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Just one word: MAMMOTH! One of the greatest finds in experimental rock before the advent of progressive: hard rock, psychedelia, space and prog in a single studio album.
At the beginning they were called "Middle Earth", but at the end of the '60s, they decided to change it to "Arcadium". In 1969 these five English guys (Graham Best on bass and vocals, Allan Ellwood on organ and vocals, John Albert Parker on drums, Robert Ellwood guitar and vocals, and Miguel Sergides 12-string guitar and vocals) drawing on the experience of Vanilla Fudge and Iron Butterfly, managed to create an absolutely innovative sound based on ghostly melodies, distressing choirs, and immense atmospheres.
An intense journey through distorted guitars and dark sounds which over time laid the foundations of more psychedelic rock. But I never would have thought that such work could be even catchy, although there are challenging compositions. In fact, from start to finish, you will be swept away by an absolutely dominant rock music where a passionate and energetic voice implodes in a completely emotional whirlwind.
The guitars are raw, but the sound is aggressive especially in the first three tracks, and the organ plays rapidly until the end. The 7 tracks present, including the 2 bonus tracks (included in the early millennium reissue), deserve an absolute 10: "I'm On My Way", "Poor Lady", "Walk On The Bad Side" (sometimes I've wondered if this track has some connection with "Lou Reed"...... but I think it's impossible!), "Woman Of A Thousand Years", "Change Me", "It Takes A Woman", "Birth, Life And Death", "Sing My Song" and "Riding Alone".
I have to admit that the sound reminds me of Hawkwind, yet I absolutely prefer this from every point of view: the drama of the lyrics, the powerful guitars, the classicism of the sound, the more melancholic atmosphere, the frantic rhythms, and the silences between the various compositions.
"I'm On My Way", the track that struck me the most and without doubt one of the most complete rock songs I have ever heard, and the rest, let's not even talk about it..........A MUST-HAVE!
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Other reviews
By Lewis Tollani
'Breathe Awhile' opens with eleven minutes of 'I'm On My Way,' pure acid and progressive pop-rock, where we are gently led through dark and unsafe streets.
The final ten minutes of 'Birth, Life And Death' are a hypnotic mantra with the five members fiercely hurling themselves into a vortex of collective self-analysis.
By Georgie
Arcadium’s first and last album features emotional moments and almost desperate atmospheres.
'I’m On My Way' is considered by many one of the most important compositions of dark progressive.
