I had a dream (Audience) (LP 1056)

Audience  The House On The Hill (CD and vinyl, Charisma Records, 1971) ***** 

Genre: Prog rock

Places I remember: Marbecks Records for the CD, Vinyl Countdown for the vinyl (Aussie pressing with inside black and white gatefold cover).

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Eye To Eye

Gear costume: Jackdaw 

Active compensatory factors: I have three albums by Audience in the prog section: Lunch (see Where do they all belong?); Reflection (a compilation); and now the one I've been after for a while - The House On The Hill.

This is the one. Great songs, expansive prog explorations/ songs and main man Howard Werth's excellent vocal presence. 

It really benefits from repeat plays because there's so much going on with sax, flute, guitars and the aforementioned vocals from Howard. It makes for a heady, rewarding album.

Where do they all belong? Along with Lunch, which I discussed here.

Trombone Gulch (Audience) (LP 176)

Audience Lunch (Vinyl - Charisma, 1972) ***

Genre: Progressive rock 

Places I remember:  Slow Boat Records (Wellington)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Thunder and Lightnin'




Gear costume: Barracuda Dan 

Active compensatory factors:  There is a strong earthy feel to this album - and a distinct Band resonance: real music by real people.

Audience are a weird band - hard to pin down genre wise. Howard Werth's vocals are very distinctive but he's not a rock voice and the band instruments lend themselves to prog, or Art Rock according to wikipedia (whatever that is - I have no Art Rock genre section in my collection).

This one has Jim Price, and Bobby Keys adding their distinctive patois to the mix. All very confusing. Which is why, I guess, they never reached an, erm, audience.

Where do they all belong? Barclay James Harvest are next up in the prog section.