Druid
Toward The Sun

LA RECENSIONE

Let's immediately debunk a rather widespread cliché in the prog community: Druid are not exactly what can be defined as a "clone" of Yes. Certainly, the sounds are similar, there’s no doubt about it, but I prefer to see them as "followers" rather than shameless copies of Jon Anderson & Co.'s band, with their own ideas and style, albeit derivative. Along with the American Starcastle, these four English guys probably knew best how to use the yessound of their fellow countrymen maestros, creating two albums (especially the first) truly worthy of note, although, given the release date, they certainly don't make anyone scream a miracle.

The musical identity of this "Toward the Sun" reflects a much sweeter and more relaxed symphonic rock compared to the Yes matrix, confirming that, although the instruments used are almost the same (androgynous voice echoing Jon Anderson's tone, solo bass in the manner of Chris Squire, certain keyboard arpeggios vaguely "made in Rick Wakeman"...), the resulting musical proposal at least partially deviates from the source from which it draws, adding a touch of personality to the work, often automatically discredited for its lack of originality.

The album is dated 1975 and features bassist Neil Brewer, keyboardist Andrew McCorie-Shand, drummer Cedric Sharpley, and guitarist and singer Dane (yes, just Dane...), engaging in the execution of compositions perhaps lacking in complexity and technicalities, but rich in velvety atmospheres and melodic ideas, embellished mostly by the warm sounds of the mellotron and the delicate guitar arpeggios, highlighted especially in slow and evocative pieces, centered now on the vocal and choral skills of the four (Remembering, Toward the Sun), now on the melancholic sound emanating from Andrew's piano (Red Carpet for an Autumn). The keyboardist also signs the endings of the longer tracks, characterized, in their entirety, by the continuous persistence of the rhythmic section, identified in Neil's dark and incisive bass sound and Cedric's versatile drumming, always ready to change course with sudden but elegant changes of pace (Voices, Shangri La). Dane's guitar finds its ideal dimension both in the decisive and colorful tones of the instrumental "Theme", where a gripping sax incursion also appears, and in the majestic yet welcoming airs of "Dawn of Evening", wrapped throughout its duration by a soft and light veil of mellotron, present nonetheless in almost the entirety of the work.

In 1976, one year after the release of the aforementioned work, "Fluid Druid" came out, the last and severely underrated album of an equally snubbed band that paid a high price for its delay in entering the prog world, disappearing after just two discographic releases, happening precisely when the times were already irreparably changing.