Japan 24-Bit Remaster
The second album was obviously meant to show the band from a more careless, spontaneous and harder rocking side than the debut. But some parts are also slightly jazzier in sound, most because of the saxophone played by guest Dave Conners. The opener "Three-Horned Dragon King", the Tull-ish "Eyes on You", "Minnamoto's Dream" and the truly annoying single "We Have Reason to Believe" all rocks quite hard and intense. And it's no coincidence if you think the riff of "Minnamoto's Dream" is similar to "A Prenormal Day at Brighton" from the debut, as it's actually the same riff played backwards! The laid-back side of the band is represented by the two pleasant ballads "Bride of Summer" and "Yellow Eyes".
"Barazinbar" is a 15-minute jam where the more jazz-inflected side of the album shines through. However, personally I think this works even better in the instrumental "Water Curtain Cave" that easily stands as my favourite on this album. This is early 70's, jazzy and atmospheric progressive rock at its best. The original sleeve was of the spectacular kind and worth a note. It was designed by Jon Field himself, and gave the term "fold-out" a whole new dimension.