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Of great interest as an historical document, this is also a superlative album of music in its own right. I regard Supersister's Present From Nancy to be among the finest products of the '70s Dutch progressive scene (of those that I've heard); amazingly, every member was under the age of 18 at the time this album was recorded. Supersister helped to develop the "Canterbury" style of progressive rock, a variety of progressive that existed more or less independently from the movement that King Crimson initiated in 1969 with In the Court of the Crimson King. I say "develop" instead of "imitate" because although the music of Supersister appears to be influenced by Soft Machine and Caravan (generally considered "founders" of the Canterbury style), I find Supersister remarkable for doing so much to advance the style, especially taking into account the band's lack of physical proximity to the other principals. A guitar-less quartet featuring occasional vocals (in English), Supersister's timbres are similar to the contemporaneous music of Soft Machine and Egg. The presence of a flute on most of the tracks (what the heck was it with the Dutch prog bands and their flutes, anyway?) inevitably suggests Jethro Tull mimicry, although upon closer inspection one finds that only on the excellent title track is there a palpable indication that the band had ever even heard of Jethro Tull. Apart from the rather staid finale, "Dona Nobis Pacem," the overall feel of the album can be summed up as breezy, quirky and energetic. All of these jazzy tracks are built around memorable melodic passages that say what they have to say and then move on: only one song goes beyond 5:10 and most are much shorter; to this extent, the album sometimes captures the frenetic, whimsical feel of Soft Machine's first two albums. Supersister does display a youthful, offbeat sense of humor of their own, as evidenced by the Frank Zappa/Mothers of Invention tribute "Corporation Combo Boys" (the catchiness of which indicates that they could have had a future playing more pop-oriented tunes) and a 20-second quotation of the Byrds' "Eight Miles High." Where Supersister appears to go beyond the work of their immediate contemporaries, though, is in the performances and sound of the music itself. I hear this album as having a more "advanced" Canterbury sound for 1970. Some passages recall the music of Hatfield and the North - but they hadn't yet been formed. Supersister openly admitted their Caravan influence, but sometimes the music more closely resembles what Caravan would do on The Land of Grey and Pink and Waterloo Lilly, than their 1968-70 sound. This album really is a must-have for anybody interested in exploring Canterbury-style prog, and paired on CD with the very good second album, 1971's To the Highest Bidder, it's also a good value if you can find it. review by Matt P. — 2-3-05 —