Narnia – Aslan Is Not A Tame Lion (Myrrh 1974)

Narnia was a great, obscure, Christian folkprog band from England! They only released this one album, on the microscopic label Myrrh, but it’s a real gem. The album begins with the uptempo ‘You’d Better Believe It’. You’ll immediately hear that this band had a very powerful lead vocalist in Pauline Filby. She had (and still has??) an incredible range. To go from intimate low key singing to almost Janis Joplin-territory was obviously no problem for this lady. Narnia also had two very comeptent male singers in John Russell and Kenneth ‘Ginger’ Dixon (also on guitars and drums respectively), and that made for some fantastic vocal harmonies. Also, their song arrangements are often quite intricate and adventurous, so it’s fair to call Narnia a progressive folkrock band. The progressive nature of the band can especially be heard in the dramatic ‘Agapè’ with its many twists and turns. Great keyboard playing also, from Peter Banks (was he related to the Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks? I don’t know.). But the songwriting is great all the way. It’s also a varied album. ‘To A Fountain’ and ‘Miracle of Birth’ are songs in the more melancholy vein, and a joy to listen to. When it comes to the lyrics, it’s quite obvious that this was a Christian band, but you shouldn’t worry too much about that, as the music is so great. And Narnia never tried to push their own belief on the listener either. This album comes highly recommended.