Albatross - Albatross download free

Albatross were a pretty obscure bunch, but their only, self-titled album's actually pretty good, without breaking the mould for American '70s prog, following the standard Yes template (see: Starcastle). Albatross opens with a side-long epic, with the suitably epic title Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse, and it doesn't disappoint, unless you were actually expecting the horsemen to burst out of your speakers and make a mess on your living-room carpet. The album's shorter tracks are all good, although Devil's Trumpet rips off the church organ part in Close To The Edge something rotten - in fact, the whole track rips Yes outrageously - and I spotted an ELP cop somewhere too, unfortunately proving the band's essential lack of originality.Mellotronically, Mark Dahlgren goes for it in a big way on Four Horsemen, strings and choir all over the shop, with one especially good part, and although much of side two is 'Tronless, Mr.Natural has some background strings, and Humpback Whales has a few string chords right at the end of the album. All in all, while falling somewhat short of 'classic' status, Albatross is a good album with some nice Mellotron work. If you can find a copy, that is...