To the Highest Bidder by Supersister

To the Highest Bidder by Supersister, from 1971.

Supersister are a Dutch progressive rock group formed in 1968. The band was composed of Robert Jan Stips (keyboards, vocals), Sacha van Geest (flute), Marco Vrolijk (drums), and Ron van Eck (bass). 

Their sound was a fusion of progressive rock with elements of jazz-rock and psychedelia in the style of the Canterbury Scene, with complex compositions featuring flutes, organs, and intricate time signatures. 

The band officially disbanded in 1974, but the members briefly reunited in 2000, and the reunions ended with the death of van Geest in 2001 and van Eck in 2011.

Despite their brief career, they are one of the most influential Dutch progressive rock bands of the 1970s. 

They are best known for their 1970 debut album, "Present from Nancy". This is their second album, which picks up where the previous one left off: To the Highest Bidder is a complex progressive jazz-rock album with longer and more epic tracks and more prominent keyboard work, with complex flute and bass arrangements, a good dose of humor, and great technical virtuosity.

Three of the four tracks last more than seven minutes, with "Energy (Out of Future)" lasting about 15 minutes. There is great interaction between keyboards and flute and predominantly melodic bass lines, along with complex percussion and excellent vocals.

- A Girl Named You is an epic track of about 10 minutes with a complex multi-part structure, a sophisticated compositional structure, with rhythm changes and a great electric piano that, together with flute and harpsichord, create an eccentric atmosphere

- No Tree Will Grow (On Too High a Mountain) is one of the TOP tracks of the album and probably one of the best of the Canterbury scene.
- Energy (Out of Future) is a long and complex track with great flute and overlapping acoustic sections.
- Higher is a short track that closes the album with a sweet and gentle sound. 

Keyboards and flute over bass lines and complex percussion, an album that is never trivial, musically stunning, which I recommend to all prog lovers and which I consider superior to their debut album.

Note: All links to the musicians' works are in the TAGS under the article title or on the "Artists" page

Tracklist

1. A Girl Named You (10:08)
2. No Tree Will Grow (On Too High a Mountain) (7:40)
3. Energy (Out of Future) (14:55)
4. Higher (2:56)

Duration 35:39

LineUp

- Robert Jan Stips - lead vocals, keyboards
- Sacha van Geest - flutes, vocals
- Ron van Eck - bass, fuzz bass
- Marco Vrolijk - drums and percussion