Sunday, June 3, 2012

Mandragora, England


Mandragora - Somethink Missing. 1985 private (cassette).
Mandragora - Over the Moon. 1989 private.

Here's a band I've been sitting on for some time. As some of you will recall from last year, we featured many groups from the 1980s UK festival scene. Mandragora has always been one of my favorite acts from that scene, and now I have a chance to report on one of their two releases that are not on CD (courtesy of Midwest Mike). Starting with "Head First" (1991), Mandragora's albums were initially released on CD, and I own them all.

On "Over the Moon", Mandragora display their more song-oriented roots, with vocal-laden tracks and clear nods to hard rock, progressive rock and space rock. Plenty of good riffs (yea, metal heads, riffs) encased in synthesizer waves. What any self-respecting Hawkwind fan would want to hear. Mandragora would become far more diverse after this release, focusing more on their Ozric Tentacles inspired space rock sound.

I just bought a copy of the LP for myself at a decent price. There's a few out there for sale, if you are so inclined.

As of this writing, I have yet to hear the debut cassette.

Priority: 3

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