Julian's Treatment, an early British art-rock outfit, issued the ambitious yet sprawling concept album A Time Before This in 1970. Keyboardist and principal architect Julian J. Savarin, who composed the entire work, envisioned the project as a multi-part opera centered on an Atlantis-style vanished civilization. Structured across twelve chapters, the narrative follows the final surviving Earthman as he arrives on the planet Alkon and encounters Altarra, described in the liner notes as "the embodiment of all womanhood." Such lofty framing has largely shielded the record from favorable reevaluation by most critics. Listeners willing to set aside the conceptual excess may still appreciate the overlooked progressive-rock material, which revolves around glistening keyboard figures and maintains a buoyant, propulsive energy uncommon within the style. The commanding lead vocals, supplied by Australian Cathy Pruden during her time residing in London, evoke a less strident counterpart to Annisette of Savage Rose and provide a welcome contrast within prog circles.
Savarin had originally intended Julian's Treatment to record three albums forming successive installments of a science-fiction trilogy. The group nevertheless disbanded before the close of 1970. The second installment, Waiters on the Dance, appeared in 1973 under the sole billing of Julian J. Savarin; bassist John Dover remained the sole holdover from the prior lineup, though the sessions also included vocalist Jo Meek. Savarin subsequently withdrew from music-making to pursue a career as a novelist.
