Quintessence

After such a lousy day yeaterday I was so please that this re-release arrived in the mail today. From 1970 this is the band's second album and like the spiritual flower the lotus, this album is a blossoming out of the themes that were first heard on In Blissful Company.Along with the devotional songs and chants there is the musical awesome sound of Quintessence. With this band you never got to feel that any of the solo players were more important than the band themselves. Even though the vocals, flute and lead guitar were highlighted the band played as one. Much is made of the blistering psychedelic guitar and the haunting flute but this often misunderstands the centrality of their devotion and influences from India in the actual music itself. While the listener is often captivated by the wah-wah this can distract from the similarities with the Indian musical organisation. Listen to an early raga of Ravi Shankar and you can appreciate the direction that the group were going in.Having said that, it is very clear that the music is an aid to transcend the physical and to help take the listener to a higher plane. It is no surprise that the live performances led some of the attendees into near trance like or ecstatic states.All in all this is a superlative album and a must for any collection. I am happy that their is a live version of Jesus, Buddha etc as the additional track but I fear that it does not do justice to the power of their live performances.I always loved St. Pancras for all sorts of reasons which I cannot go into hear but it is a poignant point that that station in London has just been closed for refurbishment as it is transformed into a Eurostar terminal. The future travellers will be unaware of the significance to a Jewel in the Crown of the British music scene at the end of the '60s and the start of the 70's.An afterthought: this music is just as wonderous whether you are a Hindu or not

The thing the prior review does not make clear is that this pretends to be a religious album. It is dedicated to Jesus. I guess one might say it is "quintessentially" from the 60's flower power movement in that it combines acid rock jams with mangled and ersatz religious references. "Upon the sea of immortality, keep your raft afloat with harmony, celestial wise men ring you with divinity. . . Hare ! Hare !" The music would be far better without the lyrics. And the album would rock if a tab of acid were included, but alas without it, it sounds shallow and childish.

Yes, this album is good

Quintessence might have not invented raga rock, many other, even very famous groups had flirted with it. The Beatles, particularly George Harrison sometimes flirted with this style, like "Within You, Without You". Even the Stones tried that on Their Satanic Majesties Request (particularly "Gomper", surprisingly they succeeded in doing that without the presence of sitar!). The big, mainstream acts only did that occasionally, and after 1968, they pretty much gave up on that and went for a back-to-basics roots rock. Quintessence took this much further, incorporating psychedlia with the burgeoning prog rock scene, and surprisingly their albums made the UK Top 40. This second album from 1970, once again originally released on the pink "i" Island label, came with a laminated, flap-open cover. When you open the cover, it reveal Jesus in a very non-Christian setting, standing around some lotus blooms, with artwork heavily influenced by both Buddhism and Hinduism. This is probably their best album. In many ways, it's still a continuation of In Blissful Company, you still get the unmistakable voice of Shiva Shankar Jones and the Eastern-influenced flute playing from Raja Ram. You also get some nice use of sitar as well as psychedelic jams. "High on Mt. Kailash" is a fantastic piece of raga rock, with great use of sitar, I hate to say this, but it completely blows "Within You Without You" right out of the water! "Jesus, Buddha, Moses, Garanga" combines psychedelia, with some chanting integrated in the music. "Burning Bush" and "St. Pancras" are live jams, and as you can notice, the sound quality isn't as good as the studio cuts, but at the same time, demonstrates they can jam. "Prisms" really blows me away. This was an experiment never tried on In Blissful Company. What you get is some really trippy, unaccompanied echoey flute from Raja Ram. It reminds me of a cut Tangerine Dream did on their 1974 album Phaedra called "Sequent C'". Did Peter Baumann get a hold of this album? That piece was too unaccompanied spacy flute (played by Baumann). Also I nearly forgot to mention the short chants included on this album, "Shiva's Chant" and "Mana Mantra". Unlike "Chant" from In Blissful Company, which is a Hare Krishna chant influenced by medieval English music, these chants sounds more like typical Hare Krishna chants you more come to expect. I almost expect to hear this on the 1978 movie documentary on Hindu spirituality and Hare Krishnas called Aliens from Spaceship Earth (hosted by none other than Donovan), but I don't (instead the music is from Donovan, naturally, as well as various chants you hear from various scenes in the film).Really, you can't go wrong with any of the three albums they did for Island (In Blissful Company from 1969, this one, or 1971's Dive Deep), and this one is a great place to start if you don't know Quintessence!

Originally released in 1970 as this was the band's 2nd record. Nearly as mind-blowing as their 'In Blissful Company' effort {see my review}. Tunes that make this a keeper are the incredible "Jesus, Buddha, Moses, Gauranga", the refreshing "High On Mount Kailash" (good guitar), the tripping "Burning Bush", the instrumental "Twilight Zones" and the six-minute live performance of "St. Pancras" - plus an added bonus cut, a live version of the previously mentioned "Jesus, Buddha, Moses, Gauraga". If you're an old fan of this raga-trip ensemble, you're going to love this CD reissue. Certainly defines 'head music', 1970 style.

great album

Seconda produzione discografica anno 1970 dopo l'altrettanto interessante esordio in blissful company dell anno precedente.Descritto come progressive con evidenti richiami alla cultura e musiche mistiche orientali tanta spiritualita' in questo album specifico anche un po' di rock,psichedelia e libera improvvisazione . Eccellente artwork della repertoire a finestra.

Takes me right back to my teenage years! The CD is presented in a cover design similar to the original vinyl, its really lovely and there is a little insert with photos of the band and info. The music has been restored and remastered and it sounds great, I'm just going to play it yet again.......

Dieses Album habe ich - nach Verlust der LP - sehr lange gesucht und endlich wiedergefunden.Vor 45 Jahren ist es entstanden und ich habe es in den frühen 70er Jahren sehr oft gehört.Jetzt endlich habe ich es wieder und ich bin mindestens so begeistert wie vor 45 Jahren#

Ich kenne Quintessence seit den ersten Jahren, und hab sie immer mal gehört, wenn ich genug hatte von Rock,Pop und Hitparaden.Diese Musik ist Balsam für die Seele!