Madden & Harris - Fools Paradise 1975

In common with many private pressings, the only album by Madden & Harris is both imitative of some famous artists and not nearly as good as the best releases by their inspirations. Yet on the other hand, like many private pressings, Fool's Paradise is interesting in that it has an unpredictability and homespun (though not lo-fi) idiosyncrasy of the sort that almost every major-label big-budget release ironed out, particularly in the mid-'70s, when this came out. It's placid, pleasant early-'70s-style folk-rock with a dash of progressive rock influence, sounding fairly British in its appropriation of both approaches, although the duo was based in Sydney. In some senses it's fairly standard stuff of its ilk, with a haunting though not outstandingly innovative melodic air that recalls olden pre-industrial British times. There's also a song cycle feel in which the concept remains elusive, despite the four-part "Fool's Paradise" suite that serves as the closing track. But it's not just the usual rural hippie-folkie trip, with some imaginative use of synthesizers and strings embellishing the arrangements, as well as disciplined interplay between the vocal harmonies that has a slight classical/choral grandeur. At some moments (like "The Wind at Eve"), it can recall the folkiest aspects of the very early King Crimson, when Ian McDonald was still in the lineup; "Margaret O'Grady" is a low-key Kinks-like character sketch, with the obligatory vaudevillian bounce; and some of the more reflective passages (especially in the "Will You Be There" section of the "Fool's Paradise" suite) are a little similar to the gentlest, most acoustic moods of 1970s Pink Floyd. AMG.

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