Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Haskell, Gordon
Label: Voiceprint
Release: 1971
Rating: 3.5/5
Garden gnomes in the middle of a hollow tree? Only a (former) King Crimson member could come up with something like that. »It Is And It Isn’t« came out long before British singer and bassist Gordon Haskell, after decades on the fringes of the music industry, scored a totally unexpected commercial hit with the single »How Wonderful You Are« and became a ‘big name’ on both sides of the Atlantic. Haskell’s second solo album came out a year after he left King Crimson over disagreements about the legendary prog rockers’ future stylistic direction. He played on »In The Wake of Poseidon« (1970), on the ballad »Cadence And Cascade«, and on the album »Lizard« (1970), but he never got the chance to play live with King Crimson, since he left before the latter album even came out.
A big fan of Ray Charles and Nat King Cole, he wanted to bring more folk-rock elements into their music , which met with fierce resistance from guitarist and King Crimson chieftain Robert Fripp, Gordon’s schoolmate and old ‘friend’. Disappointed with Fripp and the music industry, he retreated into obscurity and carried on solo, writing the lyrics and arrangements the way he’d always liked them best.
Which makes it a bit ironic that on »It Is And It Isn’t« — where, besides those folk-rock influences, you can also hear plenty of symphonic rock with a strong The Moody Blues flavor — Haskell worked with singer/bassist John Wetton, who joined King Crimson in 1972 and likewise had his biggest commercial success only in his ‘more mature years’. Wetton contributed most of the bass lines, organ, and backing vocal harmonies. Together with Haskell, and with the help of two guest guitarists, he also played most of the guitars on the album.
»It Is And It Isn’t« came out with extremely little publicity, which was a bit unfair to the album even back then. It’s no artistic breakthrough, sure, but it was a thoroughly solid effort that melodic prog rock fans with a taste for folk and symphonic touches will still enjoy today. Haskell was lucky enough to have a very distinctive voice, which set him apart from comparable vocalists right away and made up for his technical shortcomings (he improved his vocal technique over the following decades).
»No Meaning«, where the ethereal vocal harmonies are especially impressive, is a pleasant pastoral opener with a distinctly nostalgic central arrangement and Haskell’s recognizable vocal approach, which sounds tailor-made for (prog) folk rock. Thanks to a moving combination of acoustic chords and a melodic chorus, »Could Be« has a pretty hefty pop flavor, though you can also pick out elements of folk and jazz. »Upside Down« is another pleasant, acoustic-leaning, folk-rock pastoral ballad that will also appeal to anyone who loves the King Crimson ballad classics with Haskell on lead vocals, like »Cadence And Cascade« and »Lady of the Dancing Water«.
»Just A Lovely Day«, with its strikingly personal lyrics, is harmonized somewhere between psychedelia and folk, while the acoustic guitar arrangements deliver an authentic rustic lullaby. On »Sitting By The Fire«, where a mighty guitar phrase takes over, the album suddenly comes alive, and Haskell’s singing gets a lot more lively too. The vocal harmonies are excellent, while Wetton and drummer Bill Atkinson throw in quite a few short but witty rhythmic improvisations on a jazzy base. »When I Lose« is a short pastoral overture to the acoustic ballad »No Need«, on which Haskell, amid bluesy-salted guitar passages, once again shows off his keen sense of melodic sensibility.
The nostalgic-sarcastic »Worms«, dominated by a dark guitar phrase, is one of the better moments on »It Is And It Isn’t«. This prog-rock track has a pretty interesting history: a few years later Haskell offered it, in a slightly altered form, to the cult band Stackridge, which he was planning to join as a full member at the time. Nothing came of that collaboration in the end, but before leaving Gordon still gave the Stackridge guys permission to release his composition, with somewhat altered arrangements and lyrics, under the title »No One’s More Important Than The Earthworm« on the album »Extravaganza« (1975).
Backed by playful rhythms, »Spider« opens with a massive layer of organ from an in-top-form Wetton, while Haskell once again takes the theatrical approach to singing that already won people over during his King Crimson days. »Learning Not To Feel« is yet another fairly predictable, acoustic-leaning love ballad with a sarcastic lyric. On the tongue-in-cheek »Benny«, where mocking wind arrangements take over toward the end, Haskell again shows off his boyish sense of humor, while »When I Laugh« makes for a short but fitting epilogue.
»It Is And It Isn’t«, a thoroughly solid effort and a time capsule of its era, is far from interesting only to King Crimson fans — it’s for anyone who loves a melodic take on early-’70s prog folk. All devotees of the ‘Crimson King’ can at least partly get a sense of where they might have ended up sonically if Haskell’s stylistic direction had happened to win out; the experimental side would have taken quite a hit, while the bigger folk and pop sensibility would surely have started pointing toward the top of the charts. Given all that, it’s no wonder he and Fripp could never find common ground.
Lineup
Gordon Haskell – vocals, guitar
John Wetton – bass guitar, guitar, organ, backing vocals
Bill Atkinson – drums
David Brigati – backing vocals
Eddie Brigati – backing vocals
Arif Mardin – electric piano, arrangements
Dave Kaffinetti – electric piano
Alan Barry – guitar (2)
David Spinozza – guitar
Production
Arif Mardin
Track List
1. No Meaning
2. Could Be
3. Upside Down
4. Just a Lovely Day
5. Sitting by the Fire
6. When I Lose
7. No Need
8. Worms
9. Spider
10. Learning Not To Feel
11. Benny
12. When I Laugh
