At The Sound Of The Bell is the second album by the American Pavlov’s Dog from St. Louis, Missouri, formed in 1972 and released in 1976.

It is an album forged by Blue Oyster Cult producers Murray Krugman and Sandy Pearlman, who also produced and recorded the first album, which has a more appealing sound to the ear. The question of course is, what was its path. Too pop for progressive rock, and too progressive for Top 40, with a music that drives forward and is more focused this time.

The album features some “heavyweights” of the music industry as guests, such as Roxy Music saxophonist Andy Mackay along with drummer William Bruford and also Arista Records saxophonist Michael Brecker.

“Valkerie” has a great hook, bringing back the good old days with a much cleaner production than the first album, but in any case there is something very unusual about this group and extremely non-commercial, even in the beautiful ballad “Standing Here With You (Megan’s Song)”. The music does not have the artistry of Mothers Of Invention, and certainly not the focus of Blue Oyster Cult, making us wonder if A&R Records head Mark Spector was simply too kind to the group’s producers Krugman and Pearlman.

“Try To Hang On” is a light and listener-friendly track, one of the best on the album, which is followed by “Gold Nuggets” which feels like a sequel to it.

“She Breaks Like Morning Sky” interrupts the calm flow a bit, being harder, but its execution is light years ahead of those of their first album. On some tracks the producers brought the music into the mix and the skillful playing of Pampered Menial. “Early Morning On” is a high-level track musically and although Surkamp is more subdued, it is still his voice that plays a decisive role in the whole affair.

Adventurous and meaningful, the sound of At The Sound Of The Bell is a great idea and an amazing musical experience.

The idea of the cover with the model Michael Mantel dressed as the Hunchback of Notre Dame and hanging upside down to ring the bells is very good.

From this excellent album I select the track “Valkerie”.

Tracklist

1. She Came Shining 4:24
2. Standing Here with You (Megan’s Song) 3:47
3. Mersey 3:03
4. Valkerie 5:22
5. Try to Hang On 2:08
6. Gold Nuggets 3:25
7. She Breaks Like a Morning Sky 2:22
8. Early Morning On 3:21
9. Did You See Him Cry 5:36