Comus is the devious Greek god of anarchy and chaos. Fits this album perfectly. I guess it sold very few copies when it came out, and the band disbanded. The original vinyl lps are quite collectible. The rest of the album is just as interesting.
They actually released another album in 1974 but it was with different lineup and more mainstream sound. After that, they disbanded but in 2012 they reformed and released Out of the Coma :)
Sidenote: electroconvulsive therapy is actually okay. It was a torture back in the day but nowadays it doesn't look like it looked back in the days of Over the Cuckoo's Nest or A Beautiful Mind. There's general anesthesia, the charge was reduced from several seconds to a millisecond or so. That's why it's both much less painful and destructive to the brain. It's still a rather radical method of treatment compared to meds, but it's still much better than a suicide from depression or decades of crippling schizophrenia. The more you know, dear reader! 💡 A banger of a track, by the way. I knew about prog bluegrass (like Bella Fleck) but this is something else. Will listen to more!
Oh boy Comus! These guys are an obscure treat. I probably would have suggested The Herald, Drip Drip, or Diana off the same album, but the latter two might be a bit... inappropriate for this channel lol. Much like this song, the rest of the album goes into extremely dark territory. Well worth a full listen through in your own time at least, undeniably on of the most unique experiences in music I've had the pleasure of listening to. The Herald specifically is probably the most beautiful song I've listened to outside of maybe a few songs by Rennaissance (Opening Out, Ashes Are Burning).
YES! Love this album and certainly a perfecty chosen track! Definitely rooted in mideval English folk (among other influences) although a very progressive variety 😊 Great to see your enthusiasm when you get such a big bite to digest....
I must have missed this one, but it's a great album. That ending pains me, but it's cool. I believe the lead song on the album was 'Diana' which is worth your time. Great song. So Pagan/ Woodsy :)
Very interesting track. First thing that stands out is that it sounds like a pastiche of late-60s psychedelic pop even down to the production with the extreme stereo separation and limited bandwidth. Apart from the acoustic guitars I'm not sure what the folk element is supposed to be, although maybe there's a touch of older, English folk styles. Maybe I'm just out of the loop on modern folk genres. Definitely a fascinating listen and has me intrigued to hear more.
I got curious about the date and discovered this album was released in '71 so the late-60s production is intentional 😅 I'm kinda there with ya on the folk aspect. It has a folk-ish sound but it lacks the storytelling aspect that I've found to be central the modern version of folk and doesn't have any of the instrumentation of traditional folk.
@@CriticalReactions Violin would be the most prominent instrument in traditional British folk... Also, there's a lot of harmonies and melodic style close to medieval music. That's what modern British (and most other origins) folk is about - carrying old traditions. This is so much more of course - just like any band developing their own take and adding other influences 😊
@alReactions Interesting that you think it "lacks the storytelling aspect", as to me it's exactly the opposite. It just tells a different kind of story, from a different viewpoint: it's told in 1st person... And a disturbing story for what it matters, as is pretty much the case with all tracks in this album. The lyrics, and the use of vocals (and of slight "dissonance-like" lines in the vocals), are consistent with the story, IMHO. Of course I may be totally wrong. 🙂 The album (and the band's name) are based on John Milton's "Mask of Comus" book, which explains a lot about the "old English" feeling about the language and gives you the context for both the lyrics (and the story they tell) and the music. 🙂 I just LOVE this album. I own ALL the albums this group released... But this one is IMHO the best.
I admittedly danced with my garden gnomes to this 👌
Man I love this album, so delightfully odd and daring
Comus is the devious Greek god of anarchy and chaos. Fits this album perfectly. I guess it sold very few copies when it came out, and the band disbanded. The original vinyl lps are quite collectible. The rest of the album is just as interesting.
They actually released another album in 1974 but it was with different lineup and more mainstream sound. After that, they disbanded but in 2012 they reformed and released Out of the Coma :)
Sidenote: electroconvulsive therapy is actually okay. It was a torture back in the day but nowadays it doesn't look like it looked back in the days of Over the Cuckoo's Nest or A Beautiful Mind. There's general anesthesia, the charge was reduced from several seconds to a millisecond or so. That's why it's both much less painful and destructive to the brain. It's still a rather radical method of treatment compared to meds, but it's still much better than a suicide from depression or decades of crippling schizophrenia.
The more you know, dear reader! 💡
A banger of a track, by the way. I knew about prog bluegrass (like Bella Fleck) but this is something else. Will listen to more!
Oh boy Comus! These guys are an obscure treat.
I probably would have suggested The Herald, Drip Drip, or Diana off the same album, but the latter two might be a bit... inappropriate for this channel lol. Much like this song, the rest of the album goes into extremely dark territory. Well worth a full listen through in your own time at least, undeniably on of the most unique experiences in music I've had the pleasure of listening to. The Herald specifically is probably the most beautiful song I've listened to outside of maybe a few songs by Rennaissance (Opening Out, Ashes Are Burning).
Drip Drip is a trip! The lyrics inspired Mikael Akerfeldt to call Opeth's third Album "My Arms, Your Hearse"!
I agree, Herald is transcendental.
One of my fav albums ever. Super one of a kind.
Recently came across the album kinda randomly and was sold from the first track, great vibes on the whole album.
This is actually my favorite song from them!!
YES! Love this album and certainly a perfecty chosen track! Definitely rooted in mideval English folk (among other influences) although a very progressive variety 😊
Great to see your enthusiasm when you get such a big bite to digest....
Love this one, Comus has a bit of a cult following. Also, when you read the lyrics, I felt like you were reading us a bedtime story 😆
Comus is a big influence of Mike Akerfeldt of Opeth.
Wow, didn't know that. Interesting, thanks!
@@shryggur they even reformed thanks to him and released an album in 2012
@@samueljacobson470 wait, what? Where can I find any details? That's super interesting
Oh so in the mood of my childhood's music ! Can we categorize them "psychedelic" ?
Love the strings in it.
"Psychedelic folk prog" would do the trick 😊
I must have missed this one, but it's a great album. That ending pains me, but it's cool. I believe the lead song on the album was 'Diana' which is worth your time. Great song. So Pagan/ Woodsy :)
The screeching sound at the beginning is coming from a bass. The bas player was using a bottleneck slide on the bass
Very interesting track. First thing that stands out is that it sounds like a pastiche of late-60s psychedelic pop even down to the production with the extreme stereo separation and limited bandwidth. Apart from the acoustic guitars I'm not sure what the folk element is supposed to be, although maybe there's a touch of older, English folk styles. Maybe I'm just out of the loop on modern folk genres. Definitely a fascinating listen and has me intrigued to hear more.
I got curious about the date and discovered this album was released in '71 so the late-60s production is intentional 😅
I'm kinda there with ya on the folk aspect. It has a folk-ish sound but it lacks the storytelling aspect that I've found to be central the modern version of folk and doesn't have any of the instrumentation of traditional folk.
@@CriticalReactions Aha, well, then I guess it wasn't a pastiche but the genuine article!
@@CriticalReactions Violin would be the most prominent instrument in traditional British folk... Also, there's a lot of harmonies and melodic style close to medieval music. That's what modern British (and most other origins) folk is about - carrying old traditions. This is so much more of course - just like any band developing their own take and adding other influences 😊
@alReactions Interesting that you think it "lacks the storytelling aspect", as to me it's exactly the opposite. It just tells a different kind of story, from a different viewpoint: it's told in 1st person... And a disturbing story for what it matters, as is pretty much the case with all tracks in this album. The lyrics, and the use of vocals (and of slight "dissonance-like" lines in the vocals), are consistent with the story, IMHO. Of course I may be totally wrong. 🙂
The album (and the band's name) are based on John Milton's "Mask of Comus" book, which explains a lot about the "old English" feeling about the language and gives you the context for both the lyrics (and the story they tell) and the music. 🙂
I just LOVE this album. I own ALL the albums this group released... But this one is IMHO the best.
Have a listen to Forest released 2 albums 1969 and 1970,great folk stuff.
Best album by far is the concert album 😊