On an album that sparkles with great dramatic achievements, 'Musical Box,' 'The Retum Of The Giant Hogweed,' and ' Harold The Barrel,' it was fitting that the band should attempt to cap it ail with a major, extended piece. This has particularly good production, with special emphasis placed on surging power chords from a band that played like an orchestra. However, the vocals are a bit lost at times, and this tale of Hermaphroditus and his encounter with the wood nymph Salmacis and his/her subsequent curse upon the waters, is perhaps too elaborate to be instantly compelling. Yet it is a piece that repays frequent listening and Steve Hackett contributes some dominant guitar themes that cut through the convoluted arrangement. Collins' drums sound strangely 'tubby" at times, possibly as a result of using beaters instead of sticks, but as the whole piece surges towards a majestic conclusion, this miniature overture shows astonishing sophistication. It remains an impressive example of collective achievement few rock bands could equal then, or now.

 THE FOUNTAIN OF SALMACIS
 
Hermaphrodite: a flower containing both male and female organs; a person or animal of both sexes.
The child Hermaphroditus was the son of Hermes and Aphrodite, the result of a secret love affair. For this reason he was entrusted to the nymphs of the isolated Mount Ida, who allowed him to grow up as a wild creature of the woods. After his encounter with the water-nymph Salmacis, he laid a curse upon the water. According to fable, all persons who bathed in the water became hermaphrodites.

Lyrics

From a dense forest of tall dark pinewood,
Mount Ida rises like an island.
Within a hidden cave, nymphs had kept a child;
Hermaphroditus, son of gods, so afraid of their love.
 
As the dawn creeps up the sky
The hunter caught sight of a doe.
In desire for conquest,
He found himself within a glade he'd not beheld before.
 
Hermaphroditus: Narrator:
"Where are you, my father? "Then he could go no farther
Give wisdom to your son" Now lost, the boy was guided by the sun"
 
And as his strength began to fail
He saw a shimmering lake.
A shadow in the dark green depths
Disturbed the strange tranquility.
 
Salmacis: Narrator:
"The waters are disturbed "The waters are disturbed
Some creature has been stirred" Naiad queen Salmacis has been stirred"
 
As he rushed to quench his thirst,
A fountain spring appeared before him
And as his heated breath brushed through the cool mist,
A liquid voice called, "Son of gods, drink from my spring".
 
The water tasted strangely sweet.
Behind him the voice called again.
He turned and saw her, in a cloak of mist alone
And as he gazed, her eyes were filled with the darkness of the lake.
 
Salmacis: Narrator:
"We shall be one "She wanted them as one
We shall be joined as one" Yet he had no desire to be one"
 
Hermaphroditus: "Away from me cold-blooded woman
Your thirst is not mine"
Salmacis: "Nothing will cause us to part
Hear me, O Gods"
 
Unearthly calm descended from the sky
And then their flesh and bones were strangely merged
Forever to be joined as one.
 
The creature crawled into the lake.
A fading voice was heard:
"And I beg, yes I beg that all who touch this spring
May share my fate"
 
Salmacis: Narrator:
"We are the one "The two are now made one,
We are the one" Demi-god and nymph are now made one"
 
Both had given everything they had.
A lover's dream had been fulfilled at last,
Forever still beneath the lake.

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