Captain Marryat - Captain Marryat (1974 Glasgow, Scotland) | Heavy Psych / Prog | Full Vinyl Rip

Captain Marryat is the only album by Captain Marryat, originally pressed in 1974 on their own Thor label in Glasgow in an edition of around 200 copies, sold exclusively at gigs. My copy is the 2026 Noble Records reissue, CANNON 012, limited to 700 copies on purple splatter vinyl. Named after the 19th century novelist and seafarer Captain Frederick Marryat - a friend of Charles Dickens - this Glasgow five-piece formed around 1971 around keyboardist Allan Bryce, bassist Hugh Finnegan, and drummer Jimmy Rorrison. They brought in Ian McEleny on lead guitar and eventually Tommy Hendry as lead vocalist. Their main influences were Beggars Opera, Deep Purple, and Uriah Heep. The recording came about almost by accident. The band had only a couple of finished songs and booked time at Thor studios in Glasgow intending to cut a single. The engineer told them there was time for a whole album. Allan Bryce went home, wrote more songs, and the band rehearsed them in his room. A Friend came from Tommy Hendry, Changes from Ian McEleny. When they still needed one more track they improvised a jam on the spot and called it Dance of Thor after the studio. The whole record was done in a few days. It was meant as a demo to attract label interest - they traveled to London and came close to signing with A&M Records and a few others, but it didn't come together. The band split in 1975. Tommy Hendry passed away in recent years. Blindness opens the album and remains the band's signature track according to Bryce himself. Dance of Thor closes it with the most ambitious and fully realized piece on the record - a thundering jam built on Hammond organ and fuzz guitar that earns its six and a half minutes. Songwriter's Lament is the odd one out, starting with acoustic guitar and moving through a classical mid-section before the band opens it up. 🔥 Standout tracks include: Dance of Thor, Blindness, and Songwriter's Lament. 🎸 Sounds like: Uriah Heep, Deep Purple, Beggars Opera, Atomic Rooster 🎧 Vinyl Finds Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj0yF7-9YQ9oSXuMGglp1N8SlbZUEtCJ7 🎧 Full Vinyl Rips Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj0yF7-9YQ9pEOi1yCUyAZikNmWVdz8Hn 📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vinyl_piper/ I sell my doubles and extras here: https://vinylpipershop.com/ 💿 Tracklist 00:00 Blindness 05:12 It Happened To Me 13:25 A Friend 19:09 Songwriter's Lament 24:32 Changes 27:22 Dance of Thor #CaptainMarryat #HeavyPsych #ProgRock #Glasgow #PrivatePress #VinylRip #VinylPiper