Comus
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1969-70) - Glenn Goring -- guitar, hand drums, vocals - Andy Hellaby - bass - Colin Pearson - violin, viola - Bobbie Watson - vocals, recorder, percussion - Roger Wootton - vocals, lead guitar - Rob Young - flute, oboe, percussion
line up 2 (1974) NEW - Gordon Coxon -- drums, percussion (replaced Rob Young) NEW - Keith Hale -- keyboards, synthesizers - Andy Hellaby - bass, tapes and effects - Bobbie Watson - vocals, recorder, percussion - Roger Wootton - vocals, lead guitar
supporting musicians (1974) - Phil Barry -- bongos - Lindsay Cooper -- bassoon - Tim Kramer -- cello - Didlier Malherbe -- tenor sax
line up 3 (2007-) - Glenn Goring -- guitar, hand drums, vocals - Andy Hellaby -- bass - Colin Pearson -- violin, viola NEW- Jon Seagroatt -- percussion, flute (replaced Rob Young) - Bobbie Watson -- vocals, recorder, percussion - Roger Wootton -- vocals, lead guitar
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- The Arthur Park (Andy Hellaby) - B So glObal (Jon Seagroatt) - Ginger Baker's Nutters (Keith Hale) - Blood Donor (Andy Coxon and keith Hale) - Circuit (Jon Seagroatt) - Drift (Jon Seagroatt and Bobbie Watson) - Hawkwind (Keith Hale) - Midnight Haze (Rob Young) - Mind your Head (Keith Hale) - Nothineverappens (Keith Hale) - Omlo Vent (Jon Seagroatt) - Red Square (Jon Seagroatt) - Jon Seagroatt, Ian Staples and Bobbie Watson) - The Space Cadets (Andy Coxon and Keith Hale) - Toyah Willcox (Keith Hale) - Roger Wootton (solo efforts)
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Genre: progressive Rating: **** (4 stars) Title: First Utterance Company: Dawn Catalog: DNLS 3019 Year: 1971 Country/State: UK Grade (cover/record): VG / VG+ Comments: gatefold sleeve; UK pressing; minor water staining and warp to bottom third of sleeve; included insert Available: SOLD Catalog ID: SOLD Price: SOLD $350.00
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There were literally thousands and thousands of progressive bands recording material during the 1970s. While a relatively few enjoyed popular recognition, let massive sales, the vast majority were relegated to instant obscurity. England's Comus (violinist Colin Pearson, lead singer/percussionist Bobby Watson, singer/guitarist Roger Wootton and percussionist Rob Young) clearly fell in the latter category. Named after the mystic god of revelry (if I remember correctly, he was the son of Circe and Bacchus), during their brief and sporadic career (2 albums over a five year period), they enjoyed little popular recognition and only sold a handful of albums. In spite of those factors, some three decades latter, they're achieved a dedicated cult following. Most of the original line-up even reunited in 2007, playing several concerts and reportedly starting to record new material. Their debut album has been reissued several times and you'll find hundreds of Comus postings on the web.
Released by the small English Dawn label, 1971's "First Utterance" is one of those albums that sends listeners into spasms. You either adore the collection, or hate it with a passion. There are simply no in-betweens on this one. Featuring largely acoustic instrumentation (there's some electric bass), I've seen descriptions ranging from "the most sinister album ever made" to "pastoral English folk". To my ears the first description is probably more apt, though another review describing the LP as "a cross between a frenzied version of the witches chorus from Macbeth and Marc Bolan being squeezed to death" also has some merit. With those opening comments out of the way, let me give you fair warning. This LP takes some getting use to. Most people who've actually heard it hate it on first listening. They'll also tell you the album had an odd fascination that briought them back time after time. Lead singer Watson certainly took some getting use to. The woman had a falsetto (technically I guess the term was vibrato), that sounded like Geddy Lee doing whippets. Largely penned by guitarist/singer Wootton, the album was ripe with tales of murder ('Drip Drip'), rape ('Song of Comus'), pagan martyrdom (the frightening 'Diana'), and mental illness. Musically and lyrically the results were simply quite unnerving. Can music make you uncomfortable? Sure and this (along with Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music") provided a wonderful example of that dark power. Okay, okay, so what's it actually sound like. The album was hard to adequately describe, but imagine a blend of Fairport Convention-styled English folk (with Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson on a blood rampage), King Crimson experimentation (explaining the song fragmentation and obscure lyrics) with a stoned pairing of Family's Roger Chapman and Rush's Geddy Lee handling the vocals. Add in the dark and disturbing lyrics and you'll get a vague feeling for the collection. Like I said, fascinating in the same way a nasty traffic accident catches your attention.
Even the Roger Wootton designed album cover was frightening.
Commercially the album was stillborn. A planned tour opening for David Bowie collapsed. Isolated early reviews were critical and sales were crippled by an English postal strike that froze Dawn's already limited distribution efforts.
"First Utterances" track listing: (side 1) 1.) Diana
(Colin Pearson) - 4:28 (side 1) 1.) Song to Comus
(Roger Wootton) - 7:25
I've never seen a copy, however Dawn released a three track Comus EP. The 'A' side 'Diana' was lifted from the LP, but the two 'B' side tracks ''The Lost Queen's Eyes' and 'Winter Is a Coloured Bird' were non-LP offerings:
- 1971's 'Diana' b/w 'The Lost Queen's Eyes' and 'Winter Is a Coloured Bird' (Dawn catalog number DNX 2506).
I love the internet - lo and behold. Mr. Goring was absolutely right complain, but then he stumbled across a rough draft that hadn't been completed - mind you I shouldn't have pushed it to the web. So hopefully he'll be happy with this updated version.
Dear Badcat Records,
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Genre: progressive Rating: **** (4 stars) Title: To Keep From Crying Company: Virgin Catalog: V 2018 Year: 1974 Country/State UK Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: UK pressing Available: 1 Catalog ID: 5772 Price: $90.00
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After a three year
hiatus bassist Andy Hellaby, singer/multi-instrumentalist Bobbie Watson and
lead guitarist Roger Wootton unexpected reunited Comus. With the addition of
new drummer Gordon Coxon and keyboardist Keith Hale the band released 1974's "To Keep
from Crying". Signed by Richard Branson's newly
formed Virgin Records, the album found the band opting for a more
conventional rock/progressive sound (recognize I'm using that descriptor in
a broad sense). Propelled by Watson's stratospheric falsetto
(occasionally enough to trigger your car alarm), with one exception
('Perpetual Motion'), the set wasn't quite top-40, but it came surprisingly
close to having radio possibilities. Largely abandoning their earlier
acoustic-based work, this time out most of the eleven tracks featured electric
instrumentation. Tracks like 'Down (Like
a Movie Star)', 'To Keep from Crying' and 'Perpetual Motion' (complete with
Beach Boys styled harmonies) incorporated
conventional melodies; the latter even sporting commercial possibilities.
Elsewhere the set featured three ambient and experimental instrumentals -
Waves and Caves', 'Panophany' and 'After the Dream'. I didn't find any
to be particularly interesting. Backed by an array of studio guests including cameos from various
members of Esperanto, Gong and Henry Cow,
material such as 'Touch Down' and 'So Long Supernova'
wasn't half bad. Interestingly fans of the debut uniformly hated
the sophomore release. Good luck finding a review that gave the set
any semblance of a positive nod. Shame since their sound remained
quirky, unconventional, and weirdly captivating, though this time out much
of the debut's ominous atmospherics was toned down.
For better or worse the debut's steady undercurrent of angst and foreboding was absent. Old fans were extremely unhappy with the new 'commercial' orientation and there simply weren't any new fans to replace those who abandoned the band. Absent sales, the collection disappeared into cutout bins, followed in short order by the band.
I originally didn't think this one was anywhere near as impressive as the debut. Now I'm not so sure. Definitely a quirky album, but it has grown on me every time I play it. Well worth checking out if you have that sense of aural adventurism.
"To Keep from Crying" track listing: (side 1) 1.) Down (Like a Movie Star) (Roger Wootton) - 4:06 rating: **** stars Hearing 'Down (Like a Movie Star' for the first time I can clearly remember thinking I must has mistakenly set the record player to 45 rpm. That said, if you can acclimated to Watson's high pitched yelp, kicked along by a nice Hellaby bass pattern (and a bassoon solo from Henry Cow's Lindsay Cooper), this one actually rocked out with considerable energy. Hard to believe I'm saying this, but yeah, it was a Comus song that actually rocked !!! Always loved the 'down, down, down, like a movie star' chorus. 2.) Touch Down ( Roger Wootton) - 4:45 rating: **** stars With Watson making an effort to keep her voice in something like a lower register (okay the chorus went sky high), 'Touch Down' was a beautiful and haunting ballad. Weird enough to worm its way into your head and refuse to leave. 3,) Waves and Caves (instrumental) (Andy Hellaby) - 1:32 rating: ** stars Showcasing Hellby's interest in tapes and effects, 'Waves and Caves' had an interesting pre-ambient feel to it. Imagine something out of Brian Eno's early catalog and you'll be in the right aural neighborhood. Of course that didn't make it particularly interesting or entertaining. Thankfully it was brief. 4.) Figure In Your Dreams ( Roger Wootton) - 3:10 rating: *** stars Play this to any unsuspecting friends and ask them who the female singer is. Sporting a laidback tropical feel 'Figure In Your Dreams' was a likeable track, but Watson's stratospheric falsetto was something to behold. Imagine Kate Bush having overdosed on whippets which made it very much an acquired taste. My six year old went running out of the room the last time I played it.
5.) Children of the Universe ( Roger Wootton) - 5:37
rating: **** stars
(side 2) 1.) So Long Supernova (Roger Wootton) - 3:20 rating: * star Side two opened with 'So Long Supernova' ... Not sure what to tell you about this one other than it was a mess. For a Comus tune it was bouncy and there was a song in there somewhere, but to my ears it just never managed to coagulate. Hearing Wootton stretch to hit the high notes wasn't much fun either. 2.) Perpetual Motion (Roger Wootton) - 4:07 rating: **** stars Unlike the rest of their catalog 'Perpetual Motion' has always brought a smile to my face. Complete with Kate Bush-meets-The Beach Boys-styled harmony vocals (that sounded surprisingly impressive), the song sported one of those upbeat, summertime melodies that I'm a pushover for. Great song, though I can see longtime Comus fans having heart palpitations over. Darn, now the melody is back in my head. 3.) Panophany (instrumental) (Andy Hellaby) - 0:26 rating: * star The second Hellaby composition, the instrumental 'Panophany' also underscored the bassist's interest in ambient and experimental sounds. Largely forgettable 4.) Get Yourself a Man (Keith Hale) - 7:07 rating: *** stars Keyboardist Keith Hale's lone writing credit, 'Get Yourself a Man' was a fairly straightforward ballad that saw Watson managing to keep on track throughout most of the song. Once again her quirky voice and delivery reminded me a bit of Kate Bush (that was meant as a compliment.) The song was also notable for sporting one of the album's few guitar solos - Wootton used the opportunity to turn in a pair of nice fuzz guitar solos. Can't say I was as keen on Gong's Didlier Malherbe's slightly atonal sax solo. 5.) To Keep from Crying ( Roger Wootton) - 5:27 rating: **** stars 'To Keep from Crying' was a pretty, folkish ballad that actually started to generate some energy as it rolled along. Hellaby provided some nice bass, Wootton turned in some more tasteful fuzz guitar, while Watson and Wootton actually sounded pretty good on the shared lead vocals. My only complaint is that for some reason the track sounds like it was recorded a couple of miles away from the studio. 6.) After the Dream ( Roger Wootton) - 0:59 rating: * star 'After the Dream' ended the album with a brief autoharp instrumental. Pretty, but forgettable.
And a quick update ... sans Rob Young, the original line up reunited in 2007. They re-released the two studio albums and EP as "Song To Comus - The Complete Collection" (Castle Music catalog number ).
They've also played some concerts and reportedly begun recording new material. They have a nice web presence with plenty of updates at:
"Song To Comus - The Complete Collection" track listing:
1.) Diana
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