Black Hole Star/Tales From The Blues Cocoons

always liked the first cd the 2nd album isn't too bad either

very satisfied. looking for this for a long time. Good job

My acquaintance with Neutrons began when I found the "Black Hole Star" LP in a library and borrowed it. I was intrigued by the obscure band name and the uninformative plain silver sleeve (if there was an inner sleeve, it had probably got lost): no track details or musician credits, if I remember correctly. The music was really interesting: kind of like progressive folksy rock with heavy use of synthesizers and occasional violin. I was particularly impressed with the final three tracks: "Dance of the Psychedelic Lounge Lizards" boasts a killer violin riff, well-placed synth and a brit-folk melody you get hooked on instantly - the vocoder used in the chorus adds to the originality of the song. "Going to India" is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. Commerciality fans would probably get a headache from the multiple falsetto vocals, the high-pitched synth sound and the violin solo. That's their problem - I enjoy the stickily sweet ice cream with the (not credited) sitar solo at the end as the cherry on top. "Snow Covered Eyes", a steadily driving rocker, closes the album with yet another excellent synth/distorted guitar solo and an instantly catchy melody. I studied a good source book and found out Neutrons was a spin-off of Man, a group I had listened to for three albums worth, but found out their music was not for my taste. Actually bassist Michael "Will" Youatt and keyboardist Phil Ryan had been in an early version of Neutrons (who never recorded anything) before teaming up with Man for the albums "Be Good to Yourself At Least Once a Day" (1972) and "Back Into the Future" (1973). They left Man after that and re-formed Neutrons with guitarist Martin Wallace and drummer John Weathers. I found out that they recorded a second album too, called "Tales From the Blue Cocoons", so naturally I wanted to hear that as well. I found this CD reissue with both albums, but ended up both pleased and disappointed. The much-praised "Living in the World Today" boasts an intriguing, driving intro and a powerful arrangement, but the instrumental part that closes it is so outrageously long that you forget how the verse and the chorus went. "Mermaid and Chips" starts almost scarily with piano over an eerie organ backing. An impressive song dominated by the strange lyric "Every time I get a bit closer / I seem to get a little bit near". And the instrumental "Dangerous Decisions" is the most progressive tune on the whole record. I feared that "Tales..." would be a letdown, and so it was. It's too low-key and polished, with not a single killer song like the last three on the first album in sight. "No More Straights" is just a straight rewrite of "Snow Covered Eyes", with simpler arrangement and no direction to go. There's one moody solo that promises something exciting to happen, but no. "Come Into My Cave" with its American Indian-type (?) intro is the high point, and overall the album still sounds nice, but I expected more. I had hopes for the single b-side "Suzy and the Wonder Boy", but it's just a plain ordinary middle-of-the-road rocker telling a story with no end. Overall, still a worthy purchase, and despite my complaints, I will keep listening to this CD regularly. After all, Neutrons was an original and talented band and deserves support for that. Oh yeah, the sleeve notes cover the whole Neutrons story, with all the artwork (apparently) restored. But since I'm a fan of sleeve artwork, I would like to see the "Tales..." sleeve in it's original LP format, it looks like a true beauty!

The Neutrons were a Welsh group of the mid 1970s, vaguely linked to the Man band; this collects together their 2 albums plus a couple of extras; all you need to hear.The music is post-psychedelic, touch of west-coast, canterbury, jam; opening track "Living in the World Today" gives a neat round-up of what you want:easy rhythmn, hi-altitude synth, open harmonies...for me the whole evokes the mid-70s before punk, an afterglow of the 60s before things got serious...The band is professional and highly listenable...no ugliness... a genuine lost gem...The only fault is the packaging: the second album had an interesting cover and it would have been nice to a have a fuller version, but that's trivia...

Sounds a little bit dated but if you enjoyed the music of the early 70's that might not be such a bad thing. Sounds in places like the early Man albums that Phil Ryan played on. Sadly missed. I had almost forgotten "Lost Tales From The Blue Cocoons". Never owned it in the day but heard stuff from it at several parties I attended and liked it.

What can I say. I've had the vinyl version of Black Hole Star ever since it was released and "rediscovered" it recently. Just had to get the CD to play in the car. One of the best prog albums ever.

Good stuff, but just shows that somehow Micky and the Manband worked magic to bring out the best in Phil ( and everyone who was in the Manband) . Check Back into the Future immediately before these, and Welsh Connection immediately afterwards. Anyone arguing?

what an album this is, had it when it came out in 1975, got it again on cd so good to hear again so thats why it is rated 5 stars,it came in no time and will buy again from this supplier.