Touch (2) – Touch

A lovely little record indeed. Between listens I seem to forget about however. Not essential, but deserves some recognition. A fun listen of a record that probably wouldn't have been made if it wasn't for "Sgt Pepper" and "Pet sounds" etc.

Going through and listening to old American bands, sometimes you come across such unique creations that are difficult to describe even now. In the late 60s, such opuses as this were simply incomprehensible: like psychedelia, something from jazz, some classic bells and whistles, long random compositions, diverse themes without a clear structure and style. It is now clear that the Cleveland quintet's only release recorded in 1968 was simply ahead of its time, paving the bridge from traditional "acid" rock to new, complex and elitist musical forms. Nothing like this was performed then, that's why I would call "Touch" (a good name, although there was another team under that name) pioneers of the progressive style, and the album itself is classic! The first track is a rather chaotic psycho-hard We Feel Fine, performed in the spirit of the times, somewhat reminiscent of the compositions of Iron Buttefly and Vanilla Fudge, with an abundance of Don Gallucci's mellotron and Jeff Hawkes' high vocals. Then the innovation and departure from tradition begins: the poem Friendly Birds is transparent at first, comes to life with unexpected piano and guitar jazz ages - something similar began to be played a little later by the English Nice. Dominating piercing piano chords catch up with us in the next track Miss Teach, an energetic rock and roll square, with unexpected digressions and modulations - not a masterpiece. But on the nine-minute composition The Spiritual Death Of Howard Greer, magic begins - this is a powerful polyphonic canvas with afterlife chorales, peak vocal vibrato, rhythm changes and soaring keyboards. In a word, progressive affairs, which subsequently developed Uriah Heep in Salisbury. Then there is something avant-garde-psychedelic in the instrumental composition Down At Circle's Place - a murderous dirty-damp theme with a distinct taste of Frank Zappa's early works. Then a beautiful ballad by Alesha And Others, turning into swing, well, who played like that!? An absolute masterpiece is the epic of Seventy Five crowning the album. The piece lasts more than 11 minutes and is, in my opinion, the peak of the musicians' creativity. A classic progressive canvas, with desperate guitar watering by Joy Newman and complex bells and whistles inherent in the genre (the impression is slightly spoiled by distorted high-pitched sounds). When reissued on CD (Renaissance, 1993), seven tracks of the main material are successfully supplemented with five bonuses. This included the previously unreleased composition We Finally Met Today (not the best thing), two alternative versions of the main material and, most importantly, the instrumental soundtrack recorded in 1973, The Second Coming of Suzanne, showing a majestic mellotron and beautiful parts with harpsichord and piano. The amazing Blue Feeling stands out from the bonus package. If TOUCH had recorded this album a few years later, I would have rated the album at most seven or eight points out of ten, but let me remind you that the material was written in 1968 - that's why the highest score!

Although the format was great Touch did not have the tunes nor songs to really make a relevant mark unfortunately.

Great prog album. A little lost gem. Sonds like early UK prog in parts with classical influenced piano and organ work, heavy drumming, solid fuzz guitar that pre-echo what YES would sound like - and other UK prog bands of the early 70'ies. As the album was only reseased in the UK at the time it seams likely that Touch had some influence on the UK-scene in the fall of 1969 and 1970.

The album is also in the realm of The Paupers ‎– Ellis Island (1968) and The Hello People ‎– The Hello People (1968).