East of Eden

East of Eden is a perfect illustration of the futility that Decca Records in England faced in cultivating progressive rock (apart from the Moody Blues). A critically acclaimed jazz-fusion band with a strong Eastern music influence, they were a natural for stardom during the late '60s; indeed, they might've taken the wind out of the sails of the Mahavishnu Orchestra very fast, but they never became more than a cult act in England, with a strong local following in London, especially on the underground scene, even as they attracted serious audiences in continental Europe. The band was formed in Bristol, during 1967, by Dave Arbus (flute, sax, trumpet), Ron Caines (alto sax), and Geoff Nicholson (guitar, vocals). Caines and Nicholson had previously played together in an r&b-based band, and the Caines and Arbus had been playing together for a couple of years. Future Wings member Geoff Britton was their original drummer, although the group's rhythm section was never an essential focus of their work, and went through quite a few musicians. Arbus had been trained in the violin, but it wasn't until he saw Jean Luc-Ponty playing on stage in Paris that he realized the possibilities that the amplified instrument offered. He add the electric violin to his repertory, greatly broadening the band's range and sound, and the following year they moved to London. The group was signed to Decca's progressive rock imprint Deram label in 1968, and cut two LPs, Mercator Projected and Snafu, of which the latter made it into the British top 30, while a single, "Ramadhan," got to number two in France. Their one big hit in England, "Jig-a-Jig," made the Top Ten there and became something of a stylistic albatross around the band's neck, since it didn't resemble their usual sound or anything else...