Cressida/Asylum [IMPORT]

Cressida

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 8, 2005)
• Original Release Date: May 4, 2004
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: Gott Discs
• ASIN: B001VG2MNK
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #81,307 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. To Play Your Little Game [Live]

2. Winter Is Coming Again [Live]

3. Time for Bed [Live]

4. Cressida [Live]

5. Home and Where I Long to Be [Live]

6. Depression [Live]

7. One of a Group [Live]

8. Lights in My Mind [Live]

9. Only Earthman in Town [Live]

10. Spring' 69 [Live]

See all 12 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Asylum

2. Munich

3. Goodbye Post Office Tower Goodbye

4. Survivor

5. Reprieved

6. Lisa

7. Summer Weekend of a Lifetime

8. Let Them Come When They Will

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Digitally remastered two-fer containing a pair of albums from the British Art rockers: Cressida (1970) and Asylum (1971). Original copies of the vinyl are extremely rare. Cressida were formed at the end of the 1960s, with a sound not dissimilar to The Moody Blues. They combined a heavy organ and mellotron sound (courtesy of keyboard player Peter Jennings) with vocalist Angus Cullen's singing. 21 tracks. BGO. 2009.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Early English rock that incorporates classical, folk, and jazz styles, April 30, 2006

By	Jeffrey J.Park (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cressida/Asylum (Audio CD)

This two CD set combines the albums Cressida (1970) and Asylum (1971), which were originally released on the "progressive" Vertigo label. The original cover art is featured along with excellent sound quality and informative liner notes. Although I am reluctant to describe Cressida as prog rock, their music is somewhat adventurous in its approach and as such, the group sits comfortably alongside other early English bands such as Spring, Gracious, and Beggars Opera. Although I like Spring, Beggars Opera, and especially Gracious much better, this Cressida "two-fer" makes a nice addition to the early English prog rock collection. Then again, I am prog-obsessed and would probably buy just about anything.

Cressida

The music on the first Cressida album is a melodic and sometimes brooding mix of classical, folk, jazz, and rock styles with pretty good vocals spread over 12 short tracks. The lineup includes Angus Cullen (lead vocals), John Heyworth (acoustic and electric guitar), Peter Jennings (harpsichord, Hammond organ, mellotron, and piano); Kevin McCarthy (bass); and Iain Clark (drums). Although the musicians are competent enough, the guitarist is a pretty awful soloist - he just does not have a good working knowledge of scales. In fact, he is more of a rhythm guitarist and does a decent job of that, although his fingerpicked parts on the acoustic are also pretty good. The keyboardist on the other hand, is an excellent player and quotes convincingly from a range of styles including jazz and classical, and as such really holds my interest. Although Peter plays mellotron with string setting, it is used very sparingly albeit effectively. His Hammond organ work is also impressive and the sounds he gets out of the instrument range from a majestic, "churchy" pipe organ sound to an aggressive and growling John Lord-ish tone. My general take on this debut album is that it is an honest effort by a group of individuals that were very interested in pushing the boundaries of rock.

Asylum

For the only slightly more adventurous Asylum album, the previous guitarist John Heyworth had been replaced by the not-significantly-better John Culley. Asylum continues the approach of the debut, and although still a bit gloomy, it is also slightly more energetic with a greater emphasis on instrumental passages. The eight tracks are also a bit longer on average with "Munich" reaching 9'37" and "Let Them Come When They Will" reaching 11'52". One other difference is the absence of the mellotron, which had been, oddly enough, replaced by a real string section (much to my disappointment I might add). Overall, this is an OK album that is (once again) buoyed along by the great keyboard work of Peter Jennings.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars two great albums, May 12, 2008

By	William R. Nicholas "bill nicholas" (Mahwah, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cressida/Asylum (Audio CD)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent intro to Vertigo's proto-prog, August 24, 2007

By	GrandWazoo94 (New York City, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cressida/Asylum (Audio CD)

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.