Audience go off-piste on eclectic third album The House On The Hill

Audience's 1971 album "The House On The Hill" demonstrates the band's distinctive approach to progressive rock, blending soul, R&B and innovative arrangements. Though the band enjoyed college gigs in the early 1970s, their originality and willingness to "distort things a little bit and go in off-beat directions" (as singer Howard Werth put it) never quite translated into significant record sales, yet the album shows why their unconventional sound deserves recognition.

Produced by Gus Dudgeon, tracks like "Jackdaw" open with Werth's soulful vocals and acoustic guitar complemented by Keith Gemmell's inventive horn arrangements, whilst "You're Not Smiling" offers a more accessible 1970s singalong with blazing horns and hyperactive bass. The album's eclecticism extends to the pastoral "Raviolé", featuring Werth's intricate guitar picking with Eastern influences and string arrangements by Robert Kirby, the arranger famous for his work with Nick Drake.