(Esoteric)
Much referenced by medieval authors and poets, Chaucer wrote of the treacherous lover of Troilus, “Alas, of me until the world’s end shall be wrote no good song”. This cultish epitome of early English progressive music threw sand into the face of the Bard by writing and recording two of the genre’s finest releases in ‘false’ Cressida’s name.
Seeded, as many of its type and time were, with folk, jazz and pop influences, the five-piece’s self-titled 1969 debut pitched thoughtful composition and high standards of musicality with a peculiarly English tone highlighted by Peter Jennings’ church organ and Angus Cullen’s pastoral, faintly reserved vocals.
Stylistically akin to the likes of Caravan, Curved Air, label mates Beggar’s Opera, and their first effort critically well-received, Cressida returned for the new decade with the bigger, bolder ‘Asylum’. Measuring a growing confidence within both band and label, an upscaled recording budget ushered in further elaboration in longer, complex compositions with full orchestra empurpling the proceedings.
More studiedly progressive and quirky than before, it feels nonetheless to absent some of the strengths inherent in the briefer, condensed riches of the previous year. “Depression”, “Winter Is Coming Again” and the autumnal “Down, Down” highlight the expressive potency of this band, the last – with its slow spare reedy organ, funereal percussion and Cullen’s emotive singing – a slight masterpiece of melancholia.
Were Nick Drake to have eschewed folk for prog, he would surely have found solace in the bosom of Cressida. Bonus tracks on this 2CD set mix demos, BBC radio sessions and the previously unreleased, most sourced from contemporary release ‘Trapped In Time: The Lost Tapes’ (Esoteric ***), and reveal teeth unfettered by the studio clock. ****
Review by Peter Muir
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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024
In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections
Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024
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