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Icarus - The Marvel World Of Icarus (1972)

Track listing:
  1. Prologue 0:38
  2. Spiderman 2:52
  3. Fantastic Four 3:20
  4. Hulk 3:02
  5. Madame Masque 3:47
  6. Conan The Barbarian 4:05
  7. Iron Man 2:53
  8. Thor 4:48
  9. Black Panther 3:22
  10. The Man Without Fear 3:55
  11. Silver Surfer 4:03
  12. Things Thing 2:00
  13. Captain America 2:35

Notes

Size: 87.3 MB
Bitrate: 256
mp3
Ripped by: ChrisGoesRock
Artwork Included
Source: Japan 24-Bit Remaster

Super rare early UK '70s progressive / psych album originally released on Pye. All members of Icarus were huge fans of Marvel Comics, hence the basic concept of this LP. As you can see from the track list, each title is based on a marvel character. Sadly at the time, the head of Marvel found out about this shortly before release and demanded a 50% share of the royalties. Instead of giving in, the record company simply withdrew the LP.

Each of the players on this fast-rocking album with a strong progressive touch presents themselves as comic character, ranging from Spiderman via Conan the Barbarian to the Hulk. The lyrics likewise deal with the vicissitudes of these heroes, lending the album a comparatively agreeable degree of fun. As the instrumental and vocal abilities of the band are no less than good, the only flaw is the lack of outstanding compositions, although a few highlights are present nonetheless. These include the scary intro to Hulk, the propelling rhythms of Conan The Barbarian, almost all flute parts, almost all of the opening track on the 'B' side, Thor and the slightly psychedelic Silver Surfer. All in all fun to listen to.

One of the rarest major label albums to emerge from the British Progressive Rock underground, The Marvel World Of Icarus was a concept work based around the Marvel Comics stable of superheroes. It came out in 1972, but, according to legend, was immediately withdrawn due to a dispute. Although it had all the trappings of an exploitation album, The Marvel World of Icarus was created by an actual band named Icarus. The band was infatuated with the heroes of Marvel Comics and came up with the misguided idea to create a concept album based around the various characters. This was all done with the blessings of Marvel – in fact Stan Lee takes a writers credit for “The Fantastic Four”. Although the band gigged quite a bit the album sank like a stone and has been an expensive rarity since then. Each track is thematically about a different hero – “Spider-man”, “Hulk”, “Thor”, “Captain America”…well you get the idea. Although John Ethridge is attributed to the band, he actually joined after the album was recorded. The music falls squarely in that proto-prog sound: lots of organ splashes and wild guitar solos all compressed into short tracks. The vocals have a bluesy gruff quality which contrasts with the goofy lyrics about the son of Odin.

01. Prologue (0:35)
02. Spiderman (2:53)
03. Fantastic Four (3:21)
04. Hulk (3:04)
05. Madame Masque (3:48)
06. Conan The Barbarian (4:07)
07. Iron Man (2:55)
08. Thor (4:49)
09. Black Panther (3:24)
10. The Man Without Fear (3:57)
11. Silver Surfer (4:05)
12. Things Thing (2:01)
13. Captain America (2:32)