Issue 2013-006: Cressida Special
In this special issue Mark Hughes (starting here) and Basil Francis (starting here) take us through an overview of recent reissues from the U.K.'s CRESSIDA.
Cressida - The Vertigo Years Anthology 1969-1971
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Tracklist:
CD1 - One Of A Group (3:40), Winter Is Coming Again (4:45), Lights In My Mind (2:47), Home Is Where I Long To Be (4:07), Time For Bed (2:21), Depression (5:07), Down Down (4:18), To Play Your Little Game (3:24), Cressida (3:59), The Only Earthman In Town (3:38), Tomorrow Is A Whole New Day (5:23), Spring '69 (2:20), Lights In My Mind (alternative version) (3:14), Mental State (3:40)
CD2 - Survivor (1:33), Reprieved (2:32), Summer Weekend Of A Lifetime (3:24), Lisa (5:08), Asylum (3:33), Goodbye Post Office Tower Goodbye (2:49), Let Them Come When They Will (11:48), Munich (9:38), Situation (3:35), Depression (BBC session) (4:26), Winter Is Coming Again (BBC session) (4:40)
Cressida - Trapped In Time - The Lost Tapes
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Tracklist: To Play Your Little Game (3:13), Winter Is Coming Again (3:52), Cressida (4:03), Depression (3:32), Sad Eyed Fairy (3:11), Lights In My Mind (3:14), Let Them Come When They Will (2:59), Situation (3:27), Only Earthman In Town (3:33), Down Down (4:12), Mental State (3:45), Silent Light (5:00), Situation (alternative version) (3:36)
If ever there was an award for 'great lost group' then Cressida are prime contenders for the title. Barely in existence for two years, the five piece originally comprised Angus Cullen (vocals), John Heyworth (guitars), Iain Clark (drums), Kevin McCarthy (bass) and Lol Coker (organ). Most of the writing was taken care of by Heyworth and Cullen, although somewhat unusually they wrote individually rather than as a partnership. Exposure on the London club scene led to an audition with Ossie Byrne, producer of early hits by The Bee Gees, who signed them to a management and production contract and stumped up the money for the band to record their first demos, more of which later. An obligatory residency at the Star Club in Hamburg in early 1969 honed the songs and the performance but it was the return to the UK in the summer of 1969 and the replacement of Coker with the more accomplished keyboardist Peter Jennings that cemented the line-up and gave them their characteristic Hammond driven sound. Within two months the band had started recording their debut album with both Elektra and Philips eager to get the group to sign on the dotted line, a battle eventually won by Philips who added the group to the roster on their progressive imprint, Vertigo. Notwithstanding the quality of the music produced by Cressida, their association with the famous Vertigo 'swirl' label has probably been instrumental in keeping the name of the group alive and in circulation as collectors of the label sought out and paid high prices for the two Cressida releases.
The eponymous first album, released in February 1970, opens with Jennings' only composition One Of A Group, a glorious keyboard driven number that utilises organ, synths and pianos in a blend of progressive rock and jazz-influenced phrasing with a fuzzed guitar solo adding spice. Cullen's voice is vaguely reminiscent of Richard Sinclair in his Hatfield And The North days, although reaching a more mellow level during the softer beginning of Winter is Coming Again. A rather deceptive track in that the perfectly judged guitar tries to make a steal with the tempo but is kept in check by the Hammond organ. The organ continues throughout the brief Lights In My Mind, a relatively simple song enhanced by a great chorus and Jennings' fine playing. Home Is Where I Long To Be features lead vocals from Heyworth, who it has to be said is not as an accomplished a singer as Cullen, with Jennings deviating from the Hammond to provide simple but effective harpsichord flourishes. One of the weaker songs on the album, perhaps suffering from being an early band composition and one of the first songs the band recorded for the album. Cullen's first number as a composer, Time For Bed, shows the class of the band with some phenomenal acoustic guitar work tying in nicely with piano and some inventive drumming from Clarke that gives the two prime instruments plenty of space to do their thing.
A haunting Hammond introduces one of the first album's outstanding tracks, Depression, which is followed by the equally impressive Down Down, a brooding ballad with almost funereal organ broken up by Mellotron and a brief guitar run that is so out of character with the rest of the song that its very unusualness seems somehow appropriate. To Play Your Little Game is one of the few numbers that is easily identifiable as being from the late sixties due to its infectious chorus. An interesting structure keeps the listener engaged and even gets one singing along. A brief guitar solo ends the number which flows seamlessly into Cressida which is based around a quirky keyboard riff with an Eastern-flavoured guitar part rounding out the number, that I don't think relies much on the titular Greek character from the Trojan War. The Only Earthman In Town is really more of the same with an added electric 12-string, although Tomorrow Is A Whole New Day breaks the mould somewhat, largely because it was written by drummer Clarke and has more classical overtones bought into play mainly by Jennings along with the final multiple harmonies layered on the end of the song and a guitar solo that would, one have thought, have been a suitably rousing finale for the album. However, somewhat incongruously, the original album ends with an unusual acoustic solo number from Cullen who sings the rather sad Spring '69 accompanying himself on acoustic guitar. Two bonus tracks have been culled from the earliest demos of the band released on the Trapped In Time CD reviewed below. The early version of Lights In My Mind is the only song on the anthology to feature original organist Lol Coker and is a slightly more sprightly version than recorded for the album while Mental State did not make it past the demo stage which is a shame as it is another lively number, one of the first songs performed and recorded with Jennings who does his best to stamp his signature sound on the band's output.
Cressida's second album, Asylum, was recorded in June 1970, a matter of weeks after guitarist Heyworth left the band to be replaced by John Culley. Although Heyworth had written the bulk of the material on the debut album, his sole contribution to the second album was Let Them Come When They Will, the lavishly orchestrated and long form centrepiece that exemplified the more ambitious compositions the band were developing. A striking song replete with tempo changes and musical bridges joining the more intense musical passages that, live, even without the orchestra, must have been a wonder to behold. Jennings also took up the challenge of developing a more complex writing style as evidence by the album's closing track Munich, widely considered to be the pinnacle of Cressida's recorded output. Subtle orchestrations and some fine playing display the skills of the band and how quickly they had developed over the space of a year. Indeed, the two tracks that originally formed the second side of Asylum are possibly some of the finest slices of progressive music to have been recorded in the early 1970s and are ample justification for the continued interest in the band.
However, what of the first side of the album? Well Cullen had also raised his game as a composer, although preferred to hone his shorter compositions with a greater degree of intensity rather than explore the extended form. This is clear on Survivor where the brass section adds a bite and crispness previously unheard. The greater studio confidence is displayed in Reprieved, essentially a jazzy piano solo captured by accident during a break in recording but nevertheless a fine addition to the album. Summer Weekend Of A Lifetime is most like the material from the first album, although not so heavy on the Hammond organ. The lush orchestra on Lisa lifts the track and perfectly complements the fine contributions of jazz flautist Harold McNair in one of his last recording sessions. Again the structure of the song displays the increasing maturity and confidence of the band who are happy to let the song go in the direction required, leaving spaces where appropriate and resulting in a loose and airy sounding number of a very high quality. The title track features another of Cullen's quirky lyrics about inmates of the Asylum although it is the instrumental passages, particularly Jennings' Hammond work, that make the song. Finally, the marvellously titled Goodbye Post Office Tower Goodbye, is a largely piano and acoustic guitar number with Clarke providing some fine fills on his drum kit.
The three additional tracks include the putative single Situation which was probably the last thing recorded by the group, despite being one of the earliest songs written. This is clear from the poppier nature of the number which has a definite sixties hangover and may have been the reason why it was not released being completely out of character with the main album. The final two tracks are a real find, the only live performances known to exist from the band, recorded for a BBC Top Of The Pops session in June 1970 Shortly after Culley had joined the band. Both tacks, Depression and Winter Is Coming Again, display the live prowess of the band developing the studio performances into something more exciting with Culley and Jennings both shining on the first of the tracks and the whole band displaying a subtlety of performance on the second number.
Sadly, by the time Asylum was released in February 1971 the band was no longer in existence. A European tour supporting Black Sabbath had highlighted management issues exacerbated by the lack of their own headlining gigs on the return to the UK. Taking up an offer to join Uriah Heep, drummer Clarke quit the band in November 1970 with the rest of the band deciding to call it a day soon after. However, the story doesn't end there as 40 years later, the band reformed for a one-off reunion show in November 2011 which, by all accounts, was a triumphant success. Whether this draws a line under proceedings as far as Cressida are concerned remains to be seen.
When the band re-established contact before their reunion show they made a concerted effort to see if they could locate copies of the early demos that had been financed by Ossie Byrne. Unearthing several reel-to-reel tapes in various states of disintegration, expert repair and restoration was undertaken to recover the tapes that had long been thought lost. With the exception of the single version of Situation, also included on the Anthology album, all the tracks were recorded in 1969, mostly by the original band line-up featuring Lol Coker, but three numbers featuring Peter Jennings are also included. Given the 1969 recording date, the bulk of the released material stems from the first album, although an early, and much simpler arranged, version of Let Them Come When They Will, one of the highlights of Asylum, provides a fascinating insight in how quickly the band developed. First up, given the two-track nature of these demos, their age and the fact that they have been carted around the world for the past 40-odd years being exposed to climates as diverse as the cold and humidity of the highlands of Scotland to the dry and heat of Los Angeles, the quality is not bad. Yes, they are not crystal clear, hi-fidelity recordings, but then they probably never were. As to the value of these recordings, well I suppose it all depends if you are a big enough fan to want to hear how the band developed the songs between the original writing and recording in a professional studio under the guidance of a producer. Of primary interest are the three previously unreleased songs, two of which were recorded with Coker and one with Jennings. Sad Eyed Fairy, a delicate ballad with a haunting organ sound, engaging melody line and layers of harmony vocals, reminds me a bit of early Uriah Heep. Although a decent song, it might well have sounded out of place on the first album. The longest track, short by prog standards at just five minutes, is Silent Light, which was obviously recorded at a different time from the Ossie Byrne session as it has a crisper guitar and vocal lines with the organ possessing a warmer sound. A nice find; it is surprising that this song was not developed further as the guitar and organ interplay had the potential to be rather special. Finally, the Anthology included Mental State displays the heavier edge that Jennings bought to the group, heavy riffing guitar and great Hammond solo included.
Two worthy releases from Esoteric. The Cressida anthology is a great summation of the work recorded by this seminal English prog band of the seventies for the Vertigo label and for long-time fans of the band the collection of early demos will certainly be of great interest, and essential for hard core fans, not least because of the previously unheard songs.
Conclusions:
Cressida - The Vertigo Years Anthology 1969-1971: 8 out of 10
Cressida - Trapped in Time: 6 out of 10
Cressida - Cressida
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Tracklist: To Play Your Little Game (3:16), Winter Is Coming Again (4:44), Time For Bed (2:22), Cressida (4:00), Home And Where I Long To Be (4:07), Depression (5:05), One Of A Group (3:38), Lights In My Mind (2:48), The Only Earthman In Town (3:35), Spring '69 (2:17), Down Down (4:17), Tomorrow Is A Whole New Day (5:19)
Cressida - Asylum
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Tracklist: Asylum (3:29), Munich (9:33), Goodbye Post Office Tower Goodbye (2:51), Survivor (1:34), Reprieved (2:39), Lisa (5:08), Summer Weekend Of A Lifetime (3:26), Let The Come When They Will (11:45)
Cressida - Trapped In Time: The Lost Tapes
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Tracklist: To Play Your Little Game (3:09), Winter Is Coming Again (3:51), Cressida (4:03), Depression (3:30), Sad Eyed Fairy (3:15), Lights In My Mind (3:15), Let Them Come When They Will (3:40), Situation (3:26), Only Earthman In Town (3:40), Down Down (4:29), Mental State (3:39), Silent Light (5:03), Situation (Alternate Version) (3:43)
Cressida - The Vertigo Years Anthology 1969-1971
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Tracklist:
CD1 - One Of A Group (3:40), Winter Is Coming Again (4:45), Lights In My Mind (2:47), Home Is Where I Long To Be (4:07), Time For Bed (2:21), Depression (5:07), Down Down (4:18), To Play Your Little Game (3:24), Cressida (3:59), The Only Earthman In Town (3:38), Tomorrow Is A Whole New Day (5:23), Spring '69 (2:20), Lights In My Mind (alternative version) (3:14), Mental State (3:40)
CD2 - Survivor (1:33), Reprieved (2:32), Summer Weekend Of A Lifetime (3:24), Lisa (5:08), Asylum (3:33), Goodbye Post Office Tower Goodbye (2:49), Let Them Come When They Will (11:48), Munich (9:38), Situation (3:35), Depression (BBC session) (4:26), Winter Is Coming Again (BBC session) (4:40)
Hello, hello and welcome to the first ever DPRP spectacle of 'Compare That Reissue!' For early 70s cult proggers Cressida, 2011 was a pretty special year. By sheer chance, a sudden peak of interest in the band caused Cressida to search for unreleased material from their archives. Sure enough, a very special limited vinyl album entitled Trapped In Time: The Lost Years was released later the same year by Record Collector Magazine.
This sparked even more interest in the band, and soon enough there was even talk of a reunion. In the meantime, DPRP's Roger Trenwith caught up with drummer Iain Clark to ask a couple of questions about this venture. Fortunately enough, the band decided to go ahead with the idea, and the one-off reunion gig was held in London on 2nd December 2011, to the delight of many fans. The line-up consisted of Peter Jennings (organ/piano), Iain Clark (drums), Kevin McCarthy (bass), Angus Cullen (vocals) and Roger Niven (guitar) in place of John Heyworth who passed away in 2010, and John Culley, who was unavailable at the time.
Now, Esoteric have managed to secure the rights to Cressida's music, and have thusly reissued the afore-mentioned Trapped In Time on CD, as well as both the band's studio albums on a set they call The Vertigo Years Anthology 1969-71. This brings them in direct competition with Repertoire, another progressive reissues label, who released both albums in mini-gatefold sleeves back in 2010. However, let's rewind to 1970, and the release of the band's eponymous debut album.
Released on the famous Vertigo label, a sure sign of quality if there ever was one, Cressida was a peculiar, yet amicable album. Naturally, it was written and recorded at a time when progressive rock was finding its feet, and in particular, this album has a very 'crossover prog' feel to it. What immediately hits the listener on the inaugural listen is the heavy reliance on Peter Jennings' organ, which lends a distinctly proggy element to the sound. On the title track, Cressida, a mellotron is tinkered with, and as vocalist Angus Cullen reveals in the Repertoire liner notes 'it's a bit of a myth that [Peter] used the mellotron. There just happened to be one sitting in the corner of the studio and he used it for one small part of one track.'
However, subsequent listens will reveal that Cressida were a lot cleverer than you may initially give them credit for. The tracks are rather brief, but repeated listens to any track on this album will reveal new exciting aspects of the music. For example, on the title track, it took me many listens to detect the subtle changes of time signature hidden between the verses. Quite simply, this is a rich, densely orchestrated album of accessible progressive music. My favourite track has to be One of a Group, which Esoteric place at the beginning of their Anthology set, and is possibly the most experimental track on the album. There is enough diversity in the instrumental sections between the verses on this track to fill three songs, from a proggy organ solo, to a rocky guitar solo, and ending with a swing-feel piano solo.
The band released their second album Asylum a year later, again on the Vertigo label. This album showed Cressida moving on to longer, more symphonic song structures, and employed the use of an orchestra on a few of the tracks. The towering epic Munich has to be heard to be believed. At nearly ten minutes, the track contains many contrasting sections whilst remaining cohesive and smooth. The symphonic segments of the song are simply beautiful, the instrumental gripping, and the breakneck rocky ending section provides the perfect climax. My highlight of the track is when Cullen delivers a breathtaking set of lyrics unaccompanied by the band or orchestra. It's not the obvious move, but it works so perfectly in this track. A divine masterpiece.
At the same time, the band don't completely eschew their shorter tracks, and in particular Asylum and Goodbye Post Office Tower Goodbye would not appear out of place on the band's debut. Interestingly enough, the latter track contains the lyric 'So I've made this bomb for the GPO to blow them all to hell,' and the Repertoire notes alert the reader to the subsequent IRA bombing of the Post Office Tower in October 1971. A chilling coincidence indeed.
Last, but not least, is the epic Let Them Come When They Will, which the Trapped in Time set reveals had been crafted as early as 1969. This lengthy track is not quite as sophisticated as Munich, but is still very enjoyable. The piece is rather obviously one melancholy song inside another more jaunty song, but the effect is surprisingly good. The chorus is very catchy, and is well worth waiting nine minutes to hear again, especially within the noisy, fun outro which contains plenty of awesome soloing. Unfortunately, this would be the last we would hear from Cressida for quite some time.
We now return to the present, and discuss the reissues of these albums. Initially, I was only going to review both Esoteric releases, and nothing more. However, when the albums came through my door, I was utterly horrified by what I saw, and by the end of the afternoon, I'd been on to Amazon to purchase replacement albums by Repertoire. It is my job to inform ye, dear reader, of where and when to splash your cash, and so I shall explain just why you should not touch The Vertigo Years Anthology. I think a table will help:-
| Repertoire's gatefold reissues | Esoteric's Vertigo Years Anthology | |
| Sound Quality | Crystal clear, everything sounds wonderful. In respect to the Esoteric version, the music sounds more alive here. | The sound quality is slightly muddier than on the Repertoire set, as well as being significantly quieter. In any case, the sound quality is inferior, and this is probably the most important reason not to buy this set. |
| Artwork | What can I say? Repertoire offer the customer mini gatefold replicas, and naturally, these will better reproduce the original artwork than anything other than the original vinyl. Both outer and inner gatefolds have been reproduced for each album, giving the listener a very aesthetically pleasing package. The very centre of the inner gatefold is missing on the centre of each sleeve, but to account for this, Repertoire reproduce the whole inner gatefold again on the booklet. Do note that these sets aren't quite as authentic as the notorious Japanese Mini-LPs, but what they lose in authenticity, they gain in functionality. Having handled Japanese Mini-LPs before, I know that they can be incredibly fiddly things, but the Repertoire gatefolds are very easy to use, and provided you aren't stupid with them, they will be quite durable as well. This is a masterclass in design and aesthetic beauty, just like most other Repertoire reissues. My only real quibble is that the red colour on Cressida hasn't come out quite right, and is instead a light shade of orange. It would have also been nice to replicate the Vertigo logo as well. Nevertheless, in comparison to Esoteric's treatment, this is absolutely nothing. | If you've ever read my reissue reviews before, you'll know that I'm quite an artwork nut. However, you don't have to be a huge fan of album artwork to appreciate that Esoteric's treatment of the album artwork is utterly atrocious. Just look at the cover to this reissue. Believe me when I say that this is all that Esoteric show you of the original Cressida cover, a poor substitute. On the back of the case, approximately half of the front cover of Asylum is shown, and in particular, the flaming head is completely cropped. Only the inner gatefold from Asylum remains relatively intact, as it is simply a band photo. In short, Esoteric have completely fudged the artwork reproduction, so I feel like I'm getting very little of the original album with these recordings. This might be more forgivable if Esoteric didn't actually promise 'BOOKLET WITH FULLY RESTORED ARTWORK' directly on their website. On the Cressida Facebook page, I've seen other fans have similar complaints about the artwork, especially when the original covers were so intriguing and beautiful. |
| Bonus tracks | None. | Yes, the bonus tracks are probably the main selling point of this album. There are a total of five bonus tracks on this album, which might be enough to sway some fans. However, three of these bonus tracks have been taken from the Trapped In Time set, and the other two are simply live versions of tracks from the first album. If you're really buying this just for the bonus tracks, you may as well think smart and buy Trapped In Time instead. |
| Tracklist | The album tracks are in the right order, like most other reissues. | Bizarrely, the album tracks are in a different order, although no explanation is given online or in the booklet. I managed to catch up with Iain Clark to query him about the change. His words were: "Remember, this was to be an anthology. We felt for the first time no longer constrained to repeat a running order that was originally determined by the physical limitation of approx. 22 minutes of music per side on a 12" vinyl. We remembered the debates we had about running orders even back then, so for this Anthology we were able to sequence the tracks as we wanted. We were able to take a fresh look at the tracks and re-order them in a way that felt right to us. We approached it almost like we were sequencing these tracks for the first time. Now, we recognise this may be sacrilege to those who have become so used to listening to the tracks in a particular order but we also thought and hoped that this Anthology would attract new listeners to Cressida who would not even be aware that the original albums had different running orders." Ultimately, since the sum of the music is still the same - greater even, if you include the bonus tracks - then quibbles about the tracklist depend entirely on your personal taste. With the artwork mainly missing, all illusion of listening to the original albums is shattered, but it is comforting to know that this was a pre-meditated move by the band. |
| Liner notes | Chris Welch, writing in March 2010, has a fun writing style, and begins the Cressida liner notes by referring to the Shakespeare play Troilus and Cressida. An interview with Angus Cullen reveals such interesting facts as to how the band was named, as well as the story about the Mellotron. The notes inform the reader all one needs to know about the band and are succinctly written. | You know it's important when Esoteric headboy Mark Powell is writing the liner notes. He starts by giving an informative background to the band, followed by track-by-track analysis of each of the songs on the two-disc set. As eloquent as Powell may be, reading a description of over twenty tracks in a row can become rather cumbersome. It's also an unnecessary exercise, since we're about to listen to the music anyway. A more useful piece of information to include in the notes would have been an answer to 'Why are all the tracks in the wrong order?' A positive aspect of the liner notes, however, is the inclusion of rare photographs and posters from the band's heyday. I'd say that the Repertoire and Esoteric liner notes are roughly equal in terms of what the customer wants. |
All that's left now is the Trapped in Time album, which is essentially a CD copy of last year's vinyl release, with two extra bonus tracks included. All of the recordings bar one were recorded in 1969, and are mainly demos for the first album. I can imagine how exciting this album might be for a person who's loved the band for 40 years, but since I only started listening to this band a few weeks ago, the urge to listen to this album isn't so strong. For a bunch of tapes that have been rotting in an attic for over 4 decades, I'm impressed by how clear they sound - as long as you don't put on the studio albums straight after. They definitely have the nice warm hum of a demo track, when some of the studio versions sound cold and crisp. A lot of the tracks are identical to their studio counterpart, but the most interesting track for me is the demo of Let Them Come When They Will, which features a vastly different song structure, much shorter than the studio version. Interestingly enough, the artwork for this set closely matches that of the vinyl version, even down to the row of photographs on the inner gatefold. So basically they've paid more attention to the artwork here than they have with the studio albums. In a complete mockery of the whole artwork situation, the album booklet actually reproduces the front cover to both original albums as well, albeit in a miniscule size.
Cressida were an exciting, adventurous little band whose talents could have taken them further, but circumstance would not let them. As an aside, my favourite piece of trivia about the band is that Iain Clark went on to drum for Uriah Heep on my favourite of their albums: Look at Yourself. I'm personally very grateful that reissuing labels like Repertoire and Esoteric are here to bring me such amazing classics from such a long time before I was born, otherwise I may have never stumbled upon them. However, it's pretty evident that Repertoire have done a better job reissuing these albums in a way that is more satisfying to the customer. Esoteric on the other hand have momentarily forgotten that today's CD-consuming customers enjoy owning something close to the original album, and in many respects, The Vertigo Years Anthology fails to live up to expectations. If you want my recommendation, get both Repertoire sets, and if you're really keen on the band, throw in Trapped in Time as well.
Conclusions:
Cressida - Cressida: 7.5 out of 10
Cressida - Asylum: 8.5 out of 10
Cressida - Trapped in Time: Buy if you are a Cressida fan.
Cressida - The Vertigo Years Anthology 1969-1971: Do not buy. This set could have been much better.