This is one of those albums I buy on a whim: I had never heard of Wolf before - I mean, of course, the band, not the animal species that fairy tales scare children with. But the album cover caught my eye; also, I took the name of Darryl Way on the cover as a good sign. If it doesn't ring your bell, let me give you a hint: Curved Air, a prog/folk group that produced some great LPs -and even a couple of hits- in the 70s. Classicaly-trained violinist Darryl was the co-founder and prominent instrumentalist of that band until their first split due to "musical differences" in '73. Way immediately formed a new band called Wolf, recording with them 3 albums. This compilation contains selections from the first two, Canis Lupus and Saturation Point (both 1973). Canis Lupus (the scientific name for the common wolf) was the earliest of the two, represented here by 3 tracks."Cadenza", which closes side 1, is a dynamic instrumental featuring spacey moog and classical violin, as well as lengthy guitar and drums solos. "Go Down" opens side 2, and it's a gentle ballad with expressive vocals and classical guitar. The album closes with "McDonald's Lament", a beautiful piece with lyrical violin. The whole vibe is reminiscent of Italian prog, as well as the British Canterbury scene - not coincidentally, bassist/singer Dek Messecar later played in Caravan, while guitarist John Etheridge joined Soft Machine. Last but not least, Ian Mosley had a long and successful career drumming for Marillion. All very accomplished musicians, they are given even more room to shine on the follow-up Saturation Point, which goes further into a jazz rock fusion direction. Album opener "The Ache" is a dynamic instrumental propelled by great drumming and featuring an abundance of fiery violin and guitar solos. "Two Sisters" follows a harder path with hard rocking guitar/violin interplay that reminded me of the guitar/organ dueling between Blackmore and Jon Lord in Deep Purple. "Saturation Point" is more laid back and jazzy, with Mahavishnu-like guitar solos. Lastly, "Toy Symphony" is yet another instrumental with symphonic and jazz elements. Darryl's violin is here also very much in the foreground. All in all, this comp is easily worth 4*, provided -and that is a big must- you care for prog and jazz fusion. Otherwise, you'd be better served listening to Curved Air, where Darryl Way's virtuosity is contained within more conventional song structures, and where the wonderful vocals by Sonja Kristina often steal the show from the instrumentalists.
**** for Two Sisters, Candenza, Go Down, Saturation Point, McDonald's Lament
*** for The Ache, Toy Symphony
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