An easy comparison for the UK’s Audience is Jethro Tull because of their flutes, expressive vocals, and timeframe, but they definitely had their own progressive folk-rock thing going on. Howard Werth, their songwriter/vocalist, had a sassy Cat Stevens/Ozzy Osbourne voice and he played florid nylon-string guitar, but also key to the Audience sound were the same kinds of blaring sax choruses that would eventually become a Roxy Music staple (RM put out their first record in ’72, the same year Audience broke up). Anyway, I’ve lately gotten addicted to this short, 40-minute playlist I’ve made of my favorite Audience songs:
“Banquet” (Audience, 1969)
“Man on Box” (Audience, 1969)
“Belladonna Moonshine” (Friend’s Friend’s Friend, 1970)
“It Brings a Tear” (Friend’s Friend’s Friend, 1970)
“You’re Not Smiling” (The House on the Hill, 1971)
“Raviole” (The House on the Hill, 1971)
“Nancy” (The House on the Hill, 1971)
“Eye to Eye” (The House on the Hill, 1971)
“Indian Summer” (The House on the Hill, 1971)
“Stand By the Door” (Lunch, 1972)
“Thunder and Lightning” (Lunch, 1972)