East of Eden

By the time of East Of Eden’s sophomore set Snafu, future Wings drummer Geoff Britton and Scottish bassist Andy Sneddon were in the fold, furthering the tough blues rock underpinning beneath Dave Arbus’ electric violin, Geoff Nicholson’s rocking guitar and Adrian Martins’ meandering sax.

Easily one of the most experimental albums to reach the UK top 30, this is a delightful excursion into experimental prog, with free jazz and dada elements at its margins. Their cut of the Skatalites’ Marcus Junior and Confucius are astounding, and the rest of the disc is thoroughly excellent.

PERSONNEL:

• Geoff Nicholson - (guitars)
• Andy Sneddon - (bass)
• Geoff Britton - (drums)
• Ron Caines - (saxophones)
• Dave Arbus - (electric violin)

TRACKS:

• SIDE A
• A1. Have to Whack It Up
• A2. Leaping Beauties for Rudy / Marcus Junior
• A3. Xhorkham / Ramadhan / In the Snow for a Blow
• A4. Uno Transito Clapori
• A5. Jig-A-Jug

• SIDE B
• B1. Gum Arabic / Confucius
• B2. Nymphenburger
• B3. Habibi Baby / Boehm Constrictor / Beast of Sweden
• B4. Traditional