Morningstar

Various ROCK CANDY

Brace of cult pomp-rock gems.

Bad luck, bad timing, bad business decisions, the story of Kansas band Morningstar is all too familiar. Which is a shame, because the two albums they made – 1978’s self-titled debut and Venus in 1979 – are full of pomp-tastic promise.

In the early 70s, things got serious when multiinstrumentalist Rick Bacus joined and they began shaping a sound revolving around tight vocal harmonies, sumptuous melodies and clever proggy arrangements.

Signing to Columbia, the somewhat naïve combo were saddled with an unsympathetic producer, yet still created songs of the calibre of Through The Night and Turn Out All The Lights for their debut. This reissue features leftover tracks Gentlemen Of Fortune and Remember When, which offer a distinctly different and less harmonious approach to the vocals.

Their debut was a commercial flop, and follow-up Venus went the same way despite delivering on the potential of its predecessor and then some; Angel, Never Meant To Be and Rosie showcase a band oozing talent. All of which meant nothing to Columbia, who didn’t

promote the album and then dropped them. None of this detracts from Morningstar’s legacy, however: two cult albums of terrific melodic hard rock.