(Psychedelic Rock - Modern Electric Blues) Borealis - Sons of the Sea+Professor Fuddle's Fantastic Fairy Tale Machine1972 (2005 Merry-Go-Round - Beatball Records BMRC-0004), FLAC (image+.cue) lossless

Credits
Composed By - Paul Bradbury (2) (tracks: 11 to 19)
Engineer - Doc Feaney (tracks: 1 to 10)
Performer - Dave Hillier (tracks: 1 to 10) , Mark Bradbury (tracks: 1 to 10) , Paul Bradbury (2) (tracks: 1 to 19) , Wayne Sturge (tracks: 1 to 10)
Notes
Tracks 1 to 10 recorded in Ontario Canada, March 1970 and originally released on Audat 477-9025/6 in 1972.
Tracks 11 to 19 are bonus tracks of this Borealis reissue Cd and originally released on Periwinkle 7314 in 1974 probably by Paul Bradbury with unknown musicians as Professor Fuddle's Fantastic Fairy Tale Machine.
High quality paper sleeve with booklet in PVC outbox.
Limited edition 1000 copies.

CD contains as bonus the complete soundtrack to a fairly tale written in 1973 that teaches children how computers work, long before computers were an everyday item and Children starting teaching adults how to use the ubiquitous machines.

Borealis were a Canadian quartet (Paul Bradbury, Wayne Sturge, Mark Bradbury and David Hillier) who had the dubious honour of recording the first rock album in the Atlantic province of their home country. The year was 1972 and at that time the region was somewhat uninterested in anything other than the standard fair of country or folk music. Nevertheless, the group did score a hit of sorts, the single, and first cut on the album, In The End made it into the top ten in St Johns, Newfoundland for two months, possibly because, as the liner notes state "it was the least jarring to the region's many country fans". The song is fairly untypical of the rest of the ten-track album being a mid-tempo number with upfront vocals, gentle guitar and a wash of keyboards in the background. Rather lovely by all accounts.

Unfortunately the parent album, Sons Of The Sea, failed to take off, mainly because of lack of promotion by both band and record company confining the LP to the bargain bins and subsequently onto the shelves of collectors of obscure 70s bands. The majority of the remainder of the original album tracks are dominated by keyboards with some nice flourishes of guitar interceding every now and then. There is a tendency for things to start sounding rather similar, mainly because the keyboard sounds don't vary very much, although that is not to say the tracks are not without individual merit. When there is a greater degree of variety, as in Higher for example, things start to get more interesting, with the guitarist putting his stamp nicely on proceedings. Old Age dispenses with the keyboards entirely which makes it stand out somewhat, although this track suffers from rather twee lyrics. Another Boy features a more warmer vocal sound and employs a greater use of harmonies contributing to a very late sixties sound, a prevailing influence throughout the LP. In many ways the album is a missing link between psychedelia and progressive rock, not falling neatly into either category. The languid Tomorrow Morning is the highlight: structurally simple the guitar motif is delightful and sets things up for the most energetic track on the album, Lucky Day, which rounds the album off nicely. The album is extremely well mixed and balanced with each instrument clearly differentiated.

As a bonus, the CD contains the complete soundtrack to a fairly tale written in 1973 that teaches children how computers work, long before computers were an everyday item and Children starting teaching adults how to use the ubiquitous machines! The information provided with this release doesn't specify if the performers on Professor Fuddle's Fantastic Fairy Tale Machine are the same as on Sons Of The Sea or if the album should actually be credited as a second Borealis album, I have the feeling that it is not and that the group split sometime after the failure of their debut album. Even if Professor Fuddle is by the band it would be wrong to consider it as a follow-up to Sons Of The Sea as it was written, by Paul Bradbury, specifically for the fairy tale. Musically it is quite a hotchpotch. The title track makes better use of synthesisers although does have a generally similar sound to the material on the Borealis album. With the exception of a wayward middle eight, the title track itself is quite exceptional. The appearance of a female vocalist (singing the part of Snow White in the fairy tale) on the jolly Rain's My Name is an interesting contrast to the other material, although next track, Witch's Chant, is basically narrative, probably important to the tale but really rather a musical void. Elsewhere we get doses of Shakespeare (Philomel), a folkish jig (Dancing Master's Jig), a lesson in arithmetic (Counting Comparison) and a pretty decent mood piece (Indigo Evening).

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Paul Bradbury (vocals, organ)
Wayne Sturge (guitar, vocals)
Mark Bradbury (bass, vocals)
David Hillier (drums)