Fuchsia
Fuchsia

THE REVIEW

We all know how progressive music, especially in its symphonic branch, has been particularly intertwined with fantasy, sometimes resulting in simple references, like Camel's "The White Rider," other times producing entire works like "Sagan om Ringen" (The Lord of the Rings) or "Ur Trollkarlens Hatt" (Magician's Hat) by the Swede Bo Hansson, and still others suggesting the names of bands or artists, of which the Austrian multi-instrumentalist Gandalf (Heinz Stobl) or the Americans Silmaril are just scattered examples. As we can easily deduce from the few names mentioned here, J.R.R. Tolkien will probably always remain the most loved and remembered author by groups fond of this literary genre, but he is not the only one, as there are other writers deserving recognition for having inspired a great number of artists in the musical field; one of these is Mervyn Peake with his Titus Groan, first published back in 1946.

The Gormenghast trilogy indeed captivated, especially in England, a vast number of readers, among whom stand out, for their attempts to put into music the impressions and emotions elicited by such reading, Titus Groan with their eponymous 1970 album, the Strawbs with "Lady Fuschia" (in both the case of "Fuschia" by Titus Groan and this one, Titus's little sister's name is misspelled as the girl in the book is called Fuchsia), the Third Ear Band with "Groan's Dance," Fruup with "Gormenghast," and Fuchsia with their eponymous album from '71, which we are about to closely examine.

At the helm of the project is guitarist and vocalist Tony Durant, who, after gaining some experience with the future Henry Cow Chris Cutler, formed a sextet with some companions from Exeter University, namely bassist Michael Day, drummer and percussionist Michael Gregory, violinists and choristers Janet Rogers and Vanessa Hall-Smith, and cellist and pianist Madeleine Bland. With the band thus structured and having been noticed thanks to the realization of a demo, they found themselves recording an LP for Terry King's Kingdom Records, the latter being surprised and pleased, according to Tony, almost more by the presence of three girls in the band than by the musical proposal itself (old Terry, go figure...).

The opening of "Gone With the Mouse" immediately highlights Michael's drumming prowess, as he alternates syncopated rhythms accompanied by the guitar, with light touches complemented by strings, skillfully navigating through numerous tempo changes, also recurring in the subsequent "A Tiny Book", characterized by soft violins, which, during the crescendo of the song, envelop the soft and melancholic voice of Tony, extremely expressive even in the elegant and dreamy "Shoes and Ships", where it becomes altogether clear that the strings play a fundamental role and certainly not a mere background one within the group's style.

The lengthy "The Nothing Song" introduces us, amidst guitar, bass, and cello incisions, to more aggressive sounds, while "Another Nail" flaunts certain psychedelic influences with not-so-catchy tones, and it's not surprising that the piece dates back to the days when Chris Cutler contributed to Tony's compositions, nonchalant both in these uncertain territories and in others much more regular, like the brief and sweet "Me and My Kite", which serves as a prelude to the evocative finale of "Just Anyone", where the deep sound of Madeleine's piano, together with the gloominess emanating from Michael's bass notes, marks the end of a work with dreamy and ethereal flavors, which, as often happens in these cases, remains the only testament of a complex that, in terms of inventiveness and personality, probably had much more to say.