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ELYSIAN ENCOUNTER is that rare beast in recorded music today: a more or less mainstream hard rock record that because of the songwriting skill and level of musicianship attains Art. Ginger Baker's playing is better in some respects than with Cream. He absolutely swings and yet uses something not often considered Bakeresque when needed: Restraint. Guitarist Adrian Gurvitzs' playing is amazing and would never again be as good in future recordings. He goes from melodic and precise to scintilating SHRED. Sometimes in the same song! And what songs they are:"People" is a soaring, majestic spiritual song with a Santana flair. "The Key" is a lovely romanticized vision of spiritual love."The Artist" is to me one of the most thought provoking speculations on the nature of what it means to be an Artist ever attempted on a so called pop song. Incredible! On ELYSIAN ENCOUNTER, the basic three piece of the first B/G Army is supplemented with more keyboard work for a fuller sound. But I think the big difference and what lifts this album to aural greatness is the addition of little known singer Steve Parsons (Mr. Snips), whose vocal timbre adds a melodic dimension to Adrian and bass player brother Paul's vocals that was missing from the first S/T affair.. He also contributes some of the best songs. I was absolutely blown away by this music, having taken a chance on buying it by way of familiarity with the players and the intriguing cover art. I cannot recommend this music highly enough. It's amazing it garnered very little attention when first released in '74, but this I am finding with each happy discovery of my own was quite common back then. Thankfully, this cosmic omission can be fixed now! Listening to this album is like setting forth for an encounter on a far Elysian shore. Do not miss this voyage!Read full review
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