Been listening to this fine album tonight,as you probably know Paul Brett had played with a load of people like Tintern Abbey,The Strawbs,Fire and of course The Velvet OPera as examples,in fact it was right after "Hustlers Dream"by The Velvet Opera (which imo is such an inconcistent album and i feel that the Paul Brett Sage album is loads better though with a different sound),that he decided he wanted to front his own band and play more acoustic typed stuff,which is exactly what he did!!!But this aint no airy fairy soft acoustic album as there are electric instruments playing too,in fact its pretty tough stuff,with "3D Mona Lisa"starting the album,which is probably the best known track on here as im sure it got included on one of the Psych Pstones comps all those years back.!!I honestly can say there isn't a groove wasted on this album,other tracksi particularly enjoyed were the acoustic and conga led "The Sun Died",the fabulously orchestrated"Reason for Your Asking",the flute led brilliance of"Little Aztec Prince",the folk of "Trophies Of War"again with the flute floating in and out procedings,The Strawbs sounding"The Tower"with congas,and some really good acoustic guitar parts (some Spanish sounding) mixed with flute and the rather pleasing vocals of Paul Brett,the rather quiet and acid folk sound of "The Painter",the excellent and to my ears has a kinda Who like sound on the chorus of"Mediterranean Lazy Heat Wave",a rather commercial sounding number,this track is augmented by some rather tasty organ playing, smashing cymbals and that acoustic guitar mixed with nice vocals,and the final track"Warlock" at 5 mins and 30 secs,were not a second is wasted on this acid folk number,great guitar picking,pounding drums,swirling organ,neat percussion and tidy vocals intermingled with some tasty electric guitar runs.
Has anyone else heard this cd or album?If so what did you think of it?It is easily available on cd reissued by Esoteric Records in great sound i hasten to add.I also have the following albums on cd"Jubilation Foundry"and"Schizophrenia",both rather good albums but imo not as good as this one.
Hey Stuart. I actually shared this album(a vinyl rip of my own LP) on my blog thefairfieldparlour.blogspot.com a long time ago. After hearing 3D Mona Lisa on a comp somewhere I had to hear the rest of the album so I searched one out online and got it pretty cheap! It really is a great album and totally up my alley. You're right, it's a tough sort of acoustic folk with flute, organ and hand drums but then you also have these bursts freakrock acid guitar leads that are just wonderful. Like you said, all of the tracks are good but my faves are 3D Mona Lisa, The Sun Died, The Tower and The Warlock.
Great album Stuart, definitely recommended. This is one that I always find myself coming back to.
I contacted him through his tube channel and he wrote me there was/is a cd with many unreleased tracks comung (saw a lot of acetates on ebay last year). Just hope he will be able to get it around