Dragon ~ New Zealand

Scented Gardens for the Blind (1975)

One of my better scores from the "early days of ebay", when folks were still dumping vinyl but the well-heeled buyers had yet to discover the internet. The stunning cover is a fixture of my "wall of albums", though low enough so I can reach to play it on occasion. Which of course I rarely do. One of the charter members of my Yacht Prog designation, New Zealand's Dragon play a sophisticated form of melodic progressive rock with commercial sensibilities. Similar to Sebastian Hardie, later Fruupp, and Kestrel. Dragon went on to become pop stars in Australia and released many albums which I've not heard. It's easy to see the band crossing over to that realm, as there's evidence of that sound here.

Ownership: 1975 Vertigo Australia (LP).

Not reissued as of 3/31/25.

4/30/94 (first listen); 2002; 4/6/23 (review)

Universal Radio (1974)

Dragon's debut came at the twilight of the early Hammond organ fueled progressive rock of the early 1970s with the more sophisticated AOR styled album that was about to dominate the FM landscape in the mid 70s. Universal Radio is definitely more the former, and also possesses a strong Latin fusion/rock component as well as a bit of space rock. Guideposts include fellow countrymen Ragnarok and Living Force, along with bands such as Kestrel (England) and Fruupp (Northern Ireland). Only three short years from their debut, Dragon were to become pop stars in neighboring Australia, and you can hear hints of that future sound on the track 'Going Slow' (though with progressive oriented breaks still in place). The album peaks on the splendid multi-layered epic 'Patina'. Bonus track 'Black Magic Woman' demonstrates a lingering Santana influence that was to be shed on their next opus Scented Gardens For the Blind, which is arguably an even better album. As it stands though, hard to imagine fans of early 1970s progressive rock not enjoying Universal Radio. There are a lot of ideas packed into this recording, so the relistenability factor charts high. Strongly recommended.

Ownership: 2009 Aztec (CD). Triple fold-out digi-pak with an extensive history, photos, and three bonus tracks (though two are from a solo effort by band leader Marc Hunter and is a debatable addition). The release was taken from vinyl indicating the masters are lost (or in poor condition), but still sounds excellent. 

1//09 (first listen); 9/1/15 (review)

9/1/15 (new entry)