Track Listing

1. Giants
2. Manco Capac
3. Body
4. Ganga Mai
5. Chant
6. Pearl And Bird
7. Notting Hill Gate
8. Midnight Mode
9. Notting Hill Gate
10. Move Into The Light

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17725 in Music
• Released on: 2004-03-22
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .18 pounds

Customer Reviews

incense and peppermints
Quintessence offered a blend of Hare Khrishna Chant,droning sitar. jazz flute and some fine rock jamming. 'In Blissful Company' is their first album and perhaps their best. The sense of a more innocent age and the smell of incense prevades the album.

I've always condidered this a brillant record, but its often dismissed as a mere 'product of its time' in much the same way the Incredible String Band have been. (Not that Quintessence sound anything like ISB, but would sit well next to 5000 Spirts).

One of those albums that should feature in those 'top 50 greatest ever' list but never does. Maybe this re-issue will get the album the credit it deserves.

Repertoire Records have done a fine job on the packaging for this re-issue, so a good excuse for some people to replace their vinyl.

Till you came along my life was nothing but an empty shell
I have had this album for quite some time but never really got round to reviewing it, along with all of the other albums I have been buying but I am sure many readers will understand where I am coming from there. I have been prompted to revisit the album as it is almost a year since the third Quintessence album was reissued in England, 'Dive Deep' and there is some expectation that the remaining albums will appear shortly.

In the ferment of social change and exploration which went on in the Western industrialised countries during the 1961 to say 1977, period - an arbitrary date which includes the revival of so called punk rock, the bands reflected the changes which were taking place rather than drove those changes. While many conservative people were concerned and opposed those changes, young people in particular embraced them wholeheartedly and while many did not fully particpate in the music or drugs arena they fled with sometimes wild abandon into the more hedonistic aspects of change particularly sexuality and lifestyle choices.

Much of the music of the period was fundamentally blues based and at it's heart was concerns with feelings and relationships in a basic sortof way but in any event it encouraged people to dance and interact often in a merely phyical way. Crucially the booming music scene brought many bands into being playing this music, often denigrated by social conservatives and providing fuel for the counter-social revolution which is continuing to gather pace today.

Quintessence in a way epitomises the conflict which many people felt through experiencing these changes. While established churches had no answers to many questions, the consumption of drugs and alcohol generally in the young population wereb major causes of alienation and anomie acting as an impetus to seek something more from life. Quintessence aimed to bring about a natural high through their combination of eastern and western influences in their music which could on occasion produce feelings similar to ecstatic achievement largely without drugs and a religious aspect, through Hinduism, to bring peace to inner turmoil.

The tracks here are a snapshot of the early years and although the playing and singing are of reasonable quality they do not reflect the energy and emotion of the live performances. Much like the Grateful Dead the on-stage performances were a vtal and energising experience and much cherished by a large following in Britain. The additional track is not the best recording but for the fans it is a little something given the dearth of additional material on bootlegs and tapes.

The success of this album allowed the band to invest in live recordings which formed the core of the second, and in my view best album, Quintessence, allowing a better picture of this band.