Search - East of Eden :: Mercator Projected

East Of Eden - 'Mercator Projected' (Eclectic Discs)

Mike Reed | USA | 06/24/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Up until a few months ago,I had never even heard of East Of Eden.I just HAPPEN to get a CD-R copy marked simply as 'East Of Eden' from a friend.At first,I thought it possibly MIGHT'VE been a Gong spinoff project,you know...how they've had several short-lived ones?I was later informed the CD-R was,in fact a live bootleg CD.This had to have been my FIRST time I've ever gotten a bootleg of a band that I ACTUALLY liked BEFORE knowing anything about the band.So,I then knew I needed to find out more about this 'experimental progressive' UK ensemble.'Mercator Projected' was originally released in 1969 as this was the band's first record.After listening to this CD reissue for the first two times,I can NOW understand why East Of Eden never made it big.Their music is simply too way-ahead-of-it's-time for most listeners.Might say they're too inventive for their own good.Most inspiring tracks here are "Northern Hemisphere",the awesome "Waterways","Centaur Woman",the album's lengthiest cut "In The Stable Of The Sphinx" and one of the three bonus tunes,a decent cover of the Byrd's "Eight Miles High".If this doesn't prove these guys meant business,I have no idea what would.Players:Geoff Nicholson-guitar&vocals,Dave Arbus-violin&flute,Ron Caines-sax&vocals,Steve York-bass and Dave Dufort-drums.Might appeal to fans of Third Ear Band,Lard Free,Can,King Crimson or Soft Machine."

Massive talent and yet...

Carson M. | North Carolina | 08/04/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I can't but agree with the other reviewer. I knew these guys from England in the early 70s. True, they go everywhere ("discontinuity") but here and there (for instance, "Isadora", "Bathers"--the latter is ..well, almost more pop but what depth in this voice and the theme itself is esoteric--who knows of Lake Balathon), they really display impressive stuff. So, three stars is correct, unfortunately. Yet, I never gave up this album and "Snafu" which I bought 30-35 years ago as a kid (or so) and That may say something..."

Fantastic

William R. Nicholas | Mahwah, NJ USA | 05/14/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It is my humble privlige to be the virgin reviewer of this.



East of Eden were a late 1960's-70s hard rock, prog band, and they had a violin. The violin was not a big feature in this band, mainly working as part of the rythm section.



What stands out here are the giutars and flutes and saxes. You could compare this, vaugly, to Court Of The King Crimson King, in that there is hard rock, and some jazzy, orchestrated ballads.



But East Of Eden play their hand a lot broader on this album than King Crimson did on their debut. The guitars are crunchier, and the hard rock has more of a blues base. (If Cream had pushed into the prog era, they might have tried stuff like this.) They also highlight the jazz elements more than Crimso did--where they synthasized a lot of the styles they used, East Of Eden tended to tackle one, or superimpose two, at a time.



If you like psych or prog you gotta have this. This band should have been a lot bigger. Maybe they didn't sell because the title sounds more like a docteral thesis than a rock record. Pity.

,"