Hope Day

Hope Day is a great track, but is overlong and has too many section and time changes for its own good . There are some excellent moments, but these are quickly swept aside for a new idea and melody, which is then replaced by another, and so on. These sections feel very disconnected and so the song feels thrown together.

There is a clear prog rock influence to this song- the section at 3 minutes in especially. Hope Day as a whole is a good chance for the band members to show off their instrumental prowess, with multiple keyboard solos, Chris Squire-esque basslines (in the aforementioned section), atonal saxophone wailing, and complex drum and percussion rhythms. The lyrics concern war, likely the First World War- a lyrical focus that would appear more often in later songs.

Hope Day was included on The Special Garage Concerts Vol I CD.

Handwritten lyrics in the Seaside Treats book can be found here. A mention of the First World War can also be found in the book.