reminds to what Jade Warrior did on their first two albums one or two years after with the difference of sitar added here. The original edition had been concluded by the ambitious track "Midnight Mode" starting with some chanting followed by an extended flute solo and some guitar jamming. It finally fades out with some continous heavy drone. That one together with "Chant" is certainly the least accessible track on here.

Altogether, "In Blissful Company" should be considered an excellent debut of an usually forgotten band that combined (Eastern) religious and spiritual influences with psychedelic and early progressive rock music in a highly appealing (at least for me) and approachable manner. This album should not be dismissed by anyone who doesn't mind some eastern flavour in their progressive psychedelic underground music from the cusp of 1970. 

1. Giants (4:37)
2. Manco Capac (5:17)
3. Body (3:34)
4. Gange Mai (4:00)
5. Chant (3:02)
6. Pearl and Bird (3:57)
7. Notting Hill Gate (4:38)
8. Midnight Mode (9:15)
9. Notting Hill Gate (2:31)
10. Move into the Light (3:26)

CONDITION: The cover is clean and very collectible "EX" (excellent) to M- all solid with strong seams, no bends, no writing...keeeper.

The vinyl is all glossy smooth and clear, M-

      A cool addition to anyone's music library!

SEE: SELLERS OTher items for similar cool sounds for "head" people...

EFFICIENT/CAREFUL GRADING

All imperfections are noted both cover & record