Jade Warrior

Jade Warrior were one of the most unique of the progressive bands to emerge in the halcyon period 1968-72.
Their music covered the whole area of progressive rock – from eastern wistfulness to power chords, ambient and electronic, often in the same song.

Beginning as a trio – Tony Duhic (guitars), Jon Field (flutes, percussion) & Glyn Havard (Bass & vocals) – they added drummer Allan Price for the second album & onwards and developed quite a devoted following among critics and fans alike.

That so little of their music was Blues or Jazz based set them aside from their contemporaries and they were highly rated for their sheer originality.

This set covers their first three albums, all on Vertigo, and the remastering of all three is superb.

The bands signatures are there in all three albums – ‘Jade Warrior’, ‘Released’ & ‘Lost Autumn’s Dream’ – and it fascinating to listen to their musical development through the three.

On the first album, flutes are more common that guitars in the lead, while tracks move from Eastern rhythms to almost anarchic lead guitar patterns within the same number.

The second album features a straightforward rock number ‘We Have Reason To Believe’ – almost sarcastic – followed by a 14 minute progressive, featuring tablas, muted guitars and very Eastern flavours. The addition of a drummer gives the band a harder edge but loses a touch of their naïve charm.

The third album, ’Last Autumn’s Dream’, starts to bring the more wistful & yearning music forth, but with a more polished edge. There is real beauty in track such as ‘Dark River’ and the track that titles this collection somehow touching on a very West Country meets Japan groove.

As always with Esoteric, there is an excellent booklet included.