Guitarist John Du Cann may primarily be known for his 15 minutes of fame in the band Atomic Rooster in which he played for a few years. Before Atomic Rooster he was in a band called Attack, which then led him to form a short lived trio in the psychedelic, hard rock vein called Andromeda in the late 60's with fellow musicians, Mick Hawksworth (bass) and Ian McLane (drums). The band generated enough attention in the U.K. to be featured on John Peel's Top Gear radio show and at one point Peel even wanted to sign the band himself. Andromeda only released one official self titled album before Du Cann went on to join the Rooster. Originals is a re-release of that debut album but with Du Cann's original mixes, so you now get to hear how the record was supposed to sound, complete with extended solos.
The bands overall sound was very much in tune with what was happening on the U.K. scene at the time and the tracks on Originals feature plenty of crunchy, almost metallic like anthems which highlight Du Cann's energetic and frenetic guitar work. Surprisingly though the album was originally deemed too long (due to some of Du Cann's extended workouts) and too heavy. This rejection of the album sadly led to the bands demise shortly thereafter. All three musicians in Andromeda were formidable talents and the main reason why the material on Originals holds up as well as it does is primarily due to the fact that the band was able to pace themselves and balance their moments of heavy riffage with quieter passages quite effectively. Originals is a bit of a long lost gem from a band who's initial promise went unfulfilled, but kudos goes to Angel Air for getting this one out. If you are a fan of late 60's era British rock then you'll want to seek this one out.
Track Listing
1) Lonely Streets
2) The Reason
3) Day Of The Change
4) And Now The Sun Shines
5) Return To Sanity
6) Too Old
7) Ocean Song
8) Turns To Dust
9) I Can't Stop The Sun
10) When To Stop
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