*. Gordon Haskell .* (Reissue)

Album: It Is and It Isn't (1971)(Reissue 1993)
Genre: Prog Folk (Folk Rock/Pop/Singer/Songwriter)  /  UK

Gone are the maudlin strings and much of the naivety and wide eyed innocence that permeated Gordon Haskell's first solo outing from two years earlier, "Sail In My Boat". Seems the cut throat, dog eat dog machinations of the music biz had really pissed Haskell off and there's a heavy pessimistic undercurrent threading through the album. Themes like leaving society and all its complicated trappings behind, ('Could Be'); building an apathetic mental armor, ('Learning Not To Feel'); and the inability of humanity to learn from past mistakes, ('Sitting By The Fire') are readily apparent. Yes, welcome the new improved jaded version of Gordon Haskell. Not that there aren't pretty melodies to be found here, and some happy thoughts, it's just that Haskell is hugely aware of the "machine" which always threatens to make humans mere cogs in a superstructure without feeling. Not just in the business aspect of life but the very essence of the world that surrounds him. There are remnants of Haskell's earnestness so prevalent on his first solo album in songs like, "Just A Lovely Day", but even here the suggestion is that real human happiness is more a fiction or daydream, than reality. Of course this jaded element is part and parcel of all Haskell's later work but as his No. 2 English hit from 2001 ('How Wonderful You Are') shows, he can still find that simple, hopeful tune when he wakes up on the right side of the bed. Helping out in bringing a tougher edge to songs like "No Meaning", "Could Be" and "Sitting By The Fire", is the contribution of John Wetton, who adds his solid bass work and some nice organ layers. A half star is taken away for not using his excellent backing band enough on the mostly acoustic second half. "Worms", a highlight of said second half, deserves special mention for its trippy, psychedelic feel with its off the wall lyrics from Haskell. Actually, Haskell quite commonly approaches his songs from interesting angles lyrically and that oddball nature is what keeps many of his songs afloat. In most ways this is the proto Haskell album. All the elements he would mine and hone with such verve and style are solidly in place. Much of his new found edginess probably came out of his short stint with King Crimson and his diametrically opposed views on music with that of Robert Fripp. When I met Haskell a few years ago, he spoke of his childhood friend Fripp as basically a tone deaf business man with no natural ability or soul for creating a melody and reliant on an overuse of bombast to cover his musical inadequacies. Now, I like both Crimson and Haskell's solo work, so whatever, everyone is entitled to an opinion, but it is important to mention that this album does NOT sound like a Crimson album of the period as has been mentioned in other reviews (not on RYM). Haskell is a singer/songwriter first and foremost and is a kindred spirit with musicians like James Taylor (as he told me) as opposed to the thundering dissonances of Robert Fripp and his King Crimson. So, this album is a bit uneven but serves as a blueprint for what was to come. If you view the world through a glass darkly, but not without glimmers of hope and a catchy melody, you'll like this most definitely. 
Review by "Godwaffle" (Rate Your Music).

RATING:  7.75 / 10

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