Babylon (7) – Babylon

This reissue is very similar to the 1978 silver cover version. Unlike the original, it has the title printed on spine.

I can't believe I found a copy of this original LP for just $7, given its rarity. I guess I got it for so cheap because the cover was tearing at the seams and a Florida radio station call letters were stamped on the cover. The disc was in rather good shape. The cover differs slightly from the more familiar CD reissue by Syn-Phonic. The alien eyes were altered on the reissue to look more like the grey alien you seen on Whitley Strieber's book Communion, and the band logo was now in color. I guess Syn-Phonic felt it better to update the look of the grey alien to 1990s standards.

Florida isn't exactly thought of as prog rock haven. You have Southern rock groups in the north like Jacksonville, most notably Lynyrd Skynyrd, and many Cuban exiles in the south (Miami, especially), Gloria Estefan being the most notable who often became Latin pop sensations. Babylon, from Tampa-St. Petersburg is a rare example of prog rock from Florida. You have Genesis-influenced prog with lots of keyboards (RMI electric piano, ARP Omni, other synthesizers, Vako Orchestron), Steve Hackett-like guitar, and Phil Collins-like drumming. The vocalist might draw comparison to Peter Gabriel, but often more dramatic. I imagined if the band was able to get a hold of a Mellotron, they would have, but they didn't (more like either couldn't afford one, didn't want to hassle with one, not certain how easy it was to get a hold of a Mellotron in Florida, or the fact it's the late '70s and the popularity of the tron went downhill). They did use something akin to a Mellotron, the Vako Orchestron, which operated on a flimsy, LP-like disc which gave it a continuous loop. It was basically a pro version of Mattel's Optigan. You can hear a bit of that Optigan on "Before the Fall" and I believe "Cathedral of the Mary Ruin". Maybe not the most original prog out there (as is the case for so much late '70s prog), but certainly one of the better examples of American prog.