"Light Flight" has long been a personal favorite of mine - a twisting, winding blast of traditional past that really had some substance to it, unlike Jethro Tull's "Living In The Past", which was more of a whimsical wink and a nod to their ancestors. It also hit all of the correct notes in a contemporary sense, becoming the Pentangle's only hit (at least in the UK). The rest of the album is not as easy to take, unless you are deep into the British folk scene of the 60's. The band has the atmosphere down pat, though, which should carry one through a good part of the record.

"Are you sure you know where it's really at?" Just a line from this curious record from the hippie era which sprung from a folk duo out of Boston. One thing led to another, the duo became a group and moved to New York, and somehow hooked up with Felix Pappalardi - the same Felix of Cream and Mountain fame. He produces, fills in all of the instrumental gaps, and by all accounts whatever band their was had fallen under Felix's loose grip, because if you've ever wondered what a purely psychedelic pop album under his aegis would sound like, this is a pretty fair approximation. The odd name fits. They generally come off like a very spaced-out version of The Lovin' Spoonful, liberally taking splashes of California pop and harmonies, but never getting very heavy other than the random distorted guitar strum here and there. At points, it's eerily piercing, despite the relaxed feel ("Think Twice", "If I Came To You"), but often it is simply lackadaisical ("Brooklyn", "Ragtimely Love"). For lovers of psychedelia but beyond that interest may be mixed.

The reformed Dragon (two members from the classic lineup missed out) returned to the Australian charts with this extremely 80's-dated record. The good thing is they had not lost their sense of a good hook, as evidenced by the synth-wobbling groove of "Rain". But the old tension between flashy, finely-crafted pop and their devil-may-care attitude has been replaced by a more positive approach which, while admirable on some levels, doesn't feel very authentic. Ballads like "Cool Down" and "Fool" feel like the antithesis of what this band was about in the first place. But then again, maybe this was the start of their "born again" phrase. Definitely a step down from earlier albums.

Definitely a leap up from the previous record and easily the best one of the original run. It's also fairly fascinating because stylistically they were at a crossroads, so about half of the material is in their vague 70's pop-soul vein, and the other half veers towards turn of the decade New Wave ("Company" is good in this regard). The group expertly juggles their sarcastic lightweight fluff ("Still In Love With You") with now-familiar chronically depressing ruminations on the dark side of fame ("Midnight Groovies").

The leadoff track "April Sun in Cuba" was arguably Dragon's pinnacle, and is also the runaway standout on this otherwise by-the-numbers effort. There's nothing here that wasn't done already on Sunshine; maybe the only other noticeable characteristic is a more cynical tone ("Bob's Budgie Boogie", "Mr. Thunder").