Search - Wally :: Wally

Little known but not easily forgotten

BC Beatle | Canada | 11/01/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I saw Wally live in Edinburgh Scotland in the fall of 1974 along with the headline act, a very young Leo Sayer and I was blown away by group. I bought the album the very next day and carried it in my backpack across Europe for the next 3 months. When I came home it became my favorite album and I listened to it for years until I finally wore it out and the music faded into memory. When I saw that it was going to be released on CD I was really excited and when I received it in the mail a couple of days ago I put it in the CD player and was instantly transplanted to a simpler, happier time in my life. This group is described as a prog rock band but I'm not sure if that is how I'd describe them. There are a number of influences here from classical to fusion and every song is different from the one before. The instrumentation includes electric guitar, 6 and 12 string acoustic guitars, violin, organ, electric piano, melotron, bass guitar, drums, harpsichord and steel guitar. An odd and eclectic pairing of instruments just like the songs included here. Three of the songs sound vocally like the Eagles but predate them so I can't describe them as derivative. The rest of the tunes run from the baroque influenced "Martyr" to the heavily melotron based 8 minute epic "To The Urban Man". Some reviews I've read over the years have described this offering as uninspiring but I'd have to disagree. You could describe the collection of songs as eclectic and perhaps disjointed but the quality of the musicians and the production values could never be described as uninspired. I loved this album in 1974 and I love it today. The only downside is the packaging itself. Wounded Bird did a great job on the mastering of the CD but the packaging should have included more pictures and information about the group and players. If you're looking for an undiscovered gem by a largely ignored group, Wally might just be the CD for you."