Paladin - Charge! (Remastered) (1972/2007)

PALADIN were formed in 1970 by drummer Keith Webb and keyboard player Pete Soley. Having toured with the ROLLING STONES as backing musicians, they decided the time was right to unleash their own creativity. Ex "WORLD OF OZ" bassist Peter Beckett, GLASS MENAGERIE/GRISBY DYKE keyboard player Lou Stonebridge, and GRISBY DYKE guitarist Derek Floey were brought in to complete the line up.

Initially, the band's influences were jazz, Latin, soul, blues, afro-Cuban, the dual keyboards creating a unique sound. They list their early fans as including Jon ANDERSON (YES). After building a credible live reputation, the band signed for Gerry Bron's Bronze label, and recorded their first album "live" in the studio. The album includes early examples of World and Rap (!), but failed to make much of an impression, and consequently is now rare and collectable in vinyl format.

The follow up album "Charge!" was released a year later. It had an excellent Roger Dean sleeve, and represented a major improvement on the rather lacklustre debut album. "Charge!" explored interesting progressive rock areas, combining folk influences ("Watching The World Pass By") with rock and roll ("Well We Might"), and psychedelic rock ("Mix Your Mind With The Moonbeams"). The diverse style of the album make it difficult to pinpoint influences, but there's a bit of GENESIS, BJH, URIAH HEEP and possibly JETHRO TULL.

The band only released the two albums, before their lack of success led to frustration, and they disbanded in 1972. Lou Stonebridge found success with MCGUINNESS FLINT, while Pete Soley formed SNAFU with Mickey Moody. Peter Beckett joined the band PLAYER as vocalist, and Keith Webb found work as drummer with various outfits.