Affinity - AFFINITY***

I Am & So Are You/Night Flight/I Wonder If I Care As Much/Mr Joy/Three Sisters/Coconut Grove/All Along The Watchtower

The sole album release from the jazz-rock band Affinity formed by students of the University of Sussex. The vocalist Linda Hoyle enjoyed a lengthy singing career, mostly out of the limelight, in Canada.

“If you're not familiar with Affinity, they were a five member English ensemble that released this sole LP in 1970. The band seems to blend the elements of pop, folk, jazz and blues into their music. A lot of thought, heart and emotion went into the making of this record.”

“Very much a product of its time, which has stood well, although the progressive content is rather limited. This is well-played, free-spirited psychedelic rock with a great female singer and an over the top keyboardist leading the sound. Rather dated but still recommended.”

“I really like the female singing on this album and the music behind her voice is very high quality jazzy progressive rock. There are also some minor psychedelic effects but not that much.”

“It's a fine offering of psychedelic rock, in which trippy, female-fronted pop melodies and jazzy arrangements combine to offer elegant, atmospheric, late-night psychedelia. The Dylan cover pleasantly surprised me as well, because it's hardly the most intriguing idea for a cover, but there's a sufficient amount of originality.”

“Affinity's sound is tough to define, as it's not really traditional rock, nor is it full blown psychedelia and it's not really prog either. Its commercial appeal is minimal, so what the aim is isn't clear. Fortunately, though hard to define, there are some nice qualities here to recommend it. The two most noticeable are the singers smoky, sultry voice and the way the different keys are used to accent songs.”

“Affinity is a very interesting jazz influenced early piece of English prog/folk rock. It's much more melodic and accessible that anything that came out of Canterbury. The album features excellent arrangements and musicianship, particularly the keyboard player. However, some of the songs are a little naive lyrically.”

“This is a nice enough early Vertigo release which many prog fans will enjoy. It's an especially good pick if you like some jazz and very light psych touches.”