Ah, Blessed End. Hoo boy, was this album ever hyped back in the catalog daze of the late 1980s. The ultimate bar band at the edge of the Twilight Zone, if I recall right. There's always been this fascination, I think, with American bands trying to make a go of it - any possible way they could. Especially lounge crooners crossing over to then modern forms of rock, in particular psychedelic. One could put Damon in this category honestly. But for every Damon, there's a Blessed End, or worse, Arcesia. In reading the liner notes, the band members call out various influences, including progressive rock (namely Yes - which is absurd if Movin' On is the end result of that). So when I finally got a chance to hear it some ten years later, I just sat there quietly and mumbled "huh?"
In retrospect, it's actually not a bad album, and unique enough to hold onto. It very much has all the charm of being in a dive bar in Philadelphia, without dealing with the additional smell and drunken patrons. The vintage instrumentation deployed would be considered old for 1966 much less 1971. The lead singer croons in baritone, on top of the creaky organ, thus leading to the inevitable Doors comparisons, which are ultimately inaccurate.
Basically Blessed End appeals to a certain type of collector, one that isn't that far removed from what I like myself - but this is far too straight-laced to truly embrace. It's not the wonderful freaky underground, but rather the desperate need to get noticed. For those who call it a masterpiece, they are of a different mindset than myself. But is it good? Yea, I'll cop to that.
1998; 2/26/15; 8/13/20 (review / new entry)
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