In The Realm Of Asgaerd, originally released in 1972 by the British band Asgard - not to be confused with the Italian and French bands with the same name - is another re-release of Esoteric Recordings. The only album of the band was released on the famous Threshold-label of the legendary The Moody Blues. Asgard then consisted of Rodney Harrison (guitar, vocals), Dave Cook (bass guitar), Ian Snow (drums), James Smith (vocals), Ted Bartlett (vocals) and Peter Orgitt (violin). At first they got a lot of support from drummer Graeme Edge and keyboard player Mike Pinder, two founder members of The Moody Blues. The music is probably inspired by Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings-trilogy. The theme of this famous book can easily be heard in symphonic rock pieces like the title track, Friends and Town Crier. The title track contains a short violin solo as well as a short guitar solo. The lyrics are well-sung; it's typical early seventies prog rock. Friends starts with an 'easy' Deep Purple- riff; the combination with the violin solo at the end is a rather strange one. Town Crier and Austin Osmanspare are two good rock songs with catchy melodies. Children Of A New Born Age strongly reminded me of the overture from Tommy by The Who and the more up-tempo piece Time is in the vein of the hard and heavy rockers of Uriah Heep with a country violin (!) at the end. The final song Starquest is a kind of blend of The Moody Blues, especially in the verses, and Deep Purple's Child In Time. Well, if you like old school prog from the seventies you won't be disappointed with this album. *** Cor Smeets (edited by Peter Willemsen) Where to buy? |
