You’ve probably read what follows before if you’re aware of my one-time obsession with everything Vertigo “swirl” and have come across my articles and reviews of albums on that most iconic of labels. However, a half-decent tale is worth repeating! Don’t stop me if you’ve heard this before, or summat… 🙂
Back in the mists of time, or to be more precise, the years 1971-1973, when I was entering my teenage years, I already had an endless curiosity for music away from the beaten path, thanks to the record collection of an older cousin of my best friend at the time, and of course, John Peel. I would occasionally, when funds permitted, venture into a local dodgy supermarket run by a well-known local chancer, and head for its LP cutout bin. Therein was a veritable treasure trove of records by obscure bands that no-one had heard of, then or now! Most of these were on the Vertigo “swirl” label, and the prices charged varied from 50p to £1.50. Now they’re worth anything from £50 to 4 figures to latter-day swirl maniacs!
Funds being tight, added to the fact that the store detective was ancient (to my young eyes anyway – he was probably only in his late 40s) and walked slowly with a pronounced limp resulted in those two factors combining to lead me into my one and as yet only venture into the world of crime (sorry, mum!), and the easily peelable labels were swapped when Limping Fred was out of sight so I could buy as many of these weird slabs of vinyl as possible! My choices were based purely on the artwork, as none of this exotica got anywhere near the radio, even Peely never played this stuff! One of those early purchases was the album Gracious!, and with its enticing cubist artwork by Barney Bubbles taking up the entire inside of the gatefold cover (reproduced on the inner middle pages of the booklet included with this reissue), and its textured outer cover, and a track called simply Hell, this was a must buy!
Playing it on the Dansette when I got home, obviously when my parents were out, revealed to this very young teen something weird and wonderful. It still remains one of my favourite albums on the “swirl” label, and it has stood the test of time quite well too. In another universe Gracious! are one of the early prog rock giants and hugely influential. Sadly like a lot of bands in that era, when major label subsidiaries – Vertigo was Philips’ stab at the “underground” – signed anything smelling of patchouli in loon pants and the de rigueur long hair, the fierce competition on the gig circuit and a complete lack of promo from the label, Gracious! disappeared with barely a flutter in the space-time continuum.
Gracious! the album was released in July 1970 and opens with Introduction. It is quickly very apparent that the influence of the then nascent prog rock scene has had a marked effect on the group. In the booklet an epiphany for most of the band occurred when they played support for King Crimson in Beckenham, and witnessed something entirely new and visceral, an experience shared by many bands of that time, famously including Yes. Our heroes were due to play another set of their charming but inconsequential pop after the main set by Crimson, but having been blasted into another world by Bob’s boys they thought better of it, and got out of it by getting their roadie to pour water on the plugboard. A seismic shift in the band’s outlook had occurred!
The original LP had Introduction, Heaven, and Hell on the first side. While these are three distinct tracks, there are conceptual themes running through them like the colouring in a stick of rock, making side one more of a suite. The song titles might give you a clue! Introduction sets the scene in confident fashion with crashing unison chords from the keyboards and guitar, and syncopated bass and drums. “Heaven and Hell are doing well, showing the distance between them” is one choice line that links the three songs, where good old Catholic guilt is a prime factor in the lyrics.
The pastoral beginning to the sectional Heaven, led by some gorgeous Mellotron, and layered with sympathetic guitar while the bass plays the counter-melody is quite lovely! Well, it is heaven, so… “Do you have a clean mind?” asks the repeated vocal refrain. “Will you get some money to the Church in time?” introduces a mild cynicism, and anyone who was unwillingly regularly dragged to Sunday School will sympathise, I’m sure. The song concludes with a soaring Baroque section, in true full-on prog fashion. Marvellous!
Hell of course is a far darker, more spiky affair, introduced by a descending (natch!) piano riff and an ominous doomy organ giving it some. This is followed by unsettling dissonant unison playing, charging along at a pace. There’s no light down here! Include the manic singalong in the pub by the Styx, where “We’re going to get smashed on wine!” Add in some off-kilter Can-Can, and a leery red-eyed picture is painted! I have loved this since I was 12. My peers probably thought I was a bit odd. They were probably right.
Side two of the LP began with a straight take on Fugue in D Minor, showcasing Martin Kitcat’s skill on the harpsicord. The credits say “All songs written by Davis/Kitcat”. J S Bach might disagree!
The album ends with its longest song, the 15-minute prog epic The Dream. Beginning with another classical lift, this time a few bars of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, the song soon gets suitably surreal, with bizarre interludes, a blistering guitar solo, a jungle drum-led naked dance around the fire (probably!), and all manner of high-jinks. With top-notch ensemble playing throughout, this is a fine piece of work. Not forgetting a shouted “Hey you, what about that bread you owe me?” at one point, which although placing it firmly in its era, then leads to a brief cheeky lift from Hey Jude. The whole thing doesn’t make a lot of sense and the conclusion is…there is no conclusion. But hey, it is about a dream after all!
Gracious! is essential for anyone who likes digging up the roots of this strange musical world we inhabit here at TPA.
An altogether more ambitious work than the debut, this is…Gracious! saw the band moved to Vertigo’s parent label Philips, and on to their budget label Philips International at that! This meant the group’s already low profile and their visibility to the record-buying public shrunk to practically zero. Gone is the alluring gatefold of the Vertigo release, and in its place is a budget single cover with a simple stained glass window picture, featuring a canoodling couple, and a caricature of a hippy-looking singer apparently preaching from a pulpit. This, together with the group’s name saw many retailers mistakenly file the album in their “Religious” section. And there it died a rapid death, not helped by the fact that although the record was recorded in March 1971 it wasn’t released until April 1972, the band already having split up in August 1971.
The album opens with Super Nova, another prog epic, and one that took up all of side one of the LP, which I also bought, but much later and for quite a bit more than 50p! As was the fashion at the time, the suite is a heavy concept piece “…about an astronaut who comes back to a dead planet that was once his home, and after many hours of thought and reflection about his family, God appears to him”. Remember this was a few years before anything like this might have been seen as somewhat pretentious! The thunderous opening sections, Arrival of the Traveller and Blood Red Sun maintain the heavy vibe of Gracious! but the suite soon becomes a more varied beast.
Fabulous, sophisticated pop nuggets like Say Goodbye To Love and Once on a Windy Day jostle with extended instrumentals to produce a classy album. When the two styles merge as on the rollicking Blue Skies and Alibis, you can see the potential this band had.
Listening to this is… with fresh ears and after such a long time, I can appreciate that it is musically some way ahead of Gracious! and is a more than decent listen, but that first album will always be the one for me. Not as heavy as the debut, this is… revisits the band’s pop roots and added to the growing musical confidence of the band makes this closer to conceptual-period Moodies, than to the more experimental, darker, and occasionally Crimsoid vibe of Gracious!. This album doesn’t have the sentimental pull of the debut for me, but it is obvious the group’s musicianship was growing all the time.
The third CD is the soundtrack from the band’s appearance at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, featuring a version of Super Nova, at the time still to be recorded. Of necessity it is a more raw performance than the posthumously released album version, and although the track listing on this set includes Prepare to Meet Thy Maker, the suite ends with Say Goodbye To Love, and as explained from the stage, they couldn’t perform Prepare… as “…the Mellotron has just packed up”! Temperamental beasties, Mellotrons! Martin Kitcat, the keyboard player, attempted to fix it, but according to the booklet gave up after 15 minutes. The band then launch into an extended version of Once on a Windy Day and were given a rousing reception by a weary crowd, having gone on last!
There is also a DVD of the performance, that I first saw on YouTube a fair few years ago. I don’t know it it’s still on there, but even if it is, that shouldn’t deter you from buying this. If you’re still reading you must be at least slightly interested? This is a minor but essential part of Rock’s Rich Tapestry, for sure!
TRACKLIST
CD1 – Gracious!
01. Introduction (5:53)
02. Heaven (8:09)
03. Hell (8:33)
04. Fugue In D Minor (5:05)
05. The Dream (16:58)
CD2 – this is…Gracious!!
01. Super Nova
a) Arrival Of The Traveller
b) Blood Red Sun
c) What’s Come To Be
d) Say Goodbye To Love
e) Prepare To Meet Thy Maker
02. C.B.S.
03. Once On A Windy Day
04. Blue Skies And Alibis
05. Hold Me Down
CD3 – Gracious! – Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970
01. Super Nova
a) Arrival Of The Traveller
b) Blood Red Sun
c) What’s Come To Be
d) Say Goodbye To Love
e) Prepare To Meet Thy Maker
02. Once On A Windy Day
DVD – Gracious! – Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970
– Tracklist as CD3
MUSICIANS
Robert Lipson – Drums
Tim Wheatley – Bass
Alan Cowderoy – Guitar, Vocals
Martin Kitcat – Mellotron, Electric Piano, Harpsichord, Vocals
Paul Davis – Vocals, 12-String Acoustic Guitar, Timpani
ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Cherry Red Records | Esoteric Recordings
Country of Origin: UK
Date of Release: 31st October 2025
LINKS
Gracious! – Info at Cherry Red Records
