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Posts tagged John Glascock
Jethro Tull – Pot Pourri – Live Across The World & Through The Years (1969-1992) (@256)
30 Sep 2009
(Review from amazon, allmusic)
This is a hodge-podge of live recordings from 1969 to 1992, at various locations around the world.
Opening with the loud, bluesy “To Be Sad Is a Mad Way to Be” (which is a definite throwback to the This Was album), the music advances across the decades, crossing the 1970s with a three-minute excerpt from A Passion Play into a medley of Aqualung material and on to their various 1980s incarnations and repertory, by which time Martin Barre is pretty much sharing the spotlight with (if not outright stealing it from) Anderson.
The “Passion Jig” from a 1975 Paris concert is an instrumental piece salvaged and adapted from part of A Passion Play, which is a clever way of reviving music from a concept album. It contains a slightly harder edge too. Another excellent track is a medley, “Wind-Up/Locomotive Breath/Land of Hope and Glory”. There are a number of lesser-known works that are well done and enjoyable. One such work is the nearly 11 minute long song “Budapest” which is somewhat devoid of catchy hooks, and yet is interesting to hear and analyze.
Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, mouth organ, claghorn, piano, vocals, harmonica, mandolin
- Martin Barre / electric guitar, marimba
- Clive Bunker / drums, hooter and charm bracelet (1, 2)
- Glenn Cornick / bass (1, 2)
- Barriemore Barlow / drums, percussion (3, 4)
- John Evans / piano (3, 4)
- Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond / bass (3)
- John Glascock / bass, vocals (4)
- David Palmer / keyboards, orchestra conductor (4)
- Dave Pegg / bass, mandolins, vocals (6-15)
- Gerry Conway / drums, percussion (5)
- Peter-John Vettese / piano, synthesizer (6, 7)
- Doane Perry / drums (6-11)
- Martin Allcock / mandolin, keyboards (8-11)
- Dave Mattacks / drums (12-15)
- Andy Giddings / keyboards (12-15)
Track List:
01. To Be Sad Is A Mad Way To Be (Stockholm Concert Hall, 01-19-1969)
02. Back To The Family (Stockholm Concert Hall, 01-19-1969)
03. Passion Play Extract (Paris, 1976)
04. Wind-Up + Locomotive Breath + Land Of Hope And Glory + Medley (London, 1977)
05. Seal Driver (Hamburg, 1982)
06. Nobody’s Car (London, 1984)
07. Pussy Willow (London, 1984)
08. Budapest (Leysin, Switzerland, 1991)
09. Nothing Is Easy (Leysin, Switzerland, 1991)
10. Kissing Willie (Tallin, Estonia, 1991)
11. Still Loving You Tonight (London, 1991)
12. Beggar’s Farm (Pullman, WA, 1992)
13. Passion Jig (Chicago, IL, 1992)
14. A Song For Jeffrey (Chicago, IL, 1992)
15. Living In The Past (Montreal, Canada, 1992)
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Carmen – Gypsies (1976) (@256)
06 Nov 2008
(Review from progarchives.com)
After recording their first two albums in England, Carmen decided to record their new one in New England, as their tour ended in NY, far away from either LA (their original home) or London (their adopted one). Completely exhausted from long tours with Jethro Tull, they had no choice than to record another album and looked for a suitable place to compose. The group, still with its original line-up, released this record in haste and unfortunately it sounds a bit like it. It’s an album that anyone could have recorded, and yet it still retains that old Carmen style
We open with “Daybreak”, a pessimistic flamenco rocker, with a nice acoustic introduction. Good guitar and cute keyboard noises in the background. “Shady Lady” follows the pattern; sweet, acoustic intro, before turning into a harder number. Not that hard though, more like… flamenco soft rock. “High Time” continues that trend, another soft flamenco rocker that’s nice, but nothing new. The rest of the first side slides smoothly along.
The flipside start on the best (longest and title) track of the album; it is also the more dramatic one, with plenty of instrumental interplay, rhythm changes and plenty of energy. “Siren of the Sea” is a desperate waltz with a nice intro. “Come Back” is no great shake. It’s another flamenco soft rocker, although it’s got a very nice, very noble guitar solo in it.
And we close with “Margarita,” an instrumental. It is, once again, pure Carmen, but totally un-Carmen. It’s not heavy. It’s not technically shocking. It’s just…pleasant. Acoustic and piano driven. Nice martial drumming. Pure atmosphere. And then…it fades…away…
So did the band.
Line-up:
- David Allen / electric & acoustic guitars, piano, mellotron, syntheziser, vocals
- Roberto Amaral / Footwork, Vibes, Chimes, castanets, percussion & vocals
- John Glascock / bass guitar, syntheziser, vocals
- Angella Allen / piano mellotron, syntheziser, vocals
- Paul Fenton / drums, percussion, vocals
Track List:
01. Daybreak – 5:07
02. Shady Lady – 4:01
03. High Time – 3:20
04. Dedicated To Lydia – 2:50
05. Joy – 3:43
06. The Gypsies – 7:29
07. Siren Of The Sea – 3:51
08. Come Back – 3:50
09. Margarita – 3:14
10. Flemenco Fever (Bonus Track) – 3:28
11. Only Talking To Myself (For John) (Bonus Track) – 5:49
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Carmen – Dancing On A Cold Wind (1974) (@256)
05 Nov 2008
(Review from progarchives.com)
Carmen’s second album, released a year after their first, continues to explore the unique territories which saw them combining traditional Hispanic sounds with progressive themes and West Coast rock. While the line up is unchanged, guest musicians are added to further diversify the sound, including violinist David Katz and vocalist Mary Hopkin. Hopkin, who at the time was married to album producer Tony Visconti (who also plays recorder on the album) is best known for her presence of the Beatles Apple Records label, and her hit single “Those were the days”.
Once again, the music features the male/female vocals of brother and sister David and Angela Allen, with strong harmonies and excellent guitar work. If anything the music here is even more diverse than on the first album. Tracks such as “Drifting along” and “Purple flowers” offer hints of early Jethro Tull but all the while the sound is unique and varied. The latter for example veers off into Spanish hand claps supporting a brief synth run, prior to multi-part a-cappella harmonies.
The “Remembrances” suite which dominates the album is a collection of individual songs which make up the whole (a bit like “Supper’s ready” or the second side of “Abbey Road” in terms of structure). Once again, Angela Allen provides some great mellotron while David’s guitar work is excellent. The songs themselves are rather fragmented, loosely telling a tale of troubled love. The individual sections are short, but segue together to form the complete piece. Once again, there are strong vocal harmonies, but there is overall an excess of vocal passages. Whether the apparent link with the opera “Carmen”, which is based on the love life of a Spanish gypsy girl (one of the tracks here is “Gypsy girl – caravan”) is deliberate is not clear, but there are distinct overlaps in the themes.
This is an album of wonderful creativity which by and large the band pulls it off..
Line-up:
- David Allen / guitar, vocals
- Angela Allen / keyboards, vocals
- Roberto Amaral / percussion, vocals
- David Katz / violin
- Paul Fenton / drums
- John Glascock / bass, vocals
- Mary Hopkin / vocals
- Chris Karan / percussion
- Tony Visconti / Wind
Track List:
01. Viva Mi Sevill – 6:02
02. I’ve Been Crying – 5:08
03. Drifting Along – 3:19
04. She Flew Across The Room – 3:57
05. Purple Flowers – 6:47
06. Table Two For One (Samba) – 2:15
07. She’s Changed – 2:57
08. Gypsy Girl (Caravan) – 3:15
09. The City – 1:36
10. Time (She’s No Lady) – 1:24
11. People Dressed In Black – 4:05
12. Dancing On A Cold Wind – 2:11
13. The Horseman – 4:01
14. Conclusion (She Changed) – 2:00
15. Quiriquitu (Bonus) – 2:51
16. Out On The Street (Bonus) – 6:16
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Carmen – Fandangos In Space (1973) (@256)
04 Nov 2008
(Review from progarchives.com)
In the early seventies, the British-American group Carmen broke new ground in rock music, combining the British flair for progressive rock with traditional Spanish folk themes into a very fresh, energetic and powerful new mix. The sound is centered around guitar, keyboards are used subtly but to good effect.
Such are the Spanish influences on the music of “Carmen” that they are sometimes taken as being from that country. In fact the reasons for those sounds are more prosaic, stemming largely from the fact that band members (brother and sister) David and Angela Allen come from a Los Angeles family who owned a Flamenco restaurant. Their father also played Flamenco guitar, and their mother was a Spanish dancer.
Carmen formed in 1970 and relocated to London in 1973, hooking up with the well known producer Tony Visconti. In addition to future Jethro Tull bassist John Glascock, Paul Fenton was brought in on drums to replace John’s brother Brian, who had remained in the US.
The opening three part suite “Bulerias” immediately indicates that the Hispanic side of the band is going to come through strongly throughout the album. In particular, the Flamenco guitar of David Allen is ever present. It is however Angela Allen’s contributions which define the album. While she is usually in the background, venturing forward on occasions to provide the lead vocal, her mellotron and synth work provides a powerful melodic basis on track after track.
It is difficult to offer comparison bands for the music of Carmen, such is the unique nature of their work. The track “Looking Outside (My Window)” for example, starts with pretty orthodox Spanish guitar, then suddenly burst into a driving rock piece with strong harmonies, and perhaps a hint of Curved Air. English language lyrics are intertwined with Spanish as the mood switches dramatically back and forth.
“Tales of Spain” manages to cram about 20 different mini-songs into the space of 9 minutes. The male/female harmonies reflect the west coast roots of the principal vocalists, while the guitar and mellotron duet reminds us more accurately of the band’s chosen foundations. The closing title track opens with a frantic instrumental leading to some intriguing multi-part harmonies.
In all, “Fandangos in space” is a unique album which blends traditional Hispanic sounds with simplistic vocal prog. The band deserved far greater success than they achieved, but the eclectic nature of the music was possibly too unconventional, even for the broad minded record buyers of the early 1970′s.
Line-up:
- David Allen / vocal, guitar
- Roberto Amaral / vocal, vibraphone, footwork, castanets
- Angela Allen / vocal, mellotron, synth, footwork
- John Glascock / bass
- Paul Fenton / drums
Track List:
01. Bulerias – 5:22
02. Bullfight – 4:17
03. Stepping Stone – 2:52
04. Sailor Song – 5:12
05. Lonely House – 4:06
06. Por Tarantos – 1:44
07. Looking Outside (My Window) – 7:20
08. Tales Of Spain – 6:46
09. Retirando – 0:43
10. Fandangos In Space – 6:36
11. Reprise – 0:57
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Jethro Tull – Stormwatch (1979) (@256)
04 Dec 2007
(Review from progarchives.com, wikipedia)
‘Stormwatch’ released in 1979 is the last of a trilogy started with ‘Songs from the Wood’ and ‘Heavy Horses’ and dealing with nature in a wider sens. While previous albums of the trilogy were more nostalgique with Ian Anderson as the gentlemen farmer of yonder days, ‘Stormwatch’ looks with an perspicious eye into the future, especially the destruction of nature.
The previous two albums were heavily influenced by folk creating a pleasant bucolic atmosphere where the sweet sound of the flute was basic for the melodic sound; Stormwatch is heavier and more oriented towards rock and roll. Even though the classical flute doesn’t disappear, it is more aggressive and less frequent, heavy guitar riffs by Martin Barre take the lead with the well known and powerful vocals of Ian Anderson.
Stormwatch has vigor, drive, appeal, liner typeset of folksy heading, powerful points of a brief excitement, good call on diverse sensations (dark to foolish, ambient to fiendish, sculptural to emotive), the thrill succinct faked symbol and the mood of Tull rand.
It is sometimes rumored that album closer “Elegy” was a homage to John Glascock — who was very ill at the time due to a congenital heart defect and would die shortly after the album’s release. Actually, it is an elegy to David Palmer’s father and is one of the few tracks on which Glascock plays.
Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, acoustic guitar, bass, vocals
- Martin Barre / electric guitar, mandolin, classical guitar
- Barriemore Barlow / drums, percussion
- John Glascock / bass, vocals (plays on 2, 9 and 10)
- John Evans / piano, organ
- David Palmer / synthesizers, portative organ, orchestral arrangements
Track List:
01. North Sea Oil (3:11)
02. Orion (3:58)
03. Home (2:45)
04. Dark Ages (9:14)
05. Warm Sporran (3:35)
06. Something’s On The Move (4:27)
07. Old Ghosts (4:23)
08. Dun Ringill (2:42)
09. Flying Dutchman (7:45)
10. Elegy (3:34)
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Jethro Tull – Bursting Out (Live 1978) (@192)
03 Dec 2007
(Review from rollingstone.com, wikipedia)
Bursting Out (1978) is Jethro Tull’s first exclusively live album. It was recorded at various locations during the European Heavy Horses tour of May and June 1978, but it is not certain where each track was recorded.
This double live album is almost too perfect. Bursting Out can’t be faulted on any of the usual live-record stumbling blocks: the performances exemplify Tull’s technical mastery and omnipresent energy, the track selection runs the stylistic gamut and provides a quick academic history of everything the group’s ever been about.
Of Jethro Tull’s previous albums, only a few aren’t represented here. There are five title tracks. These guys even reach back nine years to “Stand Up” for a hoary old blues, “A New Day Yesterday”. Other characteristic Tull sounds include folksy strumming (“Jack in the Green”), precise orchestration (“Thick as a Brick”), crunching guitar fireworks (Martin Barre’s interlude in “Minstrel in the Gallery”) and such ancient beer-blast standbys as “Aqualung” and “Locomotive Breath”. One could quibble about the choice of material but it’s a program notable for its balance.
Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, vocals, acoustic guitar
- Martin Barre / electric guitar, mandolin, marimba
- Barriemore Barlow / drums, glockenspiel
- John Glascock / bass, guitar, vocals
- John Evans / piano, organ, accordion, synthesizers
- David Palmer / portative organ, synthesizers
Track List:
CD1
01. No Lullaby
02. Sweet Dream
03. Skatin’ Away On The Thin Ice Of A New Day
04. Jack-in-the-Green
05. One Brown Mouse
06. New Day Yesterday
07. Flute Solo Improvisation / God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen / Bourée
08. Songs From The Wood
09. Thick As A Brick
CD2
01. A Hunting Girl
02. Too Old To Rock ‘n’ Roll: Too Young To Die
03. Conundrum
04. Minstrel in the Gallery
05. Cross Eyed Mary
06. Quatrain
07. Aqualung
08. Locomotive Breath
09. Damnbuster’s March / Medley
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Jethro Tull – Songs from the Wood (1977) (@256)
02 Dec 2007
(Review from vintageprog.com, progressiveworld.net)
Ian Anderson became a farmer in the second half of the 70′s, and his new and rural life-style gave him enough inspiration to Jethro Tull’s next album. As the title says, all the songs on the album are clearly inspired by the forest and nature. As a natural consequence of this, the folk-element in the music was taken a step further here, but there is still plenty of powerful electric guitar-work from Barre.
The title-track is the best known song of the album, and features great vocal-harmonies that get relieved by complex and aggressive instrumental-parts. The two other most progressive tracks here are “Velvet Green” and “Pibroch (Cap in Hand)”. Both these songs have also a clear baroque influence that works absolutely excellent.
“Hunting Girl” is the most aggressive song here, and the main melody is in a marvellous way being varied by playing it both as an aggressive riff and a polished vocal-part. The rest of the album is made up of very nice and beautiful tunes like “Cup of Wonder”, the catchy “The Whistler” and the Christmas-song “Ring Out Solstice Bells”.
Some truly fantastic tunes that have ever-changing music and lyrics bring you right into a living room in the countryside where Ian Anderson conjured up the principle of this album. What is most significant about this release is that it digs down and exposes all of the band’s talents and influences all at once on one album, nothing held back. Loved every second of it.
Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, acoustic guitar, mandolin, whistles, vocals, all instruments on track 2
- Martin Barre / electric guitar, lute
- Barriemore Barlow / drums, marimba, glockenspiel, bells, nacres, tabor
- John Glascock / bass, vocals
- John Evans / piano, organ, synthesizers
- David Palmer / piano, portative organ, synthesizers
Track List:
01. Songs From The Wood (4:55)
02. Jack-In-The-Green (2:31)
03. Cup Of Wonder (4:34)
04. Hunting Girl (5:13)
05. Ring Out, Solstice Bells (3:46)
06. Velvet Green (6:04)
07. The Whistler (3:31)
08. Pibroch (Cap In Hand) (8:37)
09. Fire At Midnight (2:27)
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Jethro Tull – Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! (1976) (@256)
01 Dec 2007
(Review from progreviews.com, wikipedia)
Too Old To Rock and Roll can be explained as the result of an Ian Anderson/David Palmer ambition to write songs for a stage musical. Anderson had even gone so far as to have a person in mind for the lead role of aging rocker Ray Lomas: Adam Faith, a British rock singer from the early 1960s. Faith was unavailable but not interested anyway and the project fell apart from there. The hectic recording schedules of the 1970s being what they were, Anderson’s decision at this juncture was to appropriate the songs and plot of the musical for a concept album. An artist was enlisted to illustrate the story on the album sleeve in the form of a comic strip, and Too Old To Rock and Roll was rushed to completion as the next Jethro Tull album.
The story would follow an aging and retired rock star named Ray Lomas as he wins money on a decadent quiz show, but finds that society has changed so much that with no one left like him anymore, he has no way of enjoying his money the way he did in the 1950s. He then decides to commit suicide via motorcycle crash but fails and lands himself in a hospital coma for an undetermined amount of time.
When he awakes he discovers society has changed again, and his style of dress and music are now popular again. In, addition, the cosmetic surgery he is treated with after disfiguring his face in the crash makes him look twenty years younger. He has become an overnight sensation with the young kids who now try to dress and act like him.
Appearing as it does in the middle of a run of albums (Minstrel in the Gallery [1975], Songs From The Wood [1977] and Heavy Horses [1978]), Too Old suffers because it breaks the stylistic and creative continuity of a period (1975-1978). In other words, Too Old isn’t disappointing for what it is, but because of what might have been.
The album is hurt by its genesis as a stage production — the tracks that do the best job of advancing the plot, evincing the central themes and of generally being appropriate for use in a musical (“Bad Eyed And Loveless,” “From A Deadbeat To An Old Greaser” the melodramatic title track and “The Chequered Flag”) are the least Tull, the latter two also are the only examples of Jethro Tull’s ’70s tunes to sound dated and linked to their time period (both are very “mid-’70s”). Even then, the actual score of the album does not follow the strip exactly, leaving out details or, in some cases, changing the plot.
The songs that are the most interesting have drawbacks in that they aren’t very good at telling the story (like “Quizz Kid”, “Crazed Institution”) and also would sound hopelessly miscast as show tunes. Although “Salamander” is a good track, it’s pretty slight — it sounds like a cobbling together of “Only Solitaire” from Warchild with the acoustic intro to Minstrel’s “Cold Wind To Valhalla”. Elsewhere, “Big Dipper” and “Pied Piper” are decent songs.
Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson has always said this album was not meant to be autobiographical of him as an aging songwriter, since he was young at the time. He says the point of the album was to illustrate how his style of music may go out of popularity with every other fashion and fade, but he is determined that if he sticks to it, everything comes back around and the style will rise again.
Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, acoustic guitar, harmonica, electric guitar, percussion, vocals
- Martin Barre / electric guitar
- Barriemore Barlow / drums, percussion
- John Glascock / bass, vocals
- John Evans / piano
with
- David Palmer / orchestral arrangements, orchestra conductor
- Vako Orchestron / saxophone solo on “From A Dead Beat To An Old Greaser”
- Maddy Prior / backing vocals on the title track
- Angela Allen / backing vocals on “Crazed Institution” and “Big Dipper”
Track List:
01. Quizz Kid (5:11)
02. Crazed Institution (4:48)
03. Salamander (2:52)
04. Taxi Grab (3:56)
05. From A Dead Beat To An Old Greaser (4:11)
06. Bad-Eyed and Loveless (2:12)
07. Big Dipper (3:38)
08. Too Old To Rock ‘n’ Roll: Too Young To Die (5:43)
09. Pied Piper (4:35)
10. The Chequered Flag (Dead or Alive) (5:23)
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Jethro Tull – Heavy Horses (1978) (@256)
20 Oct 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
An autumnal record, resplendent as the mosaic of leaves that met me in the woods this morning. It finds the middle road of challenging simplicity, of a charming fluent texture, of an short material that lasts as impression. Maybe something that “Songs From The Woods” didn’t achieve.
Similar in scope to “Songs From The Wood”, we’ve entered the dark part of the forest here, the sweet decay of dying leaves thick around us. While tinged with melancholy, “Heavy Horses” is ultimately a resilient effort, celebrating life in the midst of death. We’re immediately put on guard with the opening “…And The Mouse Police Never Sleeps”, invoking the image of the weathercock and the heavy weather ahead. The two themes — nature and inhospitable weather — bridge their last album and their next, Stormwatch, which has always suggested a trilogy.
The songs that follow are as ambitious as anything in their catalog, all hands on deck tending to their musical ministrations, suggesting a unique mixture of independence and teamwork. The unconventional rhythms and seemingly disjointed sounds might be initially daunting, but it soon yields to bedazzlement after a few sittings. Some songs adopt an irregular gait at first, but this technique allows the listener to pick apart different rhythms and weave them together into a cohesive fabric.
It is difficult to rank Jethro Tull albums; many become favorites for different reasons. “Heavy Horses”, however, is one of the clear contenders for their greatest achievement. Perhaps a most suitable album to demonstrate how not every time complexity,epic-structure or climax thinking are the only possible ways of wonderous musical moments. Sweet, subtile, sensational, relaxing, charming – ahh… what more is there to be said? A pleasure to talk about, to experience, to dream upon.
Line-up:
- Ian Anderson / flute, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, vocals
- Martin Barre / electric guitar
- Barriemore Barlow / drums, percussion
- John Glascock / bass
- John Evans / piano, organ
- David Palmer / portative organ, keyboards, orchestral arrangements
Track List:
01. …And The Mouse Police Never Sleeps (3:13)
02. Acres Wild (3:26)
03. No Lullaby (7:55)
04. Moths (3:27)
05. Journeyman (3:58)
06. Rover (4:16)
07. One Brown Mouse (3:23)
08. Heavy Horses (8:59)
09. Weathercock (4:03)
10. Living In These Hard Times (Bonus) (3:10)
11. Broadford Bazaar (Bonus) (3:40)
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Head Machine – Orgasm (1970) (@256)
07 Jul 2007
(Info from geocities.com)
During his time with Gods and Toe Fat, Ken Hensley recorded an album for a specific project called Head Machine. At this time, Hensley played mainly guitar again, as in the beginning of his career. The producer of the album “Orgasm” was David Paramor, who also produced The Gods’ albums.
The music is good, but not outstanding, and the style is something between The Gods and Toe Fat. Hensley describes this project as a “mercenary” one, which means that they were involved only for the money, professionally speaking. He states that it wasn’t really his band, and there are some doubts about the songwriting credits, since on the album it’s written that Paramor composed all the songs, but there’s definitely a “Ken Hensley touch” on them. It is one of the heaviest records that Hensley has ever been involved.
Line-up:
* Ken Leslie (Ken Hensley) – organ/piano/guitar/vocals
* John Leadhen (John Glascock) – bass guitar
* Brian and Lee Poole (Brian Glascock and Lee Kerslake) – drums
* Mike Road (?) – percussion
Track List:
01. Climax – You Tried To Take It All
02. Make The Feeling Last
03. You Must Come With Me
04. The Girl Who Loved, The Girl Who Loved
05. Orgasm
06. The First Time
07. Scattering Seeds
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Toe Fat – Toe Fat II (1970) (@256)
06 Jul 2007
(Info from sleeve)
Not long after their debut album’s completion, Toe Fat suffered the shake-ups which saw first Hensley and then Kerslake fired. They were replaced by Alan Kendall (from Glass Menagerie) on guitar and Brian Glascock, who’d of course been the original drummer in the Gods before Kerslake.
After a successful US tour they returned to the UK where they continued to gig heavily, and then it was back into Abbey Road where they proceeded to cut their follow-up album: But lacking Hensley’s songs, they found it tougher going this time around (NB: Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green puts in an uncredited appearance on one track, the bluesy “There’ll Be Changes”). However, they managed to complete the album – virtually on the eve of their second US tour, which they headlined – although the pressures of a relentless gigging/recording schedule had begun to get to Bennett, who was suffering from Glandular Fever. Nonetheless, he pulled around and the jaunt was a huge success, setting them up for the release of their eagerly-awaited second album.
Just as the album was about to come out – it all fell apart, their American management went public, and all their artists who weren’t actually established chart names (including Toe Fat) were dropped from the roster.
Consequently, by the time “Toe Fat Two” hit the stores, the band had more or less called it a day. With no band to promote it, the album sunk without a trace.
Line-up:
- John Glascock – bass
- Cliff Bennett – guitar/vocals
- Alan Kendall – guitar
- Brian Glascock – drums
Track List:
01. Stick Heat
02. Indian Summer
03. Idol
04. There’ll Be Changes
05. New Way
06. Since You’ve Been Gone
07. Three Time Loser
08. Midnight Sun
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Toe Fat – Toe Fat (1970) (@256)
05 Jul 2007
(Info from sleeve)
After Gods dissolved, Hensley, Kerslake and Glasscock moved on to the heavy rock outfit Toe Fat led by 60s soul exponent Cliff Bennett.
Having decided on a major realignment in musical direction – based largely on the new bluesier material which Hensley was writing – and realizing that a more “progressive” moniker was required to go with their new, heavier style, someone came up with “Toe Fat”. They set out on the UK colleges, pubs and clubs’ circuits where they duly broke in their new material.
They cut their selftitled first album at Abbey Road with Jonathan Peel – who’d produced the Gods’ albums and latter-day Cliff Bennett Band singles – at the controls. Peel brought in noted session flautist/harp-player Moxy (something of an Ian Anderson look alike/sound alike, as Bennett recalls) to augment the band, and the album “Toe Fat” came together with the minimum of fuss.
Line-up:
* Cliff Bennett – Piano, Vocals
* Ken Hensley – Organ, Guitar, Piano, Vocals
* Lee Kerslake – Drums, Vocals
* John Glasscock – Bass, Vocals
with
* Moxy – Flute, Harmonica
Track List:
01. That’s My Love for You
02. Bad Side of the Moon
03. Nobody
04. Wherefors and the Whys
05. But I’m Wrong
06. Just Like Me
07. Just Like All the Rest
08. I Can’t Believe
09. Working Nights
10. You Tried to Take It All
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Gods – To Samuel A Son (1969) (@192)
04 Jul 2007
(Review from allmusic.com)
Their first album, Genesis didn’t make much of an impact, nor did some non-album singles. The Gods disbanded in early 1969, though a second album, To Samuel a Son, was posthumously released.
The Gods’ second album is, like their debut, Genesis, early keyboard-based progressive rock with a psychedelic hangover, vaguely tied into a concept about the experiences of the “Samuel” in the title track. It’s more varied in tone than their first record, though, and more surprisingly, a little lighter in touch, though you can still hear some of the bluster of keyboardist Ken Hensley’s subsequent group, Uriah Heep.
Line-up:
- Ken Hensley / keyboards, vocals
- Joe Konas / guitars, vocals
- Lee Kerslake / drums, vocals
- John Glascock / bass, vocals
Track List:
01. To Samuel A Son (3:29)
02. Three O’ Clock In The Morning (3:16)
03. He’s Growing (2:25)
04. Sticking Wings On Flies (2:39)
05. Lady Lady (3:18)
06. Penny Dear (2:34)
07. Long Time, Sad Time, Bad Time (3:12)
08. Five To Three (2:59)
09. Autumn (3:12)
10. Yes I Cry (2:42)
11. Groozy (3:41)
12. Momma I Need (3:57)
13. Candlelight (2:34)
14. Lovely Anita (3:32)
15. Maria (3:58)
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Gods – Genesis (1968) (@256)
03 Jul 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
The Gods are a band that have gone down in any number of ‘rock family trees’ for housing Greg Lake, Mick Taylor but mainly future Uriah Heep members, Ken Hensley and Lee Kerslake. By the time they released their debut, Greg Lake and Mick Taylor had already moved out; principal songwriting and performing duties are therefore shared between Ken Hensley and Joe Konas. Hensley’s dominance certainly offers hints of the direction he would follow with Uriah Heep.
Musically, they were very derivative of Vanilla Fudge, particularly concerning the bombastic vocal harmonies and heavy musicianship, yet brought their own flavour to proceedings. Certainly, The Gods predictably have a very English sound at times; they are often much more polite than Vanilla Fudge, particularly with the slower numbers.
Line-up:
- Ken Hensley – keyboards, vocals
- Joe Konas – guitars, vocals
- John Glascock – bass, vocals
- Lee Kerslake – drums, vocals
Track List:
01. Towards The Skies (3:24)
02. Candles Getting Shorter (4:28)
03. You’re My Life (3:20)
04. Looking Glass (4:18)
05. Misleading Colours (3:38)
06. Radio Show (3:12)
07. Plastic Horizon (3:26)
08. Farthing Man (3:30)
09. I Never Know (5:41)
10. Love And Eternity (2:41)
11. Baby’s Rich (Bonus) (2:45)
12. Somewhere In The Street (Bonus) (2:47)
13. Hey Bulldog (Bonus) (3:01)
14. Real Love Guaranteed (Bonus) (2:29)
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