Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Jade Warrior
Label: Repertoire Records
Release: 1971
Runtime: 44:09
Rating: 3.5/5
British prog rock oddballs Jade Warrior are one of those legendary bands that the wider masses largely overlooked, yet who are still written in gold in the hearts of music connoisseurs. As their name suggests, referring to a samurai defined by the urge to marry artistic skill with a license to kill, Jade Warrior, who rose from the short-lived psychedelic rock outfit July, swore by oriental mysticism and exotic rhythms from their very first steps, which let them invite the listener again and again on a meditative journey to faraway lands. On their albums the jade warriors established themselves as prog rock’s one-of-a-kind world travelers, with a completely unique, instantly recognizable sound packed with all sorts of ethnic music influences, usually from the Far East or Africa, making them one of the first rock bands to weave the traditional musical elements of exotic countries into their sonic vocabulary and bring them closer to a Western audience.
Their self-titled debut already served up a highly innovative sound, with rock, jazz and ethnic music colliding in a turbulent mix, immediately laying down that recognizable sound that would define their later, more polished and refined albums. Despite a few obscure moments where they get a bit wobbly in that beginner way, the album boasts remarkable flow and a contrasting fusion of mystical ethnic motifs, created through multi-part flute harmonies from Jon Field, who also played all the keyboards and the Africa-spiced percussion, and hard rock passages courtesy of Tony Duhig’s electric guitar.
Instrumental music dominates the album, although bassist Glyn Havard, who brings a nice dose of jazzy charm to their sound, occasionally steps up with some psychedelic-tinged singing. In later years, as they grew sonically more refined and more ambient, they would drop vocals from their vocabulary entirely. Sudden shifts between calm, almost meditative acoustic sections and distorted, fast-paced moments keep the contrast level remarkably high. At this stage of their career Jade Warrior had no drummer yet, which noticeably saps the vitality of the hard rock sections, while elsewhere the absence isn’t missed in the slightest. The African and Eastern-flavored percussion was handled by Field, who over the decades established himself as the band’s leader.
The first half of the album is noticeably better than what follows, where they lose some of their initial musical focus and their concentration on meditative finesse, and mostly give in to scattered improvising with bluesy guitar phrases. That’s where their rookie flaws come to the surface. They’re far more convincing when they glide insightfully between hypnotic ethnic rhythms, pastoral flute harmonies and fiery hard rock guitar work, with all the stylistic elements in ideal harmony.
The album opens with the mysterious, melancholic “Traveller”, where African rhythms, acoustic guitar, ethereal flute and dreamy vocals conjure up a meditative trance right from the start. The contrasting answer is “A Prenormal Day in Brighton”, a feisty hard rock number with distorted electric guitar and a dash of folk on a playful flute. The mystical suite “Masai Morning”, where African percussion and multi-part flute harmonies successfully paint the birth of a sunrise over the African savanna, is the album’s first peak. The interplay between scorching blues riffs, tribal percussion and mischievous flute sounds is dreamy. “Windweaver” is a pleasant psychedelic ballad, winning you over mainly with its sensitive use of slide guitar and melancholic vocals. “Dragonfly Day” is the album’s second peak, where numerous Eastern meditative motifs on acoustic guitar, flute and percussion manage to conjure that magical ambient atmosphere that would dominate their later releases.
The rest of the album is dominated by sonically less refined stuff, like the rather dull blues number “Petunia” and the Californian hard rocker “Telephone Girl”, where hard rock/blues riffs and short rhythmic improvisations take center stage. In these hard rock moments you really miss a proper drum kit. Dropping such hard rock experiments later in their career brought a thorough sonic upgrade. In my view Jade Warrior were always a superb prog rock band, but totally average as hard rockers, even after a real drummer arrived in the form of Allan Price. Another interesting moment is the folk rock-ethnic hybrid “Psychiatric Sergeant”, where in the fluidity of the flute and thunderous guitar riffs they don’t hide the influence of Jethro Tull. The instrumental “Slow Ride” is a thoroughly forgettable bluesy jam, while the closing “Sundial Song”, which wins you over for most of its length with gentle, pastoral arrangements, could have worked out a lot better without the distorted rom-pom-pom in the middle section.
With all its holes in sonic consistency, Jade Warrior’s debut is definitely not the ideal starting point for anyone unfamiliar with their body of work, but anyone can still get a good look through it at their trademark musical eclecticism, creativity and knack for weaving hypnotic tribal rhythms. With its occasional, rather obscure and off-key hard rock mannerisms, the album sits far from the meditative finesse and refinement of their later albums released on Virgin, but it deserves a shot from anyone keen on digging into the roots of the pioneers of rock, jazz and ethnic music fusion. “Jade Warrior” doesn’t hide its beginner nature, but with its eclectic blend of rock, jazz and world music the budding trio already reached such a level of musical maturity that, amid the many ambient plains, you could keep discovering entirely different sonic dimensions again and again.
Lineup
Jon Field – flute, percussion
Tony Duhig – guitar
Glyn Havard – bass guitar, vocals
Production
Jade Warrior
Track list
1. Traveller (2:40)
2. Prenormal Day At Brighton (2:45)
3. Masai Morning (6:44)
4. Windweaver (3:43)
5. Dragonfly Day (7:45)
6. Petunia (4:46)
7. Telephone Girl (4:54)
8. Psychiatric Sergeant (3:08)
9. Slow Ride (2:36)
10. Sundial Song (5:08)
