Search - Shape of the Rain :: Riley Riley Wood and Waggett Are Shape of the Rain

Imagine a UK cross between Badfinger and West Coast US psych

W. Shute | San Antonio, TX USA | 01/28/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Like many of the second-string US and UK albums reissued by Radioactive

and Fallout, this album is really for the serious fan of obscure late 60s and early 70s bands, and the five-star rating is for that kind of listener. This album was originally released on UK RCA circa 1971,

recorded at Rockfield Studios (hence, the sound is great and full-bodied!), and did not make much of an impact on its initial release,

though I understand that the band was quite popular live and opened for a number of major acts. The Shape of the Rain, circa 1971 (they'd been around for about five years by then), have a pleasant, jangly but mellow sound that reminds me of early McCartney solo or mid-period Badfinger

but without the desire to fill their songs with overt pop hooks--it's almost as if 1973 Badfinger had been locked in a room for a weekend with

a number of west-coast US 1969 albums with laid-back meandering guitars

and a sense of layered sound. I'm even reminded of Brinsley Schwarz minus the country influences. Also, some songs show the influence of UK electric folk, and the vocal harmonies and lilting feel are haunting.The album gets better with every listen, the songs are somewhat complex, the slide guitar work is ethereal--in other words, it's a nice album I'm glad I discovered. It's certainly not psychedelic, but one can tell the musicians have been through the psychedelic era and came out the other side, deeper and mellower.

If the above description sounds interesting, you'd probably find

THE SHAPE OF THE RAIN's album worthwhile. I do."