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Size: 100 MB
Bitrate: 256
mp3
Ripped by: ChrisGoesRock
Artwork Included
Source: Japan 24-Bit Remaster

Members came from The Giant Sun Trolley and The People Band to create an improvised music drawing on Eastern raga forms, European folk, experimental and medieval influences. They recorded their first session in 1968 for Ron Geesin which was released under the pseudonym of The National-Balkan Ensemble on one side of a Standard Music Library disc. Their first actual album, Alchemy, was released on the EMI Harvest label in 1969, (featuring John Peel playing Jew's Harp on one track), followed by Air, Earth, Fire, Water (aka Elements) in 1970. They recorded two soundtracks, the first in 1970 for an animated film by Fuchs of Abelard and Heloise (which first saw release as part of Luca Ferrari's Necromancers of the Drifting West Sonic Book in 1997) and then in 1971 for Roman Polanski's film of Macbeth. After various later incarnations and albums they finally disbanded in 1993 owing to leader and percussionist Glen Sweeney's ongoing health problems.

They also opened The Rolling Stones Free Concert at Hyde Park on 5 July 1969.

Third ear Band remains unique in the history of progressive rock. This band reveals an eclectic, colourful, inspired musical "mantra", a multi influenced musical profile and consequently difficult to classify in a specific subgenre. "Alchemy" develops an achieved sense of multi-influences dialogue. Despite that Third Ear Band first started their career as a convnetional psychedelic prog-ish band, a large part of their discography (with this album included) is reserved to semi-acoustic improvisations, combining with talent medieval and "Eastern' raga harmonies into the formula a chamber music ensemble. By consequence acoustic elements prevail, all mixed in a rather medieval "world" climate, sometimes reaching the atmosphere to a beatic trance. The compositions process with modal scales, ragas, minimal modulations with reminiscence of some American contemporary classical composers (Terry Riley...). All tracks are composed according to the same model, making the emphasis on sustained motifs (for oboe or violin). Intriguing result and I would like to say very closed to Between's musical universe with its long, dancing oboe parts and incantatory "jazzy" felt. Their style is clearly orientated into modern "neo-shamanic" trance and "acid" acoustic folk-ish obscurities. The leading themes of this first album will be sublimated in the following effort. An innovative, strangely gorgeous acoustic psych release, worth to discover and a must for curious! [progarchives.com]

01. Mosaic
02. Ghetto Raga
03. Druid One
04. Stone Circle
05. Egyptian Book Of The Dead
06. Are Three
07. Drqgon Lines
08. Lark Rise