Exactly what happened to the Easybeats between Friday on My Mind in 1967 and this release later in 1968 is something of a mystery. Vigil is as disjointed and lifeless for long stretches as Friday on My Mind was inspired, the group falling into routine pop/rock. There's a real sense of simply going through the motions of making music, and no originality to speak of on most of the songs -- two of the exceptions, "Falling Off the Edge of the World" and "Land of Make Believe," sound like leftovers from Friday on My Mind, which is a welcome relief, but don't justify the purchase of this album, except by the most hardcore fans. The third, "I Can't Stand It," is a solid straight-ahead rocker that could have come off of one of the group's first two Australian albums, except that they would have done it with a quicker tempo in those days; and "Good Times" is a pleasant throwback to the same era, and livelier than anything else on this album.
© Bruce Eder /TiVo