In 1970 a band named "Noir" ("Black" in French) had spent ages recording this undisputable miracle for "Dawn" (that was the label of Mungo Jerry also). How did they get there, and where from, nobody knows. They were: Barry Ford - lead vocals on half of the songs, drums & percussion; Tony Cole - lead vocals on another half, organ, piano and keyboards in general; Roy Williams - bass and vocals and Gordon Hunt - guitar and vocals. The band split before completing the album and vanished from the studio - all attempts to discover their whereabouts failed. Barry Ford re-surfaced later with "Clancy" which recorded two albums for Warner and had some following on London pub-scene, and after that performed with another obscurity, "Merger".
Anyway, music is difficult to identify, and this is ungrateful and absolutely unnecessary: several slow ballads which remind (somehow) Ken Hensley - like the eponymous fatalistic lament of "Rain" with heart-breaking singing; philosophical sermon "In Memory Of Lady X"; tribal battle hymn of "Beggar Man" and spirituals-inspired "How Long"; solid prog of "The System". Add polyphonic vocal harmonies, virtuosos guitar, and cool jazzy piano - total abandon and delight! The music was too good to be left on a shelf, and the album was released by "Dawn" in 1971, to be re-issued on CD by "Arcangelo" in Japan. One of the best albums of the 70s.
listen here or here
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