Silver Trees & Totum

Silver Trees was South African band Abstract Truth's second LP. It is much stronger than their debut, Totum, released earlier the same year (1970). Totum consisted of cover songs approached in the psychedelic folk vein; Silver Trees features solely original compositions and rocks out a lot more. Abstract Truth have not entirely shed their folk skin, but here they clearly stretch out their creative muscles and crank up the energy, without losing their knack for thought-out arrangements and their psychedelic leanings (feedback, backward effects, abrupt climactic endings). From the folk-tinged opener "Pollution" to the acid rock closer "It's Alright with Me," Silver Trees covers a lot of ground, and does so convincingly. Worth a special mention are the songs "Original Man" (a poignant theological reflection), "Blue Wednesday Speaks" (with its contrasting verse and chorus), and the exploratory eight-minute title track. Saxophonist/flutist Sean Bergin (later to move to The Netherlands where he enjoyed a nice career as a creative jazz musician) shines throughout, giving nuance to the group's music as much and as competently as Ian MacDonald was doing for King Crimson's around that time. Silver Trees is not a case of "why didn't that album catch on back then?," but it has strong songwriting, enjoyable musicianship, pleasing lead vocals, and a spark of creativity. Sadly, the Shadoks label CD would have benefited from more treble, and its total lack of liner notes is frustrating. ~ François Couture, Rovi