Jade Warrior
Band members Related acts
|
line up 1 (1970-74) - Tony Duhig (RIP 1990) -- guitar - Jon Field -- keyboards, percussion, flute - Glyn Havard -- vocals, bass
line up 2 (1974-89) - Tony Duhig (RIP 1990) -- guitar, bass, piano, glockspiel, vibes - Jon Field -- gaelic harp, gong, glockenspiel, vibes, flutes, conga drums, bell, African talking drums, cello, acoustic guitar, keyboards
backing musicians (1974) - Chris Carran -- drums - Graham Deacon -- drums - David Duhig -- guitar - Coolridge Good -- string bass - Skalia Kanga -- harp - Martha Mdenge -- spoken word
backing musicians (1975) - David Duhig -- lead guitar - Graham Morgan -- drums - Maggie Thomas -- alto recorder - Stevie WInwood -- keyboards
line up 3 (1990-96) - Jon Field -- gaelic harp, gong, glockenspiel, vibes, flutes, conga drums, bell, African talking drums, cello, acoustic guitar, keyboards NEW - Colin Henson -- guitar NEW - Dave Sturt -- bass
line up 4 (2000-2001) NEW - David Duhig -- guitar - Jon Field -- gaelic harp, gong, glockenspiel, vibes, flutes, conga drums, bell, African talking drums, cello, acoustic guitar, keyboards NEW - Glyn Havard -- vocals, bass - Colin Henson -- guitar NEW - Allan Price -- drums - Dave Sturt -- bass
line up 5 (2008-) - Jon Field -- gaelic harp, gong, glockenspiel, vibes, flutes, conga drums, bell, African talking drums, cello, acoustic guitar, keyboards - Glyn Havard -- vocals, bass - Dave Sturt -- bass
|
- Dogstar Poets (Glyn Havard) - July (Tony Duhig and Jon Field) - Second Thoughts (Tony Duhig and Jon Field) - Unit Four + Two (Glyn Havard)
|
|
Genre: progressive Rating: 3 stars *** Title: Floating World Company: Island Catalog: ILPS
9290 Country/State: UK Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: -- Available: 1 Catalog ID: 277 Price: $20.00
Best time to play: how about a snowy afternoon ?
|
My second year in school I had a college roommate who was a big Jade Warrior fan. Me, not so much ... In fact, on those rare occasions when we weren't getting along (didn't happen very often), Tim would slap on a Jade Warrior LP knowing full well that it was going to irk me. Fact of the matter is I just didn't see the band's charms then and some forty years later I'm still at a loss to figure out what the appeal is (yes, Tim I don't know how it happened, but I still have a couple of your Jade Warrior LPs - give me a call if you want them back).
After a series of releases for the Vertigo label, 1974 found the band signed to Chris Blackwell's Island imprint (thank, or blame Steve Winwood for helping the band get signed). Perhaps inspired by Richard Branson's success with Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells", the deal with Island was only offered to multi-instrumentalists Tony Duhig and Jon Field. Jettisoning bassist Glyn Havard, Duhig and Field signed on with the company, writing all of the material and serving to co-produce 1974's "Floating World". Quoting the liner notes, this was apparently intended as a concept piece: "Ukiyo, The Floating World - Living only for the moment, turning our full attention to the pleasures of the moon, the snow, the cherry blossom and the maple leaves, singing songs, drinking wine and diverting ourselves just in floating, floating, caring not a whit for the pauperism staring us in the face. Refusing to be disheartedned, like a gourd floating along the river current. This is what we call Ukiyo." Nice philosophy, but musically this has always been a tough one for me to enjoy. As you can probably deduce from the title and cover art, there were lots of Asian influences scattered throughout the set (Japanese flutes, Japanese harp, oriental gongs, etc.), but those sounds were unexpectedly counter-balanced by jazz and rock influences (check out the fuzz-guitar propelled 'Red Lotus'). The all instrumental set was probably best described as an early stab at world music - imagine Brian Eno being stuck in Tokyo's Osaka airport for a week and you'd get a vague idea of what these soundscapes were like. Technically you couldn't deny the set was highly impressive and some of the melodies were quite soothing, but it wasn't exactly a dance party waiting to happen.
"Floating
World" track listing: 1.) Clouds (instrumental) (John Field - Tony Duhig) - rating: *** stars The album's most experimental tune, 'Clouds' started out with some raw electric guitar in the background, punctuated by some startling bursts of percussion. After that unexpected beginning the song shifted direction, moving briefly into a pretty flute and string bass propelled segment that then turned surprisingly jazzy (thanks to Duhig's acoustic guitar and Coolridge Good's string bass). 2.) Mountains of Fruits and Flowers (instrumental) (John Field - Tony Duhig) - rating: *** stars Giving credit where due, thanks to Tony Duhig's beautiful multi-tracked lead guitar, 'Mountains of Fruits and Flowers' was actually a charming effort. Very melodic and catchy. 3.) Waterfall (instrumental) (John Field - Tony Duhig) - rating: ** stars Since side one was performed as a continuous suite, it was hard to tell where one sond ended and another started. That said, I think 'Waterfall' was a drum and percussion effort that was simply dull. 4.) Red Lotus (instrumental) (John Field - Tony Duhig) - rating: *** stars Anyone who thought these guys were a bunch of overly sensitive hippies should probably take a quick listen to 'Red Lotus'. Opening up with some blistering David Duhig guitar, the track started out as one of the closest things they'd ever done to a true heavy rock song, but then migrated into a slice of jazz-rock fusion. Around the three minute mark the song morphed into a tranquil, flute propelled slice of retrospection.
(side
2) time -20:30 Side two opened up with a continuation of 'Clouds'. Frankly, I couldn't tell what the major differences were. 2.) Rain Flower (instrumental) (John Field - Tony Duhig) - rating: *** stars Again it was hard to tell where one song stopped and another started, but 'Rain Flower' seemingly began with some lovely electric guitar. To my ears, Duhig's guitar effect has always reminded me of some of 10cc's mid-'70s work. And then the song turned mildly funky, showcasing Field's flute/ Kind of lost interest at that point. 3.) Easty (instrumental) (John Field - Tony Duhig) - rating: *** stars 'Easty' found the band sticking their toes into a jazzy mode. Kind of a Wes Montgomery vibe going on here and then it shifts to a less likeable Herbie Mann feel. 4.) Monkey Chant (instrumental) (John Field - Tony Duhig) - rating: *** stars Um, well 'Monkey Chant' started out sounding like ... a bunch of monks trying to sound like a train with Jimi Hendrix riffing like mad behind them. Sounds crazy and it was. 5.) Memories of a Distant Sea (instrumental) (John Field - Tony Duhig) - rating: *** stars Featuring Skalia Kanga on harp, 'Memories of a Distant Sea' may have been the album's prettiest melody. Very relaxing, if perhaps a touch to MOR-ish. 6.) Quba (instrumental) (John Field - Tony Duhig) - rating: *** stars Ever seen the movie Local Hero ? Every heard Mark Knopfler's accompanying sountrack ? Assuming you're familiar with the movie and the soundtrack, imagine the movie had been relocated from Scotland to Japan and you'll have a feel for what this pretty number sounded like. Martha Mdenge provided the spoken word segment (which I guess was not Japanese).
Technically
these guys are truly dazzling and my vinyl copy actually sounds pretty good
on a Rega turntable. That said, I can't say that this set was
particularly fun .It was actually a bit like studying for a college exam in a class you didn't particularly like. Probably worth the effort, but not something you wanted to do every day.
|
|
Genre: progressive Rating: 3 stars *** Title: Waves Company: Island Catalog: ILPS
9318 Country/State: UK Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: -- Available: 1 Catalog ID: -- Price: $20.00
|
I had a college roommate who somehow discovered
Jade Warrior and insisted on playing their albums while he was
studying. A regular feature on his play list was "Waves."
It drove me nuts. I remember my original thoughts being along the
lines it was like listening to Traffic's "Low Spark of High
Heeled Boys" after you had accidentally swallowed a bottle of
cough syrup and just as you were falling asleep you realized that this
collection of elevator music included some world music touches.
Speaking of Traffic; coincidentally Steve Winwood guested on the album.
Anyhow, amidst the end-of-year dorm clean-out, I somehow ended up with a couple of those Jade Warrior albums (though not "Waves"). In the ensuingfour decades I never bothered to listen to any of them and I actually sold the copy of "Jade Warrior". And then I unexpectedly stumbled across a couple of Jade Warrior albums at a community yard sale. I really wasn't that interested in them but ultimately out of curiosity and attracted to the cool Richard Eckford and Tom Stimpson coversm it was enough for me to take out my wallet and make the investment. One of those three albums I bought - 1975's "Waves". So what's my opinion after all these years? Co-produced and written by Tony Duhig and Jon Fields, 1975's "Waves" reflected a unified concept piece, broken out into "A" and "B" sides. Surprise number 1: The album was apparently dedicated to "the last whale". I never realized the set was a concept piece. It certainly wasn't as obvious as Crosby and Nash's 'To the Last Whale' (which in addition to the title, included whale sound effects). Okay, I now recognize the last segment of "Waves" includes whale sound effects. First spin this time around I remember thinking that with it's jazzy-elevator-music flavor, the album could easily have been dedicated to the last non-leaded gas pump, or blind therein players. Okay, okay ... that was a needless snide comment. Surprise number 2: It'll readily admit it took awhile for the album to kick into gear, but once it got going, parts reflected an interesting mash-up of folk, jazz-rock, progressive and new age moves. David Duhig's electric guitar work is great, but it sounds way out of place on those occasions it emerges from the mix. Elsewhere the album occasionally comes too close to sounding like a soundtrack for a travel documentary. Take away - it still isn't something I'm going to spin on a regular basis, but it isn't nearly as irritating as I recalled. "Waves" track listing: 1.) Waves Part 1 (instrumental) (Jon Field - Tony Duhig) - 19:48 rating: *** stars While the liner notes reflected one nineteen minute long composition, 'Waves Part 1' was actually broken out into four distinct segments. If I had to pick an adjective for side one, soothing comes to mind. The first section started out slowly, reminding me of something Brian Eno and Robert Fripp might have collaborated on. Maybe part of the reason this album didn't instantly click with me - what I took to be the sound of Armageddon was apparently intended to capture the sound of a beaching whale. LOL SO much for subtleties. Elsewhere the first segment was highlighted by an unexpected electric guitar solo from David Duhig. It sounded like Duhig was using 10cc's Gizmo effect. The second segment was built on an intriguing acoustic bass refrain highlighting Winwood's keyboards, Tony Duhig's jazzy guitar moves and Maggie Thomas' alto recorder. Kind of a Dave Brubeck vibe on this part. The third section shifted into more relaxed territory powered by a pretty melody and some tasteful lead electric and acoustic guitar moves. Section four brought back the 10cc-styled guitar effects on one of the album's prettiest melodies.
(side 2) 1.) Waves Part 2 (instrumental) (Jon Field - Tony Duhig) - 24:39 rating: *** stars The oceanic concept was momentarily lost with the start of side two. Complete with tribal drumming, bird and rainforest sound effects, and more Gizmo-styled guitar, the first side two segment found me flashing back to my college dorm room and the same WTF feelings the album originally inspired ... Didn't like in back then and still didn't like it. Opening up with some relaxing oriental percussion, out of the blue Dave Duhig's screeching lead guitar saw the second segment unexpectedly morphed into the album's funkiest section. The third segment reverted to a sweet and relaxing flute and acoustic guitar powered melody. Nice rainy Sunday morning segment. The final section used various synthesizers to mimic a wide array of whale clicks, whistles, and pulsed calls. Framed by some stark instrumental backgrounds, it sounded like something people subscribe to in order to help them sleep.
|
BACK TO BADCAT PAYMENT INFORMATION
