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Accolade 2 - Accolade 2 (1971)

Track listing:
  1. Transworld Blues 3:30
  2. The Spider To The Spy 2:41
  3. Baby, Take Your Rags Off 3:27
  4. Cross Continental... 11:14
  5. Snakes In A Hole 3:37
  6. The Time I´ve Wasted 2:45
  7. Sector Five Nine 2:27
  8. If Only I´d Known 2:15
  9. William Taplin 5:06
  10. Long Way To Go 5:18

Notes

This is great! A flute and folk guitar together, similar to a well sung Jethro Tull. Don Partridge, the vocalist appears by himself later in his career. includes Brian Cresswell, Malcolm Poole, and Ian Hoyle. Wizz Jones plays acoustic guitar on four songs, and one of the songs is a Gordon Giltrap cover tune. My favorite song is 'transworld blues' on the first three listens, but I'm sure with repeated turns, this one will offer up many layers of beauty. The front cover artwork is an original painting by David Steele and attracted me to this UK prog/psych record immediately.

Maybe I'm just a sucker for flute - I don't know - but to me this is yet another excellent slice of early 70's UK psych folk. Originally released on the Regal Zonophone label in 1971. Crisp and clear male vocals, prominent flute, dreamy acoustic guitar, and occasional doses of piano, harmonica, vibraphone make for a truly enjoyable listening experience. The 11+ minute "Cross Continental Pandemonium Theatre Company" is one of the higlights of this gem. If you like flute-dominated acoustic progressive psych/folk, you can't go wrong with this.

Accolade were a light acoustic band, formed in 1969 who completely eschewed electric instruments, as they developed a folk / jazz fusion. Notable, perhaps only for the inclusion of Partridge and fellow singer Gordon Giltrap, although the latter remained for only one album. The group recorded two albums and one single, before going their separate ways in 1971.

As musical tastes changed, and the novelty value of a folk music singing, one man band, paled, Partridge retreated to his well-worn path of busking for a living. He had made a big impression in Scandinavia, and moved to live in Sweden in the early 1970s. He made two unsuccessful albums there, before ultimately returning to his homeland. 2nd album by UK band from early 70's. A well mix up of verious styles like folk, jazz, and rock, but psych folk dominated. Wizz Jones was featured on several tracks and the album also a cool return of Made In Sweden's 'Snakes In A Hole' Originally released in 1971 on Regal Zonophone. (Reviews from different sources)