Voiceprint Music - Release

Release

£9.99

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Catalogue number

IDVP001CD

Release date

22/05/2006

Format

Label

Time Wave

Patrick Moraz/Mainhorse

Mainhorse

Disc 1

1. Introduction (5:04) 2. Passing Years (3:51) 3. Such A Beautiful Day (4:39) 4. Pale Sky (9:09) 5. Basia (5:27) 6. More Tea Vicar (10:11) 7. God (0:17)

Mainhorse would probably be a footnote in rock history and still be residing in the section of record collectors shops were it not for the inclusion of Swiss Keyboard player Patrick Moraz.

Mainhorse signed originally to Polydor Records in 1970 and released their self-titled debut in 1971. The album whilst showing immense promise enjoyed only limited success commercially and the band disbanded shortly after the album failed to catapult the band to worldwide stardom.

Along with Patrick Moraz the other musician of note was Bryson Graham who would go on to play with Gary Wright in Wonderwheel and then join Wright in a re formed Spooky Tooth in 1972.

The Mainhorse album is an unabashed progressive rock album and over the years has built up a sizeable fan base although its scarcity ensures that the price it commands puts it beyond the casual listener. Tracks featured are Pale Sky, Passing Years and the extended God which is considered a highlight of the album and a good showcase for the style that Patrick Moraz would go on to popularise in Refugee, Yes and his solo work.

The album has never been commercially available on CD making this release its debut in that format. Strong demand in the collectors market will ensure sales for this release allied with demand from the large and dedicated Patrick Moraz fan base and fans of progressive rock for which the album has long been a cherished release. The album has been re mastered personally by Patrick Moraz for this release.

Reviews

At the age of 17 Patrick Moraz (keyboards) bought a ticket, packed his tooth brush and set off for England. He travelled all night by train and boat and somehow ended up in the south coast resort town of Bournemouth. He could not speak English and got a job as a cook. He went to England because all the great bands came from this country. But the Musician’s Union did not allow him to stay and he had to go back to Switzerland. He wasn’t able to return to England until 1969 when he auditioned players for his progressive rock group Mainhorse. He settled on a line-up that included Bryson Graham (drums), Jean Ristori (bass, cello & vocals) and Peter Lockett (lead guitar, violin & vocals). They signed to Polydor records an in 1970 they recorded an album at Deep Purple’s studio in Kingsway. It was not a great succes but they worked on film scores and played club gigs in Germany. Now a lot of years later this same album recorded by Mainhorse has been reissued on CD. When your hear it you recognize the typical style of the late sixties/early seventies. You can also hear that in those days Mr Moraz must have been influenced by Keith Emerson andThe Nice and Rick v/d Linden’s Ekseption. The same kind of organ sounds can be enjoined. But also the early albums made by Deep Purple came to my mind. Ritchie Blackmore’s typical guitar licks are included on this album. A couple of years later Moraz recorded the Refugee album and some of those keyboard sounds from those recordings I already noticed on a track such as “More Tea Vicar”. Also the free jazz/blues improvisation style which we can enjoy on some of Patrick’s solo albums was already present on this release. The Mainhorse album was certainly not a weak album and showed that all musicians were very talented. Most of all Patrick Moraz as we all found out the following years. *** (Henri Strik)