RAINBOW THEATRE Fantasy Of Horses Oz Prog/Psych'76 EXC

	A$		96
	$		64

Rainbow Theatre -  Fantasy of Horses. Clear Light Of Jupiter

In 1976 an Australian band called Rainbow Theatre released an album called FANTASY OF HORSES on the Clear Light of Jupiter label. It was the work of guitarist and keyboardist Julian Browning, and it is one of the very best of the Crimson-inspired albums ever produced. Not a copy of King Crimson, it nevertheless clearly owes Crimson a profound debt.

Rainbow Theatre was a 14-piece band -- a small orchestra. In addition to Browning (whose keyboards included a Mellotron), it included bass and drums, plus organ, trumpet/flugelhorn, trombone, saxophone/clarinet, flute, oboe, three violins, viola, and cello. With this kind of instrumentation (which rivaled Barclay James Harvest's use of a student orchestra in addition to the band itself), Rainbow Theatre could cover a lot of musical ground -- from the most delicate to the most bombastic -- and certainly did.

But this is only one aspect of their similarity to Crimson. A more compelling aspect was the compositions, the melodies themselves, which are "Crimsoid" in the best sense, capturing the same wistful, minor-key, quasi-Elizabethian folk melodies that Ian McDonald introduced to Crimson with songs like "I Talk To The Wind." And these are contrasted with heavier excursions. Crimson's early models were Holst's "Mars" (from his "The Planets") and Ravel's "Bolero," out of which was fashioned such epics as "Epitaph" and "In The Court of the Crimson King." Rainbow Theatre draws directly upon Mussorksy's "Night on Bare Mountain" for its piece, "Caption for the City Night Life," although the quotes from "Bare Mountain" are used as riffs and submerged in the composition as a whole.

The original album had three pieces on its first side, and an extended suite, the 22-minute title track, took up all of side two. But it was a short album, at under 40 minutes long. The opening track, "Rebecca," opens with a burst of pure Mellotron, signaling what is to come. It's followed by "Dancer," a suite broken up into five separately titled tracks which segue into each other without pause. "Caption for the City Night Life" closes out the original side one, and offers a darker and more powerful music than that which preceded it. "Fantasy of Horses" has seven separately titled tracks, and tells a story which can be glimpsed through those titles: "Early Light," "Frolic," "Trappers," "Captives," "Frolic," "Escape," and "Cliff Edge." Wild horses have fueled more than one fantasy, and this is a good one. The use of the horns is reminiscent of their use on King Crimson's LIZARD, and the singing (by organist Keith Hoban) is very much like that of Crimson lyricist Pete Sinfield on his solo album, Still although in places it sounds too "straight" -- almost operatic -- for the music.

It is a truly remarkable record. 

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If you're on this page you probably already know what this record is so down to the nitty gritt...

Record: Looks and plays excellently, some slight crackles during the quiet moments but other than that great! Played twice on my end. I'd say it is pretty NM, but haven't graded records much. Needless to say you will be very happy. Included an AUDIO SAMPLE for you to have a listen before you buy. http://www.mediafire.com/?2qiy6kj25a2e62o

Cover: Excellent condition, nice textured jacket. Has some very slight water staining up the top on the back and front cover but nothing too bad. The spine and edges have some wear to them from storage. No writing or tears

Postage: From Melbourne area, so ~ 8$ if you're nearby, maybe a bit more if you're further away. Will invoice you once the auction ends. Will bubble wrap and cupboard the sucker up good for you. Pickup is fine too! O/S welcome.

Payment: Bank transfer preferred but PayPal acceptable too.

Last one sold on ebay for around 200$ i believe... You won't see this one around often. Starting at 99c! Happy Bidding!