Alquin - 'Marks' (1972) + 'The Mountain Queen' (1973) 2CD [Esoteric Recordings Remastered Reissue 2009]

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Alquin - 'Marks' (1972) + 'The Mountain Queen' (1973) 2CD [Esoteric Recordings Remastered Reissue 2009]

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Dutch band Alquin released four studio albums in the early to mid-'70s, initially playing prog rock influenced by Pink Floyd and Roxy Music. However, by 1975's Nobody Can Wait Forever (the only Alquin album released in the U.S.), the band turned to a more varied style encompassing blues and hard rock. The original group comprised guitarist/vocalist Ferdinand Bakker, vocalist Job Tarenskeen, bassist Hein Mars, drummer Paul Weststrate, and horn player Ronald Ottenhoff; Michel Van Dyke joined the band as lead vocalist in 1975. A live album appeared in 1976, and the best-of Crash! was released a year later. Bakker and Tarenskeen played in the new wave outfit the Meteors in the late '70s and early '80s.

John Bush, Allmusic.com

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Alquin - 'Marks' (1972) + 'The Mountain Queen' (1973) 2CD [Esoteric Recordings Remastered Reissue 2009]

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Alquin - 'Marks' (1972) + 'The Mountain Queen' (1973) 2CD [Esoteric Recordings Remastered Reissue 2009]

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Alquin - 'Marks' (1972) + 'The Mountain Queen' (1973) 2CD [Esoteric Recordings Remastered Reissue 2009]

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Alquin - 'Marks' (1972) + 'The Mountain Queen' (1973) 2CD [Esoteric Recordings Remastered Reissue 2009]

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Like most young bands, Alquin proudly wore their influences on their sleeves, but unlike most of their fellow progressive rockers, the Dutch group eschewed opulent arrangements and showboat soloing. Simplicity seems to have been the byword for their 1973 debut album, Marks, recorded while the members were still attending Delft's Technical University. This understandably led to the album being tagged as jazz-folk, but that label does injustice to the breadth of Alquin's vision and wide range of styles, with their songs encompassing everything from a conga line to disco, Dixieland to Gypsy violin. The unadorned arrangements counterintuitively make Marks sound far less adventurous than it actually is, but correspondingly far more accessible than it might otherwise have been. It's also a reflection of the set's lack of improvisation, but live the band soared into more experimental territory, as "Mr. Barnum Junior's Magnificent and Fabulous City" well illustrates, an extended piece that giddily shape-shifts through numerous genres and styles. Contrast that number with the lilting in and out of pomp rock and jazz during "Oriental Journey," the cheery jazz-pop of "The Least You Could Do Is Send Me Some Flowers," or the moody jazz fusion of "Soft Royce"; it's like night and day. Even better, compare the latter number with its metal-flanged companion, "Hard Royce," a 1973 B-side, debuting as a bonus track on the 2009 CD reissue. The original vinyl album's A-side was entirely instrumental, and the flip initially follows suit with the haunting extended intro to "I Wish I Could." And then the vocals come in. The band had no proper frontman, and with several so-so singers within its ranks, the vocals on "Wish" and "You Always Can Change" could be described as adequate at best. Alquin's instrumentals shine far brighter, although the choral harmonies on the glorious "Marc's Occasional Showers" are effective. Positioning themselves between the Canterbury scene, the jazz clubs, West Coast psychedelia, and the rock greats, Alquin took the best of all worlds and threaded it into a sound uniquely their own. They had much growing to do, but this was an impressive start.

Review by Dave Thompson, Allmusic.com

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Alquin - 'Marks' (1972) + 'The Mountain Queen' (1973) 2CD [Esoteric Recordings Remastered Reissue 2009]

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Alquin - 'Marks' (1972) + 'The Mountain Queen' (1973) 2CD [Esoteric Recordings Remastered Reissue 2009]

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Following hot on the heels of Alquin's critically acclaimed 1972 debut, Marks, Mountain Queen arrived the next year, exciting enough attention in the U.K. for the Dutch band to appear on Britain's legendary The Old Grey Whistle Test TV show. Like its predecessor, Queen was split between instrumentals and vocal tracks, but this time also divided equally between a trio of expansive numbers and three much shorter pieces. By far the most ambitious of the former was "The Dance," which opens the set in fine style, an extravaganza that, across its 13-plus minutes, swaggers from the heights of pomp rock to the shores of California pop/rock, grazes in folky fields, visits Chicago jazz clubs, and stops off in funkytown. A simultaneous nod to the Doors and Stax is just one of the piece's more intriguing twists. This kind of genre-bending also featured on Marks, most notably on the live track "Mr. Barnum Junior's Magnificent and Fabulous City," which Alquin now took into the studio, emerging with a rousing showcase for each member's individual musical prowess. Less successful is the title track, a pop/rocker lacking both a strong melody and a forceful frontman; only when the piece shifts into an instrumental and other genres does it excite any interest. But if "Mountain Queen" is somewhat disappointing, the remaining shorter pieces more than make up for it. "Soft-Eyed Woman" captures guitarist Ferdinand Bakker at his most emotive, while "Don and Dewey" is a showcase for his equally impressive violin skills. "Convicts of the Air" is more a team effort that beautifully integrates bluesy rock with pastoral elements, a hint of the East, and plausible vocals. This time around, the group's arrangements are just complex enough to garner attention, while never overwhelming the mood of the songs, the beauty of the melodies, or the intended style. Barely a year had passed since their debut, but Alquin were already reaching maturity.

Review by Dave Thompson, Allmusic.com