Pete Sinfield, lyricist and sometime producer for the first four albums by prog rock visionaries King Crimson, entered the studio himself in 1973 to record Still, his one and only album. Released on the newly-formed, ELP-owned Manticore label, Still calls on the assistance of former King Crimson guitarist and the L in ELP, Greg Lake, to help out on a number of tracks along with other leading-light journeymen of the scene such as Ian Wallace (King Crimson), Mel Collins (The Alan Parsons Project) and Keith Tippet (Centipede). The result is a slightly uneven mix of styles, but one that keeps its footing firmly in the progressive rock camp, despite the odd slip. Still gets off to a belting start with ‘The Song of the Sea Goat’, a gentle, yet deceptively powerful nugget of progressive rock that rivals King Crimson’s ‘In the Court of the Crimson King’ for lyrical depth and allusive imagery. Following the next track, ‘Under the Sky’, the aforementioned slip-ups leave an exposed foot hanging over the ravine. These are the country-folk boogie of ‘Will it Be You’, which, despite lashings and lashings of pedal steel guitar, just doesn’t quite gel, and the frankly awful ‘Wholefood Boogie’. Of the latter, Sinfield himself says in the reissue liner notes "… there are things I just shouldn’t sing, and rock ‘n’ roll songs are one of them!” Following this brief derailment, things get back on track with the title track ‘Still’, featuring a joint lead vocal from Greg Lake. We’re back in progressive rock territory from then on in, with the gentle lyrical quality heard on ‘The Song of the Sea Goat’ returning. ‘A House of Hopes and Dreams’ and the schizophrenic ‘The Night People’, where Sinfield’s often wistful vocal delivery fits the mood of his lyrics perfectly, are particular highlights. Overall, the pros far outweigh the cons and although it may lack the heaviness of early King Crimson or Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Still is a little known progressive treat, well worth savouring. The forthcoming expanded CD reissue features a second disc with early mixes of the original album tracks and two bonuses, ‘Hanging Fire’ and ‘Can You forgive a Fool?’ Still (Expanded Edition) is reissued on 26th January 2010 on the Manticore label and available for pre-order from Amazon.co.uk
