Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Jade Warrior
Label: Repertoire Records
Release: 1972
Length: 37:51
Rating: 4.5/5
“Last Autumn’s Dream” was the third album from the legendary prog rockers Jade Warrior, a band that has always been extremely hard to squeeze into any specific (sub)genre box. In their early years they made their name with a one-of-a-kind blend of ambient-leaning progressive rock, marked by a fusion of world music, symphonic sounds, folk, classic rock and the occasional touch of jazz. Jade Warrior were experimenting with world music elements before it became a big trend in the mid-seventies, so they can rightly be counted as pioneers in that field. Unlike most other progressive rock bands that showed up once prog had already become “in” (around 1971) and so missed the first train of prog pioneers (1966-1970), they always cultivated a completely distinctive sonic approach and never went looking for inspiration among their more established countrymen.
It’s worth pointing out that “Last Autumn’s Dream” was the last regular Jade Warrior album with drummer Allan Price. With his departure the drums all but vanish from their sound, and only percussion is left as the rhythmic backbone (apart from the occasional guest appearance). It was also the band’s last regular studio outing for bassist, acoustic guitarist and vocalist Glyn Haward, who, together with Price and the other two, took an active part in writing the songs on “Last Autumn’s Dream”. Right up until his miraculous comeback 26 years later with the album “Now” (2008), Jade Warrior worked as an instrumental band built around the duo of Jon Field and Tony Duhig. The word ‘regular’ is there because the classic four-piece lineup, right before falling apart in that same year (1973), recorded two more albums, “Eclipse” and “Fifth Element”. Thanks to complications at the label Islands, which was also responsible for turning the band into an instrumental duo devoted to ambient and creative world music fusion, both only officially came out in 1998.
Just like the previous two Jade Warrior outings, “Last Autumn’s Dream” boasts a thoroughly eclectic spread of complex, creative compositions that bust through genre boundaries in innovative ways. The melodic, pastoral ballad “A Winter’s Tale”, where Haward’s introspective vocals shine over a gentle acoustic guitar melody, gives us a glimpse of the band’s subtle side, a band that, in terms of the atmosphere of most of their work, was often marked by unbridled, positive energy.
“Snake” delivers an effective contrast, because suddenly we’re dealing with almost pure hard rock, ruled by razor-sharp bluesy guitar phrases courtesy of Tony Duhig. The hard rock ‘illusion’ is over once Field’s flute interludes kick in, while the drumming at the end carries things off completely into jazzy waters. “Dark River” is the perfect prototype of an introspective Jade Warrior instrumental built on world music (this time from somewhere in the Far East), the kind that dominated more or less all of their later, instrumentally oriented releases. The tense, mysterious atmosphere, created by delicate ‘strumming of strings on the acoustic guitar against the agitated flute accompaniment in the background, hints at an approaching storm. The excellent backing of ‘shamanic percussion’, that indispensable element of world music, deepens the dramatic mood even further.
“Joanne” is another heavier cut, seasoned with hard rock, with a sleepy, bluesy guitar phrase of the kind that would become completely atypical for their future work. By the standards of this cult band it admittedly isn’t anything special, but it’s still good proof that in some alternative dimension Jade Warriror could have become a quality, convincing hard rock band too. “Obedience” is a lively weave of traditional percussion and snarling guitar passages, with an end result that’s an orientally tinged, almost solemn-sounding atmosphere. The ambient positive-energy recharger “Morning Hymn” features a gorgeous, dreamy melody on acoustic guitar and flute, while Haward’s incredibly heartfelt singing, at least on the introspective front, may even be the best of his career as a member of Jade Warrior.
On the extremely eclectic “May Queen” they play around not only with world music but also with symphonic and funk elements, tipping the mood into an almost Caribbean rhythm. The funk experiment “Demon Trucker”, where cowbells provide the playful, almost danceable rhythm, may even be the most commercial thing of their career. Tony’s younger brother David Duhig left his mark on it too, with a short guitar solo. The ambient treat “Lady of the Lake”, where a pastoral acoustic guitar melody and Duhig’s distinctive electric guitar passages subtly cross paths, is a fine example of primal Jade Warrior magic. And the closing instrumental, “Borne on to the Solar Wind”, with its romantic-hypnotic oriental ambience, where the guitar harmonies even lean ever so slightly toward the koto, the traditional Japanese stringed instrument, offers a nice glimpse of where the band was headed next
“Last Autumn’s Dream” is the peak of early Jade Warrior, when their sound rested equally on rock and ambient, and the ambient side hadn’t yet taken over. The album got a surprisingly warm reception from listeners and critics of the time, especially the songs “A Winter’s Tale” and “Demon Trucker” (both released as singles), which is why, commercially speaking, it counts as their most successful effort. But that was also as far as they ever went in chasing mass appeal, because a rather dramatic change of style soon followed, one that completely alienated the die-hard rockers but, on the flip side, won over listeners with a broad musical taste even more. Their low commercial profile has sadly meant that one of the most original progressive rock bands of the seventies often gets overlooked today, but on the other hand it let them keep their artistic individuality completely intact.
Lineup
Tony Duhig – electric guitar
Jon Field – flute, piano, percussion, acoustic guitar
Glyn Havard – vocals, bass guitar, acoustic guitar
Allan Price – drums
GUEST MUSICIAN:
David Duhig – guitar (1 and 8)
Production
Jade Warrior
Track list
1. A Winter’s tale (5:11)
2. Snake (3:02)
3. Dark river (6:33)
4. Joanne (2:53)
5. Obediance (3:19)
6. Morning hymn (3:36)
7. May queen (5:22)
8. The demon trucker (2:34)
9. Lady of the lake (3:17)
10. Borne on to the solar wind (3:02)
