Marrying Maiden - IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY***

Don & Dewey/The Dolphins/Essence Of Now/Hoedown/Soapstone Mountain/Waiting For The Song/Let A Woman Flow/It Comes Right Down To You/Good Lovin'/Galileo/Do You Remember The Sun

Marrying Maiden was the follow up LP from the hippy San Francisco psychedelic band It's a Beautiful Day. Like its predecessor it is a bit uneven and their commercial appeal would soon take a significant dip. (US:28 UK:45)

"Some of the tracks found here rival those of their debut for quality, but overall, this is entirely too diverse and inconsistent to match it. It's a mix of hard rock, country rock, easy listening, spacey spoken word and soft pop, featuring guitar, organ, electric violin, plus a male/female vocal duet. Much of the west coast flavour of the debut is absent as well."

"A mellow album which leads with the beautiful folky psychedelia of The Dolphins and Essence Of Now, but adds many elements including country/bluegrass, flamenco, Gregorian and wild, groovy rock 'n' roll, which flow together well. This is a true hippie album with beautiful lyrics throughout."

"Don & Dewey is simply an incredible instrumental featuring mostly violins, but also occasionally throwing in some piano, guitar and harmonica work. Another high point is the emotionally underrated Soapstone Mountain. The vocal melody is fairly complex but ultimately very good once you become adjusted to the vocals. Other songs unfortunately don't live up to the same level of quality."

"Hippy dippy San Francisco sounds. The players are not bad with some very good keyboards, and the fiddle is fine but the songs leave a little to be desired. Jerry Garcia turns up and plays a terrific banjo on one piece."

"Here, the songs tend to be softer and shorter than on their debut and you won't find any rockers. There are a few stinkers as well, like The Dolphins, but some great songs like Essence Of Now, Soapstone Mountain and Good Lovin'. The atmospheric Let A Woman Flow features some ridiculous lyrics. The music does have a rather dated sound, and the lyrics, just like their first, are still hippie fluff."

"The songs aren't fantastic, but they keep your interested for the most part. The album does take a turn for the worst on the second side though. Inspiration is lost, and you have to drag your feet through some gross hippie dreck, and dullsville songwriting."