Tracks Side 1:

1. Blood Of My Fathers (4:40)

2. Winds Of Change (4:26)

3. Justify The Things Your Hands Have Done (8:20)

 

Tracks Side 2:

1. Rejection (4:00)

2. Very Small Child (3:25)

3. Song For A Star (4:03)

4. Wrote A Letter (2:54)

5. Peace Of Mind (2:44)

Listen at YouTube:

Warm Dust is a pretty obscure prog band from England. They only lasted from 1970-1972, so they weren't around long enough to make enough of an indelible mark on the progressive genre, though they were around the heyday of prog. I really have no info on this band, other than that they had 3 albums before breaking up. (Any additional info would be great) Their 2nd album, Peace For Our Time is a concept album about the history of war, told through the eyes of different nations. Each important section begins with a spoken introductory piece.

1. Blood Of My Fathers - This begins with a monologue about the history of war, which also correlates with the history of the man, powering over the gentle and peace loving coloured people. There is then a quote from Neville Chamberlin, which is where the album gets it name from. It talks about the beginning of the 2nd World War, after Hitler promised there would be no worldwide conflict. After the piece, the song comes in proper. It's a jazzy, bluesy piece with heavy bass and great brass accompaniment. There is also a very good, short organ solo. The vocals come in at the 3 minute and they're put through a Leslie speaker, to a great effect. This is used in a lot of late 60's/early 70's songs and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It works well here.

2. Winds of Change - The monologue here is about the U.S.A finally entering World War II in 1944 after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and their subsequent attack to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This caused a new horror, radiation. The horns here remind me of pieces that Frank Zappa write. They have the same coloured textures as Zappa's music circa this time period (Burnt Weeny Sandwich/Weasels Ripped My Flesh) Like the last song, after an instrumental section, the vocals eventually come in. The vocalist has that voice you hear in a lot of these kinds bands, almost like he's trying to sound American.

3. Justify Things Your Hands Have Done - The monologue now has moved to the Cold War, circa 1950. I like the line in there "The Cold War blew up into a hot war in Korea". This song is the longest on the album, clocking in at almost 9 minutes. It has an almost Latin feel, with percussion and a funky organ/bass combo. I like the dual vocals. They're off-kilter, off-key, but there's an honesty to it that is nice. The organ keeps the vocal line while a saxophone floats over it in a cool touch. After about 3 minutes, it breaks down into a free form section with weird synthy sounds. At the 5 and a half minute mark, there's is a drum solo, which was customary in the early 70's. It's nothing special, but as a drummer, I always like a solo. After the solo it moves into a nice slow piece.

4. Rejection - We are now closer to the time of the recording, in 1968, where Russia has invaded Czechoslovakia. It mentions the young student Jan Palach, who burned himself to death in protest of the demoralization of the Czechoslovakian citizens caused by the invasion. Instead of the heavy jazz rock of the first three songs, here we get a soft acoustic piece that soon turns into a slow bluesy crawl. I really like the combination of organ with piano, which is not something you hear put together in this type of music. Of course, being a jazz influenced band, they soon go into jazz territory but it's not really that bad. There's this weird instrument that sounds like an organ being put through a synthesizer which is really cool.

5. Very Small Child - It took me a while of researching, but I found out that the monologue here is about C. Odumegwu Ojukwu, who was a Nigerian General responsible for breaking away to a sovereign state called Bafaria, after his pleas for peace went unnoticed. This sparked the Nigerian Civil War. The band chanting "Uhuru! Uhuru!" over an African style rhythm is either racist or goofy, I can't tell which. The song itself is completely different, with a British pub like piano part and mellotron. The chorus is a very rousing section, with those great early 70's drum fills and the mellotron giving it an epic feel.

6. Song For A Star - We are now in Israel, where the monologue talks about the fighting between Israel and Palenstine, which is still going on today. The song opens with a heavy, dirty bass line, put through a fuzz box. The chorus is a bit weak, and the song is the strongest when it rides on that nasty bass riff. There is an organ solo which has the same effect on it that Canterbury bands like Caravan used.

8. Peace of Mind - Instead of an historical account for it's monologue like the rest of the album, this one is looking into the future, with the fictional planet of Terra. The monologue is a constitution for peace with something called The United Tribes of Earth. This kind of usual piano ballad is where the vocals don't really work. They work in the heavier numbers, but the vocalist's range is limited here. The organ that comes in around 2 minutes is extremely awesome though, with a heavy gospel tinge. The band was wise as only having the vocals in a bit and letting the organ take over for the rest of the song and end the album.

This kind of music is not for everyone. I know a lot of people who hate this kind of brass inflected prog music, and admittedly I'm not always a fan of it, but while there are some missteps on this album, overall there are some incredibly strong moments, especially in the organ playing that should keep progressive fans happy. Also, the social commentary may be too much for some, but it really only feels heavy handed in the spoken word sections. (walrussongs.blogspot.de)


Les Walker - Vocals, Harmonica, Vibraphone, Shaker
Terry "Tex" Comer - Bass
Paul Carrack - Organ, Piano, Timpani, Vocals
Keith Bailey - Drums, Congas, Maracas, Vocals
John Surguy - Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Oboe, Guitar, Vocals
Alan Solomon - Baritone Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet, Organ, Electronics

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