One of the more unheralded progressive rock albums, Skin Alley's debut laid down the blueprint for what the English scene was to sound like for the next 3 years. For the subtype of music Skin Alley is doing here - namely flute, saxophone, mellotron, maudlin vocals, guitars, and jazzy rhythms all weaving through complex compositions - one could argue they were first. One year later and bands like Marsupilami, Indian Summer, T2, Goliath, Cressida, Raw Material, and many others would follow suit. Every track here is excellent, not a dud among them. One wonders how this album has fallen through the cracks when lesser others have been elevated. An historical breakthrough and a thoroughly enjoyable listen, this album is long overdue in receiving any kind of recognition.
Ownership: CD: 2011 Esoteric. Part of a 2 CD compilation called Big Brother is Watching You that also includes their second album, a 1970 single, and an unreleased album entitled Stop Veruschka. Comes complete with full liner notes. Purchased new online upon release. This replaced the old Audio Archives CD which was very basic (and possibly unauthorized). I've never owned the original LP, which is not cheap. The cover doesn't inspire me much to be honest. Esoteric unfortunately has earned a checkered reputation due to some questionable mastering jobs and cd-r repressings, but I must say this is one of their crowning achievements. The source material helps with that assessment, but for certain everything about this reissue / archival release is great. At some point we'll review the other albums in the set. I did also check out the 1970 single and it's very good as well. It features one new track 'Better Be Blind'.
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