I decided to revisit these first two Alquin titles as I'm not sure I'm getting the most out of them. This is just the kind of progressive rock I tend to take for granted in the collection. Had I discovered these real time, I think I'd be far more enthusiastic about each. They have all the ingredients for what make a great progressive rock album: Varied instrumentation including organ, flute, and saxophone; A keen ear for melody; Complex compositions within a rock format. The album is mostly instrumental with some sparse vocals. A lot of folks seem to call these vocals out as a problem, but I find them irrelevant. Not worth focusing on for what little there is. The Canterbury scene plays a major role in the composition style, in this way recalling the obscure group Pantheon. Also the Dutch masters of Focus are also present in their minds. When evaluating a rating for this album, it seems to be oh-so-close to that first division of a Gnosis 12 / RYM 4.5 stars. But I can't seem to pull the trigger. There's no extreme highs that allow for that. I think that's where that sense of taking it for granted comes from. Regardless, Marks is an essential slice of Dutch prog rock.
Ownership: LP: 1972 Polydor (UK). Single sleeve with an alternate cover to the Dutch original. Acquired new from a collection buy in Tucson (1994). I tell the full story of this buy in the Dedalus review.
CD: 1990 Polydor (Germany). Combined with the full album of Mountain Queen. This reissue cuts out the live version of 'Mr. Barnum's...' to fit on one CD. The studio version is on Mountain Queen and is present here. Typically I wouldn't hold onto a CD such as this unless I considered either album first division. But it's so close and with so much great music combined, I felt it was worth hanging onto.
7/3/94; 2013; 2/3/23; 4/11/23 (new entry)
