Forest of Feelings (1975)
Time to spin up a David Sancious page. He's an artist I've been aware of since the 1980s, but haven't really dug too deep into his catalog. I did write a couple of journal entries, which we'll process below.
I've long been a fan of Windchase's 'Glad To Be Alive'. I did not realize Mario Millo had borrowed the primary melody from the opener here 'Suite Cassandra'. I'm not sure he knew it either, but likely subconsciously reproduced it, and embellished with vocals. I tend to categorize Sancious with jazz fusion, but here he's clearly operating in prog rock territory. Comparisons to ELP are largely superficial, only in that Sancious gets in plenty of analog keyboard solo time over a solid rhythm section. The music is more towards what we might hear coming out of Western Europe. That is to say, less commercial, but very melodic all the same.
A3 is a proto new age piece, somewhat like Vangelis and Deuter. A4 is a crazy classical interpretation. I could swear there was mellotron on it too, though AI is refuting that claim.
Side 2 is, if anything, more energetic and prog oriented than the flip. There's hints of fusion here, primarily in Sancious' keyboard and guitar solos. As with Just as I Thought, I'm compelled to give this a +2. Considerably better than my memory had it.
Ownership: 1975 Epic (LP). Acquired in 2026.
8/17/26 (review)
David Sancious & Tone - True Stories (1978)
Alex Ligertwood's vocals are annoying here and the progressive rock attempt is too forced. I was somewhat disappointed in this effort, especially considering I like his albums prior. (I'll try to get some more words around this. I think the LP is still here, nobody bought it lol).
Source: 1978 Arista (LP) Promo.
6/21/24 (review)
Just as I Thought (1979)
David Sancious was always an odd bird, sitting somewhere in no man's land between symphonic progressive rock and jazz fusion. Just as I Thought closes the book on this phase of his career. His next album The Bridge is nothing more than introspective piano numbers. Not for me. But this album is excellent. The title track and 'Suite (For the End of an Age)' represent the progressive rock numbers. 'Valley of the Shadow' is highly unique, a mixture of fusion, prog, and electronic. For me, the highlight of the album. Opener 'Run' and the last two tracks offer up the typical fusion of the era. The vocal track 'Again' and the acoustic 'The Naked I', can be skipped, and they're conveniently back to back. This isn't my first time to hear Just as I Thought, and this ended up being a +2 listen.
Ownership: 1979 Arista (LP). Acquired in 2021.
5/10/21 (review)
Also own: Transformation; Dance of the Age of Enlightenment
Previously owned: The Bridge
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