ONCE UPON A TIME.....Friendliness

 

STACKRIDGE  Friendliness  (MCA,1972) - Folk rock


     Instead of taking their sound a step further, Stackridge appear to have been struck by a nostalgic 60's syndrome and their sophomore effort sounds more poppy and less progressive than their debut.Reputedly the limited time in the studio forced the band to use material predating ''Stackridge'' and the result was an album with strong THE BEATLES and PROCOL HARUM influences and less, quirky instrumental themes.Moreover there is almost no track to clock at over 4 minutes (except ''Syracuse the elephant'' and ''Teatime'').The stunning opener ''Lummy days'' gives hopes for another monumental work, being an all instrumental workout based on violin, piano and flutes with impressive interplays, somewhere between British Folk and Classical Music, but the following tracks are more in a Psychedelic Pop vein with some orchestral and Folk underlines, characterized by a strong sense of melody and sweet, British-styled vocals in the abscence of demanding instrumentation.''Syracuse the elephant'' still holds the prog flag high, a decent Prog Folk piece with plenty of room for folky atmospheres and rich instrumentation, containing even some Eastern influences due to the use of sitar.The other long track, ''Teatime'', holds these pre-mature GENESIS inspirations with flute, violin and tambourine in evidence and some great Mellotron waves next to the smooth guitar playing.

TRACKLIST : Lummy Days
                      Friendliness (part 1)
                      Anyone For Tennis
                      There Is No Refuge
                      Syracuse The Elephant
                      Amazingly Agnes
                      Father Frankenstein Is Behind Your Pillow
                      Keep On Clucking
                      Story Of My Heart
                      Friendliness (part 2)
                      Teatime

https://www.sendspace.com/file/1f07lb

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