Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 53

Thread: Featured album: Spring - Spring

  1. #1
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    in a cosmic jazzy-groove around Brussels
    Posts
    6,091

    Featured album: Spring - Spring

    http://www.progarchives.com/progress...73112019_r.jpg

    Spring - Spring

    spring.jpg

    Tracks Listing:
    1. The Prisoner (Eight by Ten) (5:34)
    2. Grail (6:44)
    3. Boats (1:53)
    4. Shipwrecked Soldier (5:08)
    5. Golden Fleece (6:59)
    6. Inside Out (4:49)
    7. Song to Absent Friends (The Island) (2:47)
    8. Gazing (5:54)

    Bonus tracks on 1992 & 2002 reissues:
    9. Fool's Gold (6:26)
    10. Hendre Mews (7:14)
    11. A World Full of Whispers (3:57)


    Line-up :
    - Pat Moran / vocals, mellotron
    - Ray Martinez / lead & 12-string guitars, mellotron
    - Kips Brown / piano, organ, mellotron
    - Adrian "Bone" Maloney / bass
    - Pick Withers / drums, glockenspiel




    Here is what Joolz (AKA Julian Mackrell) had to say about it in ProgArchives
    From the very first note of this rarity from 1971 you feel that someone has opened the door to Mellotron heaven, a little slice of life from a time when Prog was still a new and exciting world to explore. Full of lyrical melodies and awash with swathes of warm and organic textures, this is music which owes much to the pioneering efforts of The Moody Blues and King Crimson, and yet comfortably stands alongside the likes of Barclay James Harvest and Argent, contemporaries in the art of melodic Prog. This is barbarian Prog, rough and unrefined by extensive studio multi-tracking expertise, as befits their status as an unknown gigging band making their first album, essentially played live in the studio with a minimum of overdubs or processing - just a little reverb and some vocal thickening - as indeed many bands were still doing at that time. There are mistakes, there are instrumental parts which don't quite fit the music, and there are instances of unfocussed background noodling, all of which today would have been re-done. But this very rawness gives it an endearing sense of naivety, immediacy and exhuberance, drawing you in to a time of great creativity and wonder.

    Spring have become semi-legendary in the Prog world and their only album something of a lost Mellotron classic, but that is to ignore the other elements: like Argent and BJH, they used a strong twin attack of keyboards - organ, piano and a little synth in addition to the Mellotron - and guitars, backed by a busy but robust rhythm section. The similarity also extends to songwriting based on formulaic verse-chorus song structures with extended middle-8 instrumental breaks and mood swings, but little in the way of complex time signatures. The album doesn't appear to contain a single concept as such, but a number of common themes abound: life, loss, desolation, despair, death, war, mental anguish, all tied together with classical references and some nice little lyrical nuggets. Incidentally, my 1994 Repertoire CD issue contains printed lyrics to the original songs but not the 3 bonus tracks. While there are no obvious virtuosi here, the instrumental playing is perfectly adequate, but it has to be said the singer is an acquired taste - his diction is poor and he really doesn't have a Prog voice (whatever that is!). He would undoubtedly have been more at home in a punk orientated atmosphere.

    The album opens, aptly enough, with the sound of the Mellotron, and indeed The Prisoner (Eight By Ten) is drenched in it. This is a mid paced tune, driven by some nice bass patterns overlaid by a variety of Mellotrons and a couple of synth solos, and introduces the first sign of a military style percussion. It has a swinging 60s vibe to it reminiscent of The Doors, probably due to the lack of any guitars. I was always struck by the rhyming couplet of 'centuries' with 'penitentiaries'! Grail is a more restrained slower paced ballad with some tasteful piano and guitar trills and fills added to muted Mellotron, lifted by a repeated chorus and a very BJH-like instrumental break with a heavier sounding 5-note ascending pattern of treated bass and Tron.

    Boats ("sitting and watching the boats on a river") and Shipwrecked Sailor ("in the end my only friend was a dead man dressed in black") are a merged pair and are referenced by the cover picture of a dead soldier bleeding into a river while the band look on from the opposite bank. Boats is a simple song with a pleasant tune sung to strummed acoustic guitars and some electric noodling. Shipwrecked Sailor returns to the marching drum theme overlaid with Mellotron, building up to an up tempo, almost funky, guitar and organ based track which sounds like a forerunner of the style of the 3 bonus tracks. Different moods are evoked by a series of very Prog sections in the middle-8, but it is all underpinned by the military drums and some very meaty bass guitar which ends with a final dive-bomber-air-raid crescendo from the keyboards.

    The Golden Fleece is another major mid-paced song, though not the most memorable of tunes, seemingly about a man's search for the unattainable "between the walls of dark despair where fountains weep and gargoyles stare". It is led by acoustic guitars, Mellotron and organ with a dramatic Mellotron pattern at the end of verses where a lead guitar would normally be, while a darker mood of the middle-8 includes excellent solos by firstly electric guitar then organ over a bass riff, all topped off by a dreamy ending. Similarly paced, though perhaps a little more rockist, is Inside Out, which seems to be offering advice to a wayward friend. Led by guitars and organ, there is a nice change of mood in the middle-8 with the introduction of Mellotron flutes, and an excellent build to an organ-led crescendo at the end.

    Song To Absent Friends (The Island) is a slow ballad accompanied only by piano. The singer's shortcomings are somewhat exposed here! The final track of the original album, Gazing could have been a classic BJH song, bursting forth with a lengthy Mellotron based instrumental opening leading to a pastoral mid-paced song about life - "pages we will turn, taking steps to learn of the paths to take when we do awake". Mellotron and organ are to the fore, but so is the electric guitar which has an excellent multi-tracked solo.

    The 3 bonus tracks are recordings made for a second studio album which was never released. They have a different feel about them, in part due to abandoning the Mellotron, but also their playing and songwriting is a little more accomplished and assured, and their sound is more robust. Fool's Gold opens with acoustic guitars before erupting into the full band with a prominent electric guitar. It also has an extended middle-8 with some aggressive guitar riffing and guitar and organ solos. While Fool's Gold is very much Argent territory, Hendre Mews could be early Deep Purple or Uriah Heep with echoes of Jethro Tull. It is more up tempo and more adventurously Prog structured, but it is not the most memorable of tunes and it could really do with a more charismatic singer, but there is an unexpected change of pace towards the end. A Word Full Of Whispers closes the album on a high, with acoustic guitars and organ driven by a wonderful up tempo chugging rhythm.

    It is interesting to speculate how Spring would have developed had they survived. Judging by the bonus tracks, they were moving away from the Moodies/BJH pastoral sound, to a heavier, more aggressive, jazzed-up style with electric guitars playing a much more prominent role. Unless the unreleased second album ever sees the light, this will remain their legacy. I first obtained this in circa 1975 (my original vinyl copy is still lying around somewhere) and it sounds just as fresh and vibrant as it did then. Perhaps not absolutely essential, nor a masterpiece, it is nevertheless a worthy addition to any Prog music collection. Highly recommended



    Last edited by Trane; 11-27-2020 at 05:28 AM.
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

  2. #2
    Finally some true sympho!!!

    I quite like about half of it; "Grail", "Golden Fleece" and "Gazing" are all pretty nice. Never really thought much of the rest of it, although a couple of the bonus tracks (featured on the Laser's Edge reissue) are a bit better.

    And I have to say that Moran's raspy and rather one-sided voice actually isn't my cup of tea.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Scrotum Scissor View Post
    I have to say that Moran's raspy and rather one-sided voice actually isn't my cup of tea.
    He appears to have come to a similar conclusion and became Peter Hammill's sound engineer of choice.
    Sadly he passed away a few years ago.
    Calyx (Canterbury Scene) - http://www.calyx-canterbury.fr
    Legends In Their Own Lunchtime (blog) - https://canterburyscene.wordpress.com/
    My latest books : "Yes" (2017) - https://lemotetlereste.com/musiques/yes/ + "L'Ecole de Canterbury" (2016) - http://lemotetlereste.com/musiques/lecoledecanterbury/ + "King Crimson" (2012/updated 2018) - http://lemotetlereste.com/musiques/kingcrimson/
    Canterbury & prog interviews - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdf...IUPxUMA/videos

  4. #4
    Sir Robert Plant himself attended... From FB :

    Memorial for Pat Moran at Monmouth 9th July 2011
    Pat Moran, who died in February of Pick’s Disease (a type of dementia) worked as sound engineer and producer for many top performers, including Robert Plant. He engineered and co-mixed both Robert’s first two solo albums – ‘Pictures at Eleven’ and ‘The Principle of Moments’ and co-produced the latter – an album which, as well as giving him his second top 10 album in the United States and United Kingdom, also gave Robert his first solo top 40 hit with ‘Big Log’ and was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth.
    On Saturday 9th July, some of Pat’s family, old friends and colleagues came back to Bridges, Drybridge, Monmouth to honour and celebrate the life of this amazing man and also raise some funds for the Pick’s Disease Support Group. So far £1200 has been raised with more pledged. However, the main point of the night was that it was to be a special occasion to remember Pat. One of his closest friends, who was the drummer on the night, Pick Withers, was in the first band that Pat formed after leaving school – ‘Spring’. Legend has it that the band had been performing in Cardiff and broke down in Monmouth and were rescued by none other than the owner of Rockfield Studios - Kingsley Ward – and there the relationship between Pat and Monmouth began!
    As you will see from the photo that was posted on the Rockfield Studios page, four of the musicians who contributed to ‘The Principle of Moments’ album took the stage on Saturday 9th – Robbie Blunt (lead guitar) Paul and Ray Martinez (bass and lead guitar) and, taking a break from his Band of Joy tour, none other than Robert Plant, who opened up with Cliff Richard’s ‘Move It’, and sang another five songs including his solo hit 'Big Log'. Also Dave Edmunds from Rockpile, Verden Allen from Mott the Hoople, Martin Chambers from The Pretenders, the Welsh band Hobo and Neville Farmer (BBC producer). Pick Withers (ex Spring and Dire Straits) and Dave Charles (whose first recording as a drummer was on Tim Rose’s eponymous album of 1967 band and who was resident engineer at Rockfield from 1975-77 and later produced The Charlatans) were on drums.
    According to the BBC News of 25th July, all the musicians present, apart from Hobo, went under the name of the Rockfield Allstars for the night!
    Monmouth Today reported that before the gig opened Robert paid a heartfelt tribute to Pat, saying that with Led Zeppelin he had been living inside a bubble and that after going solo and recording at Rockfield Pat had taught him so much.
    Rockfield Studios reported it was ‘Sheer brilliance. The place was rocking!’
    After the gig Robert chatted with the audience to the delight of fan Darren Martin who said "It was amazing - he's a rock god and he was playing in a village hall"
    Organiser Brian Moran, Pat's brother, said "It was very kind of Mr Plant to join in - Pat would have been very proud".
    Robert also signed a T-shirt which will be auctioned on e-Bay this week to raise more funds for the charity.
    If you wish to contribute to the Pick’s Disease Support Group you can find them on
    http://www.pdsg.org.uk
    Ref:- The Guardian. 27th February 2011. Pat Moran obituary.
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/.../2011/f...moran-obituary
    The Principle of Moments (From Wikipedia)
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Principle_of_Moments
    Monmouth Today
    http://www.monmouth-today.co.uk/news.cfm?
    id=25855&headline=Led+Zeppelin+front+man+rocks+Bri dges
    BBC News South East Wales
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-s...wales-14272122
    Thanks to Frankie, Dominic and Robert for being there, as always, when needed.
    Calyx (Canterbury Scene) - http://www.calyx-canterbury.fr
    Legends In Their Own Lunchtime (blog) - https://canterburyscene.wordpress.com/
    My latest books : "Yes" (2017) - https://lemotetlereste.com/musiques/yes/ + "L'Ecole de Canterbury" (2016) - http://lemotetlereste.com/musiques/lecoledecanterbury/ + "King Crimson" (2012/updated 2018) - http://lemotetlereste.com/musiques/kingcrimson/
    Canterbury & prog interviews - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdf...IUPxUMA/videos

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by calyx View Post
    He appears to have come to a similar conclusion and became Peter Hammill's sound engineer of choice.
    As regards somewhat "divisive" vocalists?

    FWIW, Moran's input on the Spring album isn't "bad" or "grating" (as they say about someone like Hammill or Dagmar), it's simply just not one of those cases where you can't imagine anyone else perform as good or better.

    Didn't he (Moran) become a rather prolific engineer and/or producer of some kind?
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  6. #6
    Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Posts
    4,485
    There was a documentary about Rockfield on TV over here recently. I've always had some sense of pride that so many great albums were recorded here in Wales, but this was a strange programme.

    Spring were mentioned, though Pat Moran's subsequent engineering career there wasn't. (Look at the credits on your 70s VDGG/Hammill albums, for instance- he engineered most of them.) The Flamin Groovies or Dr Feelgood weren't mentioned once that I noticed. And Dave Edmunds (who even had hits on something called Rockfield Records!) was mentioned for a few seconds. Lots of time spent on indie-rockers The Charlatans though.

    I've always liked this album. Whilst I have a personal bias and enjoy just about anything from this time with a Mellotron on it, it's one of the better obscurities of the time, IMHO. 'Grail' is probably my favourite song on here. 'The Prisoner' is another really good one...wasn't there something about some CD versions using the wrong vocal take on at least this song? I read reviews that Esoteric's might have corrected that.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Scrotum Scissor View Post
    Didn't he (Moran) become a rather prolific engineer and/or producer of some kind?
    Obviously, then.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  8. #8
    Member since March 2004 mozo-pg's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    9,688
    I was so excited back in time - when I came across this album. Mellotron central! However, when I listened, I was disappointed.
    What can this strange device be? When I touch it, it brings forth a sound (2112)

  9. #9
    Member Sputnik's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    South Hadley, MA
    Posts
    2,663
    Nice album. I know "Proto Prog" isn't the right term for stuff like this, but I sort of put this in with groups that had a nascent Prog sound, but didn't really have both feet in that pool. Moody Blues and BJH are good comparisons. The record definitely has a "vibe" about it. It is a bit raw, but I don't consider that a drawback. The songs are good, occasionally great. I agree that Grail and Golden Fleece stand out. I also really like the bonus track Hendre Mews, nice to hear them rock out a bit more.

    I don't have much like this in my collection. Usually, I find it pleasant enough, but over time it just sort of bores me. This album has held up pretty well. It's not a favorite, but it isn't one I'm looking to ditch either.

    Bill

  10. #10
    Banned
    Join Date
    Oct 2019
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    3,297
    Count me in with the posters who aren't wild about the vocals, but I do like the instrumental passages. As stated before, Moran's voice isn't horrible, it's just that it is too upfront and prominent and it would have been nice if the instrumental passages dominated even more. For instance, on "The Prisoner", one hears about a minute and a half of the marching buildup prior to the vocals coming in. I liked that cut a lot.

    I see where Syn-phonic has this Spring CD with 12 bonus tracks and he's also carrying their previously unreleased second album, simply entitled "2", with 3 bonus tracks as well. Has anyone heard what their second release had to offer in the way of further development from the first?

    Interesting selection, Trane.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Sputnik View Post
    The songs are good, occasionally great. I agree that Grail and Golden Fleece stand out. I also really like the bonus track Hendre Mews, nice to hear them rock out a bit more.

    I don't have much like this in my collection. Usually, I find it pleasant enough, but over time it just sort of bores me.
    "Hendre Mews" was the one track I was thinking of myself - quite possibly the finest thing issued by the band. Bill, did you ever hear Home Is Where I Belong by Quicksand, another young group from 70s Wales? To me this sounds like a more hitting rendition of what Spring appeared to be aiming at; a merger of squeaky-clean songwriting sensibilities and some adventurous post-psych elaborations of pomp and circumstancial circumcision.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  12. #12
    Member Sputnik's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    South Hadley, MA
    Posts
    2,663
    Quote Originally Posted by SunRunner2 View Post
    I see where Syn-phonic has this Spring CD with 12 bonus tracks and he's also carrying their previously unreleased second album, simply entitled "2", with 3 bonus tracks as well. Has anyone heard what their second release had to offer in the way of further development from the first?
    I got Spring 2 at one point. Found it cheap somewhere. I don't recall it being nearly as good as the debut, Hendre Mews aside. I ditched it pretty soon after I got it, so I can't really comment further. But if you're looking for a revelation, you'll likely be disappointed. I'm not sure the 2nd album was ever properly finished. Certainly it wasn't properly mixed and mastered, as the bonus track of Hendre Mews on the LE release shows. I don't recall that the Spring 2 version was much of an improvement.

    Quote Originally Posted by Scrotum Scissor View Post
    "Hendre Mews" was the one track I was thinking of myself - quite possibly the finest thing issued by the band. Bill, did you ever hear Home Is Where I Belong by Quicksand, another young group from 70s Wales? To me this sounds like a more hitting rendition of what Spring appeared to be aiming at; a merger of squeaky-clean songwriting sensibilities and some adventurous post-psych elaborations of pomp and circumstancial circumcision.
    I have not! I will look them up, sounds interesting!

    Bill

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by SunRunner2 View Post
    I see where Syn-phonic has this Spring CD with 12 bonus tracks and he's also carrying their previously unreleased second album, simply entitled "2", with 3 bonus tracks as well. Has anyone heard what their second release had to offer in the way of further development from the first?
    .
    I am a total sucker for this type of music (Spring, Gnidrolog, Marsupilami, Gracious, Samurai, Web, Fantasy, Aardvark etc), so my opinion may not be objective. I love both albums of Spring. Second album sounds little bit unfinished. Mellotron is only in 1 track, but there are couple songs with horns.

    The release you mentioned above with 12 bonus tracks by Esoteric Recordings in 2015 includes everything Spring ever recorded - debut, second (unreleased) and 3 bonus tracks that appear on most earlier debut reissues.
    Same 3 tracks are included as a bonus on 2nd album reissue:
    Hendre Mews (Different Mix)
    A World Full Of Whispers (Different Version)
    Fool's Gold

    If you know these 3 bonus tracks already from previous reissues, you should know what to expect on the second album.

  14. #14
    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    The Planet Lovetron
    Posts
    13,023
    Now we're talking! While the criticisms of the vocals are legit, nonetheless I love this album. One of those early 70s albums that falls between the stools, having elements of Prog-Rock, Folk, and even a whisper of the faded Psych era. Such a hazy vibe, which evokes warm, sunny days in late Spring at a rural locale. I bought the Laser's Edge issue when it came out, and still think it may be Ken's finest moment with TLE. Of course, I had to get the 2nd (it sounds unfinished, but is still good, but not up to the first.) And I liked the s/t album enough that I had to purchase an original, which I got 3-4 years ago. Not my favorite album ever, but reasonably high on the list, I would expect.

  15. #15
    An overrated album in my opinion - and I have tried quite a few times to appreciate what is supposed to be there for others. I have not found it, and I am still not finding it, despite being very favorably inclined towards this sort of a band (you know, the one that moves between folk, psych, prog without being neither of the three). The album sounds confused in its eclecticism, like the band does not know where to head to - but at the same time it doesn't dare to follow its own, unique road. Let's play some west coast psych, or sound a bit like Dylan, and put some Blackmore guitars in there, and mellotrons, an army of mellotrons to make it beautiful and melodic. But the feeling is not there for me. I would exclude Gazing, which is a great song, but even there they don't miss the chance to overload the song with ornaments which are not really needed.
    So for me a pleasant album, but nothing really extraordinary. There was much better music coming from the island those days (Quicksand that was mentioned by Richard is a good example).

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Scrotum Scissor View Post
    , did you ever hear Home Is Where I Belong by Quicksand
    I had forgotten how much this SLAYS! Thank you.

  17. #17
    Member LASERCD's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Voorhees, NJ
    Posts
    593
    Pat Moran was great to deal with. He was thrilled that someone took interest in the band and he was very helpful. He turned up a bunch of unreleased band photos - some of which I have laying around here. It turned out that Pat's current Mercedes mechanic was the photographer from back in 1971 and he had the negatives. We met in NYC for lunch. At the time he was producing a lot of hair metal bands and was quite successful. Obviously working with Robert Plant was a career highlight. He was one of those guys like Neil Kernon who has worked with so many amazing musicians and is filled with jaw dropping stories. Like Neil, Pat didn't have a massive ego - he was approachable and down to earth. Oddly Pat and Neil travelled in similar circles but never crossed paths. I'm glad that I knew Pat for a brief time.

    So I'll give you some insight into our Spring release. We were given boxes of tapes to sort out. We only had the master reel for Side B of the album. We did have multiple mixes of all the tracks on Side A. It was a bit of a guessing game for myself and Bob Katz when we set about mastering the album. Some people have said that one or two of the mixes we selected are different than the actual vinyl release. I never compared. The bonus was the reel with the three unreleased tracks. I believe the plan was for Fool's Gold to be a B side and the other two were going to be released as a stand alone single - its been awhile and I'm a bit fuzzy on the details. Pat's not around any more.

    Hendre Mews, A World Full Of Whispers, and Fool's Gold don't feature Mellotron because they had a different keyboard player.

    The story behind the second album is a bit interesting. The two brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward were the owners of Rockfield Studios. They had a falling out and Kingsley retained ownership of the studio. Charles owned the rights to the second Spring album, which existed as a rough mix. Easy enough...except the tapes were in storage at Rockfield and there was no way Kingsley was going to dig them out. He talked about it but he was in no rush. So I never got to do anything with the second album and I see Esoteric was able to finally sort it out. Personally I prefer the first album much more.

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by LASERCD View Post
    Hendre Mews, A World Full Of Whispers, and Fool's Gold don't feature Mellotron because they had a different keyboard player.
    Sorry to correct you here, Ken, but as far as I'm aware it was the bass player that changed, not the keyboard player.

    There is a detailed biography with the 2CD reissue that goes through all the line-up changes. I believe only two guys from the line-up that originally met Kingsley Ward were still in the band by the time they made the album. Kips Brown was a fairly recent recruit. I would guess the Mellotron came with the studio, rather than was ever used by the band in a live context. So it was a one-off experiment to use it on the album, especially in such a prominent manner.
    Calyx (Canterbury Scene) - http://www.calyx-canterbury.fr
    Legends In Their Own Lunchtime (blog) - https://canterburyscene.wordpress.com/
    My latest books : "Yes" (2017) - https://lemotetlereste.com/musiques/yes/ + "L'Ecole de Canterbury" (2016) - http://lemotetlereste.com/musiques/lecoledecanterbury/ + "King Crimson" (2012/updated 2018) - http://lemotetlereste.com/musiques/kingcrimson/
    Canterbury & prog interviews - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdf...IUPxUMA/videos

  19. #19
    Member LASERCD's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Voorhees, NJ
    Posts
    593
    Quote Originally Posted by calyx View Post
    Sorry to correct you here, Ken, but as far as I'm aware it was the bass player that changed, not the keyboard player.

    There is a detailed biography with the 2CD reissue that goes through all the line-up changes. I believe only two guys from the line-up that originally met Kingsley Ward were still in the band by the time they made the album. Kips Brown was a fairly recent recruit. I would guess the Mellotron came with the studio, rather than was ever used by the band in a live context. So it was a one-off experiment to use it on the album, especially in such a prominent manner.
    You could be correct. Its been awhile.

  20. #20
    Member nosebone's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Stamford, Ct.
    Posts
    1,528
    I love this album!

    I currently have it in a monster proto-prog playlist on my phone.
    no tunes, no dynamics, no nosebone

  21. #21
    Member nosebone's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Stamford, Ct.
    Posts
    1,528
    Quote Originally Posted by enigmatic View Post
    I am a total sucker for this type of music (Spring, Gnidrolog, Marsupilami, Gracious, Samurai, Web, Fantasy, Aardvark etc), so my opinion may not be objective. I love both albums of Spring. Second album sounds little bit unfinished. Mellotron is only in 1 track, but there are couple songs with horns.
    Same
    no tunes, no dynamics, no nosebone

  22. #22
    Member Dok's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Land of the Blue Smoke
    Posts
    385
    Not being all that critical I find this album to be a real gem for its era. I too discovered it for the first time when Ken reissued it. The singing doesn't bother me.

  23. #23
    Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Posts
    4,485
    Quote Originally Posted by LASERCD View Post
    So I'll give you some insight into our Spring release. We were given boxes of tapes to sort out. We only had the master reel for Side B of the album. We did have multiple mixes of all the tracks on Side A. It was a bit of a guessing game for myself and Bob Katz when we set about mastering the album. Some people have said that one or two of the mixes we selected are different than the actual vinyl release. I never compared. The bonus was the reel with the three unreleased tracks. I believe the plan was for Fool's Gold to be a B side and the other two were going to be released as a stand alone single - its been awhile and I'm a bit fuzzy on the details. Pat's not around any more.

    The story behind the second album is a bit interesting. The two brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward were the owners of Rockfield Studios. They had a falling out and Kingsley retained ownership of the studio. Charles owned the rights to the second Spring album, which existed as a rough mix. Easy enough...except the tapes were in storage at Rockfield and there was no way Kingsley was going to dig them out. He talked about it but he was in no rush. So I never got to do anything with the second album and I see Esoteric was able to finally sort it out. Personally I prefer the first album much more.
    Thanks for this post, a lot of interesting information.

    That documentary about Rockfield skirted over the Ward brothers' falling out. It was sort of alluded to, but only just.

    It's a highly rated album now- musically and in terms of value for an original copy. At least Pat Moran went onto a successful career, as did Pick Withers.

    I only knew anything about one or two tracks maybe being different on here, a few years ago. Someone who had the original album- I don't- would know for sure. One of Repertoire's CDs is the one I know so that might be different again!

  24. #24
    Member LASERCD's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Voorhees, NJ
    Posts
    593
    Quote Originally Posted by JJ88 View Post
    Thanks for this post, a lot of interesting information.

    That documentary about Rockfield skirted over the Ward brothers' falling out. It was sort of alluded to, but only just.

    It's a highly rated album now- musically and in terms of value for an original copy. At least Pat Moran went onto a successful career, as did Pick Withers.

    I only knew anything about one or two tracks maybe being different on here, a few years ago. Someone who had the original album- I don't- would know for sure. One of Repertoire's CDs is the one I know so that might be different again!
    The Repertoire CD is a clone of ours. Their edition came out just as our license expired.

  25. #25
    ^ Ken, just out of curiosity; in the early days of CD reissues and the layback of vinyl (i.e. late 80s and early 90s), the Spring album was one of the most frrequently mentioned artifacts of "UK prog collectionables" along with the likes of Cressida and Fantasy, mostly due to an imagined stylistic reminiscence of better-known bands/titles and the quest for secondhand copies. These were sought-after "gems" often transplained into classic status by way of obscurity first and foremost - but did you, when releasing the Spring, somehow experience a "rush" of interest with anyone else but the core "prog-rock" followers, if at all with these?
    Last edited by Scrotum Scissor; 11-28-2020 at 09:16 AM.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •