Search - Cressida :: Cressida / Asylum

Fine Early Prog

Mur29 | Finland | 09/14/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Cressida plays very fine early prog. music. Fine heavy organ and mellotron sounds.

As good as many more famous band!

Style is near Camel, Caravan, Gracious etc.

Band members other bands for instance New Seekers, Uriah Heep, Black Widow.

This is essential purchase.

Booklet is rather informative."

Excellent intro to Vertigo's proto-prog

GrandWazoo94 | New York City, NY | 08/25/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Scotland's Cressida, like so many similiar bands of the earliest 70s, only released two albums before disbanding, but both are near essential for the collecting prog-head. Both collected together, as in this case, makes for an easy price of admission.



The band's sound was driving but never tiring. Led by the organist and lead vocalist, the band was never about flashy instrumental pyrotechnics. Their sound was much more blues and jazz based comapred to the more common clasical influences of the time. Singer Angus Cullen has a warm, likeable voice that never gets in the way. One could say his range wasn't huge, but it's a very personable singing style. The vocals remind me of the Canterbury sound, but the instrumental abilities of Cressida don't quite match those bands. Overall, the band is much more focused on song development than any sort of endless soloing.



From the first release "Cressida", I'd say the stand out track is "Lights in my Mind." A combination of a great organ riff and driving rhythm section make for a memorable listen. My favorite on "Asylum", the second release, would be "Munich." Beautifully arranged and produced with a string section, this single track makes most of the progressive tracks of the time pale by comparison. Should have been a single, should have been a hit, but alas... Perfect listening for the quieter nights of autumn."

Two great albums

William R. Nicholas | Mahwah, NJ USA | 05/13/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Both these albums are really special. Other people here cover the band's history, so I won't.



The first album is progressive folk-jazz. Tightly written songs, unusual changes, and really good accustic guitar playing. The songs are 3-4 minutes, but with lots of interesting twists and turns. Just listen to "Time for bed." the changes are jazzy, but the guitar player almost gets into bluegrass picking. If the Kinks at the time had a few more chops, I could see them trying something like this.



The second album is darker, dense with strings. It almost reminds me of what Elton John was doing with Madman Across The Water, but heavier. You could also compair it to early Bee Gees-both bands had the same producer-but the arrrangements are far more complicated.



Key is that Cressida never lost focus of the song, like a lot of prog bands did. Their writting is excellent, and bridges the gap between prog and high end pop.



Absolutely on the top of my list."