Music Banter - View Single Post - I know what I like: Trollheart's History of Progressive Rock and Progressive Metal

Trollheart · 02-06-2021, 10:39 AM

Album title: Cressida
Artist: Cressida
Nationality: English
Label: Vertigo
Chronology: Debut
Previous Experience of this Artist: None
Tracklisting: To Play Your Little Games/Winter is Coming Again/Time for Bed/Cressida/Home and Where I Long to Be/Depression/One of a Group/Lights in My Mind/The Only Earthman in Town/Spring ‘69/Down Down/Tomorrow is a Whole New Day
Comments: A band who flourished - well, existed - on the very fringes of the birth of prog, Cressida were both formed and disbanded by the time the bands we think of as leading the prog rock revolution were beginning to make it. Just the two albums, their second released in 1971, just as the world began to get used to the idea of prog. Sad really.

Now this is what you call prog! Plenty of wibbly, warbly keyboards from Peter Jennings, catchy tunes and a great vocal from Angus Cullen, good use of organ. “To Play Your Little Games” kicks things off nicely, fine vocal harmonies here. “Winter is Coming Again” is more restrained, with liberal Hammond, definitely get a feeling of the Moody Blues here. “Time for Bed” is a rockier, almost jazzy number with a Latin-ish slant, while both the title track and “Home and Where I Long to be” have more than a hint of funk in the guitar. It’s a fugue that opens “Depression”, which, despite its title, is not a ballad or even a slow, morose song, but rather an uptempo rocker with more of that Latin flavour. Really nice piano on “One of a Group”, and while the songs are all pretty good there’s nothing standing out here that shows me these guys were destined to last. Which of course they didn’t.

“Spring ‘69" sounds no more like a song about spring - acoustic, dark, reflective; I mean really nice, but the title might be a bit confusing perhaps. I think the main problem with this band is that while the album started off strongly, it quickly became mostly quite bland and I got bored fairly soon into it, losing all interest. It’s possible further listens would be rewarded, but we have over thirty years to go and I just don’t have the time, so first impressions have to last, and on first impression, here, for me, not good enough. Sorry.

Favourite track(s): To Play Your Little Games, Winter is Coming Again, Spring ‘69
Least favourite track(s):
Overall impression: I guess it was a brutal world out there in the, if you will, world creation period of prog rock, and like many metal bands in the NWOBHM, some just got swept aside. Some may have deserved to be, some may not, and I’m not entirely certain where Cressida belong. They sure had talent, but without question there’s something missing from their music. If they’d figured out what that was, maybe they’d be up there with the greats. Or not.
Personal Rating:

02-06-2021, 10:39 AM	#196 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	Album title: Cressida Artist: Cressida Nationality: English Label: Vertigo Chronology: Debut Previous Experience of this Artist: None Tracklisting: To Play Your Little Games/Winter is Coming Again/Time for Bed/Cressida/Home and Where I Long to Be/Depression/One of a Group/Lights in My Mind/The Only Earthman in Town/Spring ‘69/Down Down/Tomorrow is a Whole New Day Comments: A band who flourished - well, existed - on the very fringes of the birth of prog, Cressida were both formed and disbanded by the time the bands we think of as leading the prog rock revolution were beginning to make it. Just the two albums, their second released in 1971, just as the world began to get used to the idea of prog. Sad really. Now this is what you call prog! Plenty of wibbly, warbly keyboards from Peter Jennings, catchy tunes and a great vocal from Angus Cullen, good use of organ. “To Play Your Little Games” kicks things off nicely, fine vocal harmonies here. “Winter is Coming Again” is more restrained, with liberal Hammond, definitely get a feeling of the Moody Blues here. “Time for Bed” is a rockier, almost jazzy number with a Latin-ish slant, while both the title track and “Home and Where I Long to be” have more than a hint of funk in the guitar. It’s a fugue that opens “Depression”, which, despite its title, is not a ballad or even a slow, morose song, but rather an uptempo rocker with more of that Latin flavour. Really nice piano on “One of a Group”, and while the songs are all pretty good there’s nothing standing out here that shows me these guys were destined to last. Which of course they didn’t. “Spring ‘69" sounds no more like a song about spring - acoustic, dark, reflective; I mean really nice, but the title might be a bit confusing perhaps. I think the main problem with this band is that while the album started off strongly, it quickly became mostly quite bland and I got bored fairly soon into it, losing all interest. It’s possible further listens would be rewarded, but we have over thirty years to go and I just don’t have the time, so first impressions have to last, and on first impression, here, for me, not good enough. Sorry. Favourite track(s): To Play Your Little Games, Winter is Coming Again, Spring ‘69 Least favourite track(s): Overall impression: I guess it was a brutal world out there in the, if you will, world creation period of prog rock, and like many metal bands in the NWOBHM, some just got swept aside. Some may have deserved to be, some may not, and I’m not entirely certain where Cressida belong. They sure had talent, but without question there’s something missing from their music. If they’d figured out what that was, maybe they’d be up there with the greats. Or not. Personal Rating: __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018