No one would ever accuse Earth and Fire of being a cutting edge group. However, having missed the psych bus by about two years, they did jump on the progressive rock bandwagon in sufficient time to have some historical impact. "Song of the Marching Children" remains one of the most beautiful of the early 70s symphonic pop infused progressive albums. Kaagman's sweet vocals along with Koerts' copious use of mellotron practically define the term
lush.
LP: 1971 Polydor
CD: 2004 Universal (Japan)
CD: 1987 Polydor w/Atlantis
The original LP features embossed lettering and I've also included the inside of the gatefold, because as you can plainly see, it is quite stunning.
I used to own the German LP, which has one of their singles, Memories, as a bonus track. In fact it's advertised more prominently on the cover than the actual album name! The cover has what looks like very nice artwork, but sadly some moron decided to put the band in front of it and stick a big fat sticker (again mentioning Memories) on it. Here it is on RYM.
ReplyDeleteBTW, Ms Kaagman found renewed fame here in the Netherlands a few years ago as a judge on the X Factor (or Idols or whatever talentless spotting show it was).
Cheers, Bas
Yep - I saw that German cover prior. I decided it wasn't worth featuring. LOL. That's interesting about Kaagman doing the talent show thing. I'm telling you - Earth and Fire were all about fame and fortune! :-)
DeleteThanks Bas for the comments, as always!