If Christopher Idylls had been released the year it was recorded -- or ten years after it was recorded -- it would have been a landmark album. Guitarist Gimmer Nicholson played a fusion of classical and folk music: meditative, slowly evolving pieces that lasted as much as ten minutes. He had anticipated the sound that would come to be called new age on this album of chiming, mellow guitar, but in 1968 nobody knew that there might be a market for such a thing. The tapes were forgotten for 25 years, only seeing the light of day in 1994. Regardless of when it was recorded, this is a fine CD. Nicholson's compositions are melodic and evocative, his playing assured and effortless. It is not dazzling, but it wasn't designed to be. This is mood music, and it's among the best of its kind. ~ Richard Foss, All Music Guide (Less)
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Van Duren was part of the early Memphis power pop scene that spawned the legendary Big Star, and made several underexposed, small-label records during the late '70s. Duren began playing in bands at the age of 13 in 1966 and attended high school with eventual Big Star drummer Jody Stephens; he auditioned to replace Chris Bell in Big Star in 1974, shortly after the completion of Third/Sister Lovers). In 1975, he and Stephens collaborated on some demos that were produced by former Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham (whom he met through producer Jon Tiven), and a year later he was playing in a group called the Baker Street Regulars with both Bell and Stephens. (Less)
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