Mercator Projected – EAST OF EDEN***

Northern Hemisphere/Isadora/Waterways/CentaurWoman/Bathers/Communion/Moth/In The Stable Of The Sphinx

Mercator Projected was the debut album from the Bristol progressive band East Of Eden. Their music was a fusion of progressive, heavy rock and world music. And yes, they were the same group that would later have the stylistically untypical British hit single Jig-A-Jig.

“Mercator Projected is an excellent example of prog rock at its beginnings. You get psych, jazz-rock, and Middle Eastern styles. A couple of rockers, some jams, some atmospheric numbers, phased vocals and strange electronic effects.”

“These guys rock. They swing. The band is tighter than tight and unlike much of what I hear today as 'prog-rock', 'psych', or whatever you want to call it, this set of musical interludes is solid and grooving. They occasionally go a little wild, but they always bring it back in with a solid rocking beat.”

“This is an early progressive rock masterpiece that was released during the end of the psychedelic era. Psychedelic influences such as raga guitar solos, phasing, vocal distortion and mellotron are all over Mercator Projected. East Of Eden can certainly hold their own instrumentally. Northern Hemisphere is a great piece of hard rock with echoed vocals and fat guitar riffs. The band plays hard and heavy throughout - one of progressive rocks loudest moments.”

“Not exactly the masterpiece I was led to believe. It certainly has it's moments but there is not enough guitar for me.”

“The instrumentation is fairly unusual, and there are a few good ideas and long-form construction attempts in the direction that later progressive acts would do with much more class, but the whole thing lacks the sort of energy and vitality that is a must, especially for this kind of music.”

“It really isn't anything special. Rather low intensity prog, featuring electric violin and sax, which often yield a mild eastern flavour. The song writing is OK, but not great, and psych influences are minimal. They manage to blend jazz and rock without getting cheesy or perky like many of their contemporaries. Still, they get a point or two for originality; this sound wasn't exactly prevalent at the time.”