Fuchsia

In 1971 the British ensemble Fuchsia issued a self-titled debut that attracted scant attention yet wove together several strands of early-seventies rock, most notably progressive and British folk-rock currents. Although guitarist and principal vocalist Tony Durant supplied the bulk of the songwriting and served as the group’s driving force, its most singular feature remained the all-female string trio of cellist Madeleine Bland—who doubled on piano and harmonium—together with violinists Janet Rogers and Vanessa Hall-Smith, each of whom also supplied harmony vocals. The resulting tracks lean toward tuneful folk-rock-pop constructions whose harmonic turns frequently veer in unexpected directions, yielding an intriguing yet ultimately uneven artistic statement.