Mushroom - Early One Morning (Reissue) (1973/2004)

Formed in Dublin in the early 70’s, MUSHROOM were one of Ireland's leading pop bands from 70 to 74. In fact, they had a huge hit with their first single "Devil Among the Tailors" from their LP "Early One Morning" which reached no. 2 in the Irish top 20 charts in 1973, selling over a 100,000 LP’s and singles; another song, “Kings and Queens”, reached number 13 the following year. They band comprised five musicians among whom were violinist Pat Collins and guitarist Aengus McNally, son of actor Ray McNally; the other three contributed to the band’s acid folk sound with organ, moog, harpsichord, bass, drums, tin whistles, chimes, bodhran and vocals. As far as comparisons go,Horslips comes immediately to mind. Most easily compared to Horslips through its use of fiddle, bodhran, and tin whistle alongside its 1970s rock kit of guitar, drums, bass, and organ, (oh, and don’t forget that moog!), Mushroom also blended early seventies rock with traditional Irish songs and tunes. Among Mushroom’s more straightforward, (and frequently folksy,) compositions, ''Early One Morning'' shows the band integrating reels and hornpipes right into the songs, with a nice “acid-tinged” guitar, slurring all 70s-prog-like, right among the fiddle and surprisingly-Celtic sounding keyboards...