Cathedral (US) - Stained Glass Stories (1978, Prog Rock)
ultra rzadkie obecnie płyty - praktycznie nie do zdobycia - studyjna nagrana i wydana w 1969 roku
w ilości ok. 80 egz. i koncertowa z 1974 roku) dwaj członkowie tego zespołu :
Fred Callan i Tom Doncourt ( Thomas Doncourt - ur. w 1955 roku w Queens - New York) postanowili spróbować swoich sił w innym projekcie o innej stylistyce. Na początku 1975 roku
na Long Island (lub w położonym godzinę drogi od Nowego Jorku - Islip Terrace) w New York
powołali do życia zespół o nazwie - Cathedral, zapraszając do współpracy : Paul Seal, Mercury
Caronia IV i Rudy Perrone (gitarzysta z Nowego Jorku, absolwent rocznika 1974 - Berklee
College Of Music w Bostonie, zaczynał grę na gitarze w wieku 10 lat - słuchając pilnie
brytyjskich gitarzystów zespołów z nurtu - British Invasion).
Grupa, której nurtem muzycznym był progressive rock realizowała swoje plany występując
w lokalnych klubach i budowała w ten sposób swoją lokalną pozycję na scenie muzycznej
Nowego Jorku. W 1978 roku w Delta Studios w New York nagrała swoją pierwsza płytę.
Album - "Stained Glass Stories" ukazał się tego samego roku, na etykiecie Delta Records
(podobno nakład wynosił około 10 000 egz.)
Niestety, płyta pomimo dobrego materiału nie natrafiła na dobre czasu dla progressive rock.
Schyłek lat 70-tych, to okres przemijania "Wielkiej Muzyki". Album pomimo dużego nakładu
nie wzbudził (w tym czasie) większego zainteresowania, chociaż grupa "wpadła w oko"
kilku renomowanym wytwórnią płytowym (m.in. - Atlantic, RCA). Podobno były plany
związane z wydaniem drugiej płyty, jednak (przynajmniej oficjalnie) drugi album (w tym
czasie) nie powstał. Zespół rozwiązał się w drugiej dekadzie 1979 roku.
Ponad 20 lat później grupa zebrała się na nowo (z jedną zmianą Rudy Perrone został zastąpiony
przez David Doig) i kilka lat później (rok 2007) wydała płytę - "The Bridge".
Cathedral (US) - "Stained Glass Stories" (1978, Delta, DRC 1002, US)
1A Introspect
2A Gong
1B The Crossing
2B Days And Changes
3B The Search
Fred Callan - bass, moog bass pedals, voice
Tom Doncourt - keyboards, glockenspiel, assarted percussion, and sounds
Mercury Caronia IV - drums, cymbals, gongs, vibes, bells,
Paul Seal - lead voice, assarted percussion, bass pedals
Rudy Perrone - electric guitar, acoustic, 6-string, nylon guitar, voice
Produced - Mercury Caronia and Bernard Zimney
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3mkw3i_cathedral-the-search-1978_music
Swego czasu sceptycznie podchodziłem do albumów wydanych w drugiej połowie lat 70-tych...jednak na całe szczęście są wyjątki od każdej regóły!
OdpowiedzUsuńhttp://bordeldorock.blogspot.com/2012/06/cathedral-stained-glass-stories-1978-us.html
Apparently from Long Island, New York (our guess given their album was recorded in New York’s Delta Studios)Co-produced by Caronia and Bernard Zimney, 1978′s “Stained Glass Stories” featured five original extended pieces.
Group penned, material such as the title track and “Introspect” was very much in keeping with the likes of better known contemporaries such as Genesis, Gentle Giant, King Crimson and Yes. Propelled by Callan’s nifty bass (his bass patterns are so prominent they give Chris Squire a run for his money) and Doncroft’s occasionally clumsy synthesizers, the album featured a series of largely instrumental numbers that sported rather complex and intricate arrangements. Perhaps not the most original set of the year, musically the material was quite good, instrumentals such as “Gong” and “Days & Changes” sporting strong and attractive melodies (guitarist Perone’s playing gave the latter effort a distinctive resemblance to the Yes catalog). Somewhat less inspired were the pompous lyrics and Seal’s voice. At least one review we’ve seen compared Seal to Gentle Giant’s Derek Shulman. To our ears he sounds more like ELP’s Greg Lake with a bad head cold. Seals limited range and a penchant for pushing his voice beyond it’s capabilities left something to be desired. The set also suffers from a slightly dull production sound – turn up the volume and blame it on limited recording funds. In spite of those flaws, if you’re into 70s progressive moves, the set’s well worth tracking down, though you may think twice given the asking price.
The album is loaded with Mellotron, the band used the small white M400 model, and they tended to use a lot of that choir sound (like what you hear on Genesis’ The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway).
Stained Glass Stories was originally released on the Delta label, which was a very small label. Very few copies of the original LP were made, so it will run you in the three digit price range. Luckily it’s been reissued, by Syn-Phonic. Regardless, I think this album is a real masterpiece, and perhaps the greatest prog rock album to come out of the USA.
Cathedral’s first and only album “Stained Glass Stories” is the definitive American symphonic progressive rock release for many people. It’s a very complex album that takes quite some listens to get fully into. Their influences was the traditional stuff (Yes, Genesis and King Crimson) but they were able to create a style and sound of their own, and they were undoubtedly a big inspiration for Änglag?rd when that band recorded and released their legendary “Hybris”-album 15 years later. The opening track “Introspect” was a 12-minute journey that goes from atmospheric and melodic beauty to distorted and noisy parts. The mellotron was used in a quite original and often disharmonic way. The superb and powerful bass-work of Fred Callan was mixed very much in front of the music, and drummer Mercury Caronia IV contributed with lots of complex and original drumming, using a very large battery. The tasty guitar-playing of Rudy Perrone was clearly inspired by Steve Howe, and you can hear this especially on the instrumental “Gong”. The only weak link in the band was singer Paul Seal who sounded like a strained and weaker version of John Wetton. But it’s really not much to care about, as the focus of the music is on the instrumental side most of the time. The only exceptions are “The Crossing” and the excellent closing-number “The Search” that features some of the strongest melodies on the album. “Days & Changes” is an amusing demonstration of how many different ways you can play a simple and atmospheric theme. “Stained Glass Stories” was ignored upon its release due to the time and period, but has now got the attention and respect it deserves from progressive rock fans.
The first track, “Introspect” begins with a calm intro that lasts for about 45 seconds before exploding with outstanding guitar/Mellotron interplay that provides one of the album’s best moments, although it’s over rather quickly, replaced by a mellow but likeable vocal section, which after a while makes way for tribal-sounding drums and bass riffs; these in turn lead into further interplay with intricate arrangements and a somewhat ominous atmosphere. Unfortunately, the moody melodic part that follows the strange-sounding Mellotron interlude is ruined by the weak, inexpressive vocals , but the following sections make up for this shortcoming with more great ideas and playing. The first several minutes generally constitute the stronger part of the song, but it’s as a great an opener as one could hope for.
OdpowiedzUsuńFollowing “Introspect” is “Gong”, an instrumental number and probably my favorite on the album, mainly because of the superb sinister section guided by Doncourt’s ominous organ work that occurs in the early part of the track. But it has lots more to offer, from the sweet, mellow guitar riff that is repeated throughout to the great transition sections, and is a towering achievement of 70s prog.
“The Crossing” would have to be the weakest song on the album, although it’s not bad at all. A choral arrangement opens the song, unfortunately followed by an annoying funky section; it’s redeemed, once again, by the tasteful guitars and keyboards, just not to the point where it can compete with the rest of “Stained Glass Stories”.
The album gets back on track with “Days and Changes”, although it too starts in a somewhat disheartening fashion as the singer decides to open the track unaccompanied. Perhaps I’m too harsh on the guy – after all, he does have a fine voice and could’ve been a capable singer had he taken some proper vocal training; unfortunately, it appears that he hadn’t , and the results aren’t satisfying. But soon the music takes over with a mighty guitar riff , once again displaying the bands ability to pull outstanding ideas out the ass. The song continues meandering through various impressive parts, ranging from Yes-like melodies to jazz guitar interludes, and is another majestic prog number.
Finally, we have “The Search” , an epic track that certainly doesn’t disappoint . It begins with Perrone bouncing tasty guitar fills off Doncourt’s Mellotron, following which is a great verse section (I love how the tonality changes from light and optimistic to unexpectedly ominous ). From there we are treated to more great prog rock music, full of interesting, intricate ideas and great instrumentation, making the song a fine way to end a fantastic album.
To sum things up, I repeat that while the “Stained Glass Stories” does have it’s shortcomings, it easily surpasses the vast majority of what most consider to be classics of prog rock. It’s a shame that these guys threw in the towel so early – I’m quite sure they had the potential for at least one more classic prog masterpiece,were trying to release a second unreleased album called “Epilogue”. 22 years later and it still remains in the vaults as the band couldn’t agree on terms.