This album is a real throwback to the late 1960s.
Eclection made their first public appearance supporting Tom Paxton at the Royal Festival Hall in 1967. Their debut album was originally released on the Elektra Records label in 1968, amidst the era and the sounds of Peter, Paul and Mary, The Seekers and their ilk. Probably best described as progressive folk rock, the band yield some interesting connections, namely, Trevor Lucas and Gerry Conway, who later formed Fotheringay with Sandy Denny, and Georg Kajanus (known then as Georg Hultgreen) who went on to form ’70s pop outfit Sailor.
The songs on Eclection’s self-titled album have a broad sound, thanks to intelligent use of strings, and are all fairly simple. As Georg Kajanus explains, most of the songs were written by a Norwegian who couldn’t speak English very well, which is a fair summation. In fact, Eclection is a particularly international group, as well as the Norwegian Hultgreen there were Australians Kerrilee Male and Lucas, Canadian Michael Rosen and Briton Conway.
The music is of its time and the lyrics tend to be a tad simplistic but the tunes are very convincing with some great refrains, the opening numbers, In Her Mind and Nevertheless, showing exactly this. At times the orchestration reminds me of The Moody Blues, and Kerrilee Male was a great vocalist and a looker to boot. The band were good instrumentalists too.
Featuring three bonus tracks originally released as singles in 1968, including the re-make of Please recorded with vocalist Dorris Henderson following the departure of Kerrilee Male from the band, this is another fine expanded re-master from those incredible folks at Esoteric. Again the re-mastering is spot on and the disc sounds awesome with great dynamics and sound, and as always there is an excellent booklet which tells the story of the band and this, their sole album, with rare and previously unseen photographs and liner notes featuring exclusive interviews with Georg Kajanus and Gerry Conway.
It is a very fine album which comes highly recommended if you like Fotheringay, The Seekers or even Fairport Convention, an example of early genre merging music that was not uncommon in the late ’60s.
So, not a major marker on the progressive rock road map but certainly an intriguing and worthwhile diversion.
TRACK LISTING
01. In Her Mind (3:59)
02. Nevertheless (2:52)
03. Violet Dew (3:51)
04. Will Tomorrow Be The Same (4:19)
05. Still I can See (3:39)
06. In The Early Days (4:27)
07. Another Time Another Place (4:11)
08. Morning of Yesterday (3:06)
09. Betty Brown (4:58)
10. St George and the Dragon (Up The Night) (5:09)
12. Please (2:53)
13. Mark Time (2:52)
14. Please [Mk.II] (2:56)
Total Time – 48:26
MUSICIANS
Trevor Lucas – Bass & Vocals
Georg Hultgreen – Guitars & Vocals
Gerry Conway – Drums & Backing Vocals
Kerrilee Male – Vocals
Michael Rosen – Electric & Acoustic Guitars & Trumpet
ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Esoteric Recordings
Catalogue#: ECLEC2552
Date of Release: 26th August 2016
LINKS
Eclection – Cherry Red Product Page