Howard Werth & The Moonbeams - King Brilliant (1975) (1999)

After leaving the Brit rock outfit Audience in 1974 with a catalog of four albums, frontman, songwriter, and guitarist Howard Werth (who, like Willie Nelson, is well-known for his nylon-string guitar work) began a solo career. King Brilliant is his debut offering in that regard from 1975, and as such it is an interesting slice of British mainstream rock & roll that borders on roots and pub rock. Werth is an ambitious songwriter, as his outlandish orchestrations on "Got to Unwind," "Lucinda," and "Midnight Flyer" attest. But he never left the heart of rock & roll in order to get his more ambitious moments across. His sense of classic British irony is everywhere in evidence in the album's original 11 songs. "Mechanical Dream," from the same sessions in 1975, is included here as a bonus track. This is recommended to anyone with an interest in either Audience or in U.K. pre-punk rock.