Formed in 1970, Jade Warrior were one of the most original British bands to emerge during the Progressive Rock era. The first incarnation of the band featured Tony Duhig (guitars) and Jon Field (flutes, percussion), both of whom had been in the Psychedelic group July, and Glyn Havard (bass, vocals). Signing to Vertigo, the band recorded their self-titled debut.

In 1972, the band expanded to a quartet with drummer Allan Price for the ‘Released’ LP, and the band’s third album, ‘Last Autumn’s Dream’. In 1973, the band recorded their next album, ‘Eclipse’. The studio sessions produced enough material for a double album, but Vertigo declined to issue the recordings.

Several tracks appeared on Vertigo various artist samplers but ‘Eclipse’, and a further album entitled ‘Fifth Element’ were never released.

Following another series of US concerts, Jade Warrior split, with Jon Field and Tony Duhig reforming the band as a duo in 1974, leaving both ‘Eclipse’ and ‘Fifth Element’ unreleased for many years.

CD 1: Eclipse (Remastered)
1. English Morning
2. Sanga
3. Too Many Heroes
4. Soldier Song
5. Mwenga Sketch
6. Holy Roller
7. House of Dreams

Remastered from the original Vertigo master tapes, Eclipse is solid work almost on a par with their previous three albums, in my humble opinion. It does tend a little more towards mainstream rock on some tracks, although even those tracks still have that special Jade Warrior magic.

Indeed, the album has that wonderful mixture of the reflectively mellow, the searing guitar, the Afro-Asian tones and atmospheres that gave Jade Warrior its distinctive sound. Bassist/vocalist Glyn Havard is a major contributor here, giving his more rock-oriented songs unusual time signatures that distinguish them from the run-of-the-mill rock product that was starting to pervade the charts.

And, of course, the otherworldly soundscapes are still there, even on the opening track, the gentle English Morning (even though is truly has nothing to do with the rest of the album, musically), but the fusion of rock and African (complete with conga and percussion on Sanga) really begins to set the tone for the album.

On the following track Too Many Heroes, Tony Duhig really gets rocking. This is a fine rock number, but still distinctly Jade Warrior, and it will strike a chord with many an old school rocker. Soldier Song has heavy vocals from Glynn, more rock guitar from Tony, and also uses conga and other percussion; including the odd, yet never the less interesting addition of a bell tree before the lengthy instrumental Mwenga Sketch (which continues the fast rocking African rhythms reminiscent of Barazinbar from the album Released).

Inclusive of some quite ingenious percussion and more rock guitar from Tony, Holy Roller is another rocking number with vocals from Glyn and rhythm guitar from Tom Newman [a long associate of the band]. The final stunning track House of Dreams defies a description by me, sorry, and is best left to the individual listener.

CD 2: Fifth Element (Remastered)
1. On the Mountain of Fruit
2. Discotechnique
3. Hey Rainy Day
4. We Are the One
5. 24 Hour Movie
6. Annie
7. Yam Jam

For me personally, Fifth Element is one of Jade Warrior’s best albums. It’s a little more consistent than their first three albums (I, Released, and Last Autumn’s Dream), which all have some amazing tracks, but occasionally get mired in psychedelic excess.

Furthermore, about half the tracks (especially the first which was reworked later by the revamped Jade Warrior) clearly indicate what JW was to become one of the most exciting music forms to emerge in the ’70s; a sound so ahead of its time that is now has become truly timeless.

All the material on this album is criminally underrated, and this is, perhaps, due to a mixture of higher expectation of JW’s audience to these lost mythical albums and the sad story about this material being rejected by the Vertigo label; seeming that the band’s quality in both composition and sound was not good enough (terrible mistake!), which is simply not true.

But if we compare the evolution of the band, you’ll probably find in the ’73 material a more polished sound (I would say delicate, is the right word) and better care in melodies, moods, rhythm. et al., than in the previous albums.

The band was now focusing more, in that it features more than in the vocal / lyrical arrangements, and Glyn, yet correct in his role, seems like he was getting out of the musical race at this time, in truth.

So this is not a lost Floating World, Part Two album, but happily I find it has much more in common with that album than with the Vertigo ones, as the natural evolution of the band, and it’s an album that brings connection with the two periods.

In closing, if you are fan of Island period and also you like albums such as Last Autumn’s Dream or Released, please don’t miss out on owning this lush new 2CD set from Esoteric Recordings today, as you’ll enjoy every musical second of it, trust me!

This new Esoteric Recordings edition gathers together these recordings from 1973 and presents them in remastered form as a double CD set, which also features an illustrated booklet with new essay.

Official 2CD Purchase Link