Fantasy
Paint A Picture

In the late 80s, I started attending the first record fairs for used and collectible records, the only opportunity to stumble upon a missing title or simply be intrigued by something unusual. I quickly realized the enormous relevance that old Progressive Rock vinyls held in making an exhibitor appealing, with various titles prominently displayed yet at unsustainable prices. At the same time, the new digital format proved to be a decidedly less expensive alternative for me, also discovering some works so rare that even those stalls did not possess.

This is the case with FANTASY, a classic example of a debut album released in 1973 by a major label, Polydor, which only launched a first pressing without skimping too much on the number, then after a commercial flop, rejected the demos for the second album and got rid of the band once and for all, effectively decreeing their dissolution. All this recklessness was rewarded about twenty years later, with vinyl and CD reissues, repeatedly followed due to the great interest stirred.

The English band took shape in 1970 in the green countryside of Kent initially under the name CHAPEL FARM, struggling significantly to get noticed by record labels despite an intense live activity. At some point, they suffered the dramatic loss of guitarist BOB VANN, who died falling off a cliff on his eighteenth birthday. After some lineup adjustments and adopting the new moniker FIREQUEEN, they signed the coveted contract with Polydor, which, however, didn’t like the name, finding it too similar to other contemporaries that needed no introduction. It was the spring of '73, and the newly named FANTASY were ushered into the Chipping Norton Studios. The repertoire was substantial enough to exclude several pieces from the initial period, which would see the light posthumously. The idea was to create an apparently conceptual album gradually revealed in the cover artwork, with various references to the flow of songs. Yes, because they are songs: an incessant melodic framework, sweetness that reaches inside with unexpected overwhelming power, the absolute Progressive-Pop! So indigenous in its light yet significant arrangements that comparisons made with a certain branch of Pastoral Progressive, see FRUUPP and BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST, are even inappropriate.

The title track opens the show with organ sparkles and Paul Lawrence's voice, soft and highly pitched, the sound fabric thickening little by little, up to an authentic wall of sound of great suggestion. The quintet offers their best technical skills in the following CIRCUS, the only extended piece with noteworthy changes. Elsewhere, a certain relaxed pace reigns supreme, THE AWARD, a heartfelt dedication to the lost friend, is a striking example. POLITELY INSANE, chosen as the single, stands out for its evocative use of a brass section, typical of the period, and for a decidedly catchy liveliness. The second side also offers these moments, fervent in YOUNG MAN’S FORTUNE, led by a masterful falsetto and a thrilling guitar solo at the end, almost mystical in GNOME SONG, perhaps my favorite, where piano and voice take you by the hand and with eyes closed you might even take flight, through immaculate chorality and the usual keyboard wall coloring before your eyes. The closure of SILENT MIME is nothing but a post-psychedelic fairy tale that softly lands the listener. In every track, DAVID METCALFE’s contribution is the most substantial, piano, organ, mellotron, and splendid synth interweavings are the main secret of the album, but it is his immense taste in sound selection that makes it special.

If you are steadfast advocates of the long suite at all costs, a non-stop listen might magically evoke it. If you have fewer expectations but still love good music, you will also notice that the album has aged surprisingly well. For everyone else, a little quote from the title track:

YOU'LL DISCOVER MOONSHINE!