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Colosseum II - 1977 - Electric Savage
Style: prog
Country: uk
Audio: lossless (ape 822k)
Size: 263mb
Issue: 1993 One Way MCAD 22081
from Gibraltar:After the departure of David Greenslade from Colosseum in his quest for a solo career, drummer Jon Hiseman teamed up with a very talented bunch of musicians to form Colosseum II. Powered by the guitars of Gary Moore and the keyboards of Don Airey, they released a trio of albums, of which these are the best two. Musically, they straddle the boundary between jazz fusion and rock in very much the same style as Brand X, Arti+Mestieri, etc., with an increased keyboard presence. With the exception of a couple of tracks, most of their work is all-instrumental. Jon Hiseman's drum and percussion work also contributes greatly to the intensity of the music, all of which is anchored by John Mole's bass. Electric Savage was released at the end of 1976. As noted in the sleeve, "Just hours before Christmas 1976 and a few hours after our return from a European tour, our exhausted crew set up the gear ... for seven days we continued playing the music live ...." The recording captures the musical virtuosity of the band members, and their ability to present a powerful live performance. Wardance was released in 1977, and was a more mature work with tightly executed compositions written around the dueling guitar and keyboard leads of Moore and Airey. In terms of overall effect this might have the edge over Electric Savage, but only slightly. Additionally, Don Airey's keyboard work is on equal footing with Gary Moore's guitars, unlike Electric Savage in which Moore's guitar was more prominent in the mix. Jon Hiseman tries it for a third time this time enlisting newcomers Gary Moore (guitar), Don Airey (keyboards), and Mike Starrs (vocals). Starrs lasted for only one album as the band made a change to a more instrumental approach. Strange New Flesh is an interesting first release by the new lineup. The opening track, "Dark Side of the Moog" - a humerous tribute to Pink Floyd, shows a band primed and ready for an instrumental performance. The second track, a cover of Joni Mitchell's "Down to You" is a bit of a letdown after the solid opener, but does redeem itself by Don Airey's extended keyboard improvisation in the middle. The remainder of the album much the same, great instrumental passages surrounded by vocal pieces that seem out of place. All in all a nice album, but nothing to rush out and buy. Electric Savage was recorded just before Christmas in 1976 and shows a Colosseum II that has corrected all the shortcomings from the first album. Gone are the laborous vocal tracks with Gary Moore handling the lone brief vocal track. Instead you will find relentless interplay between Moore and Airey with the listener left trying to decide who really won. This is high enery progressive fusion in the same vein as Return to Forever or Mahavishnu Orchestra sans violin. You have not heard the best of Gary Moore unless you have heard this album. Very highly recommended. Wardance features the same lineup as Electric Savage and is really more of the same brand of fierce fusion. All three releases are available as Japanese or US domestic CD reissues. Variations is an Andrew Lloyd Webber album of arrangements of a theme written by classical composer Nicolò Paganini. He enlisted all of the members of Colosseum II (Hiseman, Moore, Airey & Mole) as well as Rod Argent, Phil Collins, and Herbie Flowers. The 2nd track, "Theme (Paganini Caprice in A Minor No. 24) and Variations 1-4" was used as the theme music to ITV's "South Bank Show". -- Dave Lane
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