Alba (pronounced Alpa) was a fine Scottish band who only made this one
album in 1977, and it's excellent, one of my favourites. The Tannahill
Weavers and this band were the first to add the Highland
bagpipes to a folk band setting (with same piper Alan MacLeod), and two
members of Alba (Alan MacLeod and Mike Ward) were Tannahill Weavers
members, Tony Cuffe later joined Ossian, and Sean O'Rourke was a member
of the JSD Band! This is a wonderful record, seek it out, you won't be disappointed.
This was the second album by Progressive Rock band U.K., from 1979, and the last one recorded by the band, which here consisted of John Wetton, Eddie Jobson, and Terry Bozzio. I had heard two songs from this on a radio programme many years ago, but didn't manage to search for a copy until last year. There are some excellent songs on this record, and below are the three I like the best from it.
For those familiar with the original version of the band Renaissance, Illusion was essentially that band reformed later in the 1970s. They had some excellent and lovely songs. Here are three of their recordings, beginning with this beautiful, dreamy, and romantic Pre-Raphaelite painting in song, 'Beautiful Country':
Here are some examples of fanciful, imaginative music by Stackridge, a great band who had many wonderful, melodic songs full of clever and amusing stories on their various albums. Personally, I have a penchant for witty, very English music with a hint of good old-fashioned eccentricity, you really can't go wrong! The first selection is 'Pinafore Days':
and here is 'The Galloping Gaucho':
Both were from the album 'The Man In the Bowler Hat' a fine album produced by George Martin.
Here they are going retro again, perhaps a 1920s mood, with this performance of 'Dancing On Air, on the Old Grey Whistle Test:
Liverpool Express were an excellent band in the 1970's, but with musical origins in the 1960's, along with The Beatles. Lead member Billy Kinsley and his band The Merseybeats even playing on the same bill as The Beatles at various clubs in the early days. Some of the music of Liverpool Express is highly Beatlesque, with a leaning toward the Paul McCartney side; here and there making one think of what the Beatles may possibly have sounded like just a little bit, if the band had continued into the seventies (listen to 'Julian The Hooligan' and the beautiful and moving Beatles tribute song 'John, George, Ringo and Paul').
The music is lovely and very melodic, varying from romantic ballads to rockier tunes, and is very good indeed. This best of cd is one I strongly recommend to those who like really well-crafted pop music, of the kind that is rarely made today.
