Before There Was Queen, There Was Tranquility

Roughly ten years or so (I think) before Queen debuted their first album, audiophiles like my brother were immersed in the complex harmony of a band called Tranquility. Tranquility possessed no super-powered front man like Freddie Mercury and lacked the signature guitar work that etched Queen tunes onto the human subconscious… but wowsers, they could sing like the Devil and weave an instrumental tapestry on which the vocals shined like brushed silver. Or, as this song implies, more silver than brown, anyway.

This is a powerful song with which to face the impending end of the Mayan Cosmos, and one that asks a question that is always pertinent whether the world is ending or not: “Who do I turn to now?”

Posted by StrangeAppar8us on 12/10/12 at 07:44 PM • Permalink

Categories: I Don't Know Much About Art, But I Know What I Like • Messylaneous • Music • Music Videos • YouTubidity •

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ooo, i lurve tranquility! didn’t think anyone else had even ever heard of them.

Comment by auntie beak on 12/10/12 at 08:31 PM

auntie: I own both albums, thanks to my hyper-wired older brother, the quadraphonic audiophile. Great tunes from a golden moment in my life. Glad you enjoyed!

Comment by StrangeAppar8us on 12/10/12 at 08:47 PM

Nice!  This piece makes me think of Pink Floyd and Crosby, Stills and Nash—a mellow and dreamy texture with a rich blend of flawless vocal harmonies.  Very nice.

I’d never heard of this band before.  Thanks for introducing us to it, Strange.

Comment by Beulahmo on 12/10/12 at 09:48 PM

Well, they were just okay, in my opinion; what we would call New Age today but pop music ‘70s era bands were really very uneven, including Tranquility. Pop was all over the map until New Age and Punk redefined everything.

In the category of innovative ‘70s pop, the highlights were the incomparable “Earth, Wind and Fire”, “The Fifth Dimension” and “The Commodores”.  They brought the transition soul from the ‘60s to the ‘70s IMO.

Comment by Jim Tarrant on 12/10/12 at 11:18 PM

I don’t know if I want to like them or just call them “hobbit-prog”. I had the same experience when a ten-yr-older boyfriend in college tried to turn me on to Traffic.


(“But you like Led Zeppelin!”

“Yeah, but these guys are so…earnest.”

“A mocker, you are.”

True.  And I could never get him into Motley Crue. And so it goes.)

Comment by Vixen Strangely on 12/11/12 at 12:09 AM

Whenever the world is hurtling towards its doom, I always turn to those who comforted me in my childhood-Mr Rogers, Ernie (and his rubber duckie), and Dr. “Fish Heads” Demento.

Comment by Kerry on 12/11/12 at 11:46 PM
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