Spring - SPRING***

The Prisoner (Eight By Ten)/Grail/Boats/Shipwrecked Soldier/Golden Fleece/Inside Out/Song To Absent Friends (The Island)/Gazing

Eponymous sole album release from the Leicester progressive rock band Spring. They featured no fewer than three mellotron players to enhance their distinctive sound.

“Whatever could you do wrong with a progressive rock band featuring three members playing the wonderful mellotron? Absolutely nothing at all. This is a lost gem to discover and explore.”

“Spring released just this one LP in their short active period in the early 1970s. The album is full of folk influenced progressive rock with lots of mellotron and good guitar work. I really dig the way this album mixes the prog rock style with folk sound.”

“The music is mostly mellow and very song oriented but deceptively dense with a multitude of challenging subtleties and wide swathes of analogue sound.”

“In many ways, Spring's debut is notable as the mellotron album, which may be enough to attract aficionados of the instrument (which produces totally unique sounds originally meant to mimic orchestral instruments, flutes and choirs). However, Spring is more than just a Mellotron showcase; it's an early prog tour de force that sports tightly written but experimental songs, some gnarly guitar, and an excellent lead singer with an incomparable voice.”

“The content here is not the most audaciously complex prog of this vintage, but is notable because of the band's extensive use of mellotron - and unlike many groups, who stuck mainly to the iconic choir sound it provides, Spring bring a variety of tape sets to bear, making good use of the eerie flute and violin sets.”

“The fact that they were actually able to get all those mellotrons to sound so sweet and harmonious is practically a miracle, since they were very difficult to keep in tune and working order. The singer has a strange accent and the songs meander in midtempo prog-land, slightly lacking in hooks making them hard to remember.”

“Spring were one of the first groups to incorporate the mellotron into their sound right from their conception. But the arrangements are not just all mellotron; there's plenty of acoustic six and twelve-string guitar, a good balance of driving blues-rock electric guitar, and gritty Hammond organ as well as bass and drums. However, the vocals may be an acquired taste for some.”