First Utterance

by Comus

Overview

Comus' first album contains an imaginative if elusive brand of experimental folk-rock, with a tense and sometimes distressed vibe. Although there are elements of traditional British folk music, there's an edginess to the songwriting and arrangements that would be entirely alien in a Fairport Convention or Pentangle disc. At times, this straddles the border between folk-rock and the kind of songs you'd expect to be sung at a witches' brew fest, the haunting supernatural atmosphere enhanced by bursts of what sound like a theramin-like violin, hand drums, flute, oboe, ghostly female backup vocals, and detours into almost tribal rhythms. All of this might be making the album sound more attractive than it is; the songs are extremely elongated and fragmented, and the male vocals often have a grating munchkin-like quality, sometimes sounding like a wizened Marc Bolan. The lyrics are impenetrable musings, mixing pastoral scenes of nature with images of gore, torture, madness, and even rape, like particularly disturbing myths being set to music. It's been reissued on CD, but here's one case where you might want to get the LP reissue (on Get Back) instead, as it comes with a bonus 12" of three songs in a similar vein as their rare 1971 EP. ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	03/01/2024
Label:	Music On Vinyl
UPC:	8719262029118
Rank:	36593

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Comus   Primary Artist
Rob Eberhard Young   Oboe,Flute,Hand Drums
Rob Young   Oboe,Flute,Percussion
Colin Pearson   Viola,Violin
Andy Hellaby   Bass,Vocals,Slide Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Roger Wootton   Guitar,Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic)
Bobby Watson   Vocals,Percussion
Bobbie Watson   Vocals,Percussion
Glenn Goring   Vocals

Technical Credits

Barry Murray   Audio Production,Producer
Jeff Calver   Audio Engineer
Comus   Arranger,Composer
Colin Pearson   Composer
Andy Hellaby   Composer
Geoff Calver   Engineer
Roger Wootton   Composer