Colosseum - Those Who Are About to Die Salute You (1969)

Genre: Progressive Rock, Jazz-Rock, Blues
Format: flac + cue + log
Released: 1969
Label: Castle Records

While Colosseum lasted only a little more than three years, producing five albums in that time, they made a great impression on the blooming subgenre of progressive rock, first with the energetic jazz- and blues-influenced "Those Who Are About to Die Salute You", with its unusual
chord progressions and variant song structures, and then with the epic "Valentyne Suite". The
title track of Valentyne Suite, a 17-minute composition, pushed keyboardist Dave Greenslade to the forefront of the band and into the spotlight of progressive music, a position he was increasingly uneasy with over the years. Drummer Jon Hiseman, on the other hand, gradually moved towards the jazz fusion area. Colosseum began to undergo personnel shifts with their third album, Grass Is Greener, with everyone calling it quits upon the departure of Greenslade in 1971. In 1975, Hiseman formed Colosseum II, but this time the mandate was firmly jazz fusion. ( Allmusic )

*** Colosseum's debut album is a powerful one, unleashing each member's instrumental prowess at one point while consolidating each talent to form an explosive outpouring of progressive jazz/rock the next. Those Who Are About to Die Salute You is coated with the volatile saxophone playing of Dick Heckstall-Smith, the thunderous keyboard assault of David Greenslade, and the bewildering guitar craft of James Litherland. Together, Colosseum skitters and glides through brisk musical spectrums of freestyle jazz and British blues, sometimes held tightly in place by Greenslade's Hammond organ, while other times let loose by the brilliancy of the horn and string interplay. Each song sparks its own personality and its very own energy level, giving the band instant notoriety upon the album's release in 1969. Not only did Colosseum sound different from other jazz fusion bands of the era, but they could easily take the unconventional elements of their style and churn them into palatable and highly significant musical thoroughfares. Some of the more compelling tracks include "Walking in the Park," led by its powerful trumpet segments, and "Pretty Hard Luck," which embarks on a stylish blues excursion with colorful keyboard sections on the periphery. "Beware the Ides of March" borrows a page out of J.S. Bach's notebook and turns his classical poignancy inside out, while "Mandarin" and "Backwater Blues" are created with the perfect jazz and blues friendship in mind, representing Colosseum's fused sound spotlessly. Best of all, the album never strays from its intensity or its creativity, the very foundation that the band is built on. Their next album, Valentyne Suite, mirrors the same instrumental congruity as Those Who Are About to Die, and is equally entertaining. ( Allmusic )

01. Walking in the Park

02. Plenty Hard Luck

03. Mandarin

04. Debut

05. Beware the Ides of March

06. The Road She Walked Before

07. Backwater Blues

08. Those About to Die

Dave Greenslade: Organ, Keyboards, Vocals

Dick Heckstall-Smith: Saxophone, Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor)

Jon Hiseman: Drums, Liner Notes

James Litherland: Guitar, Vocals

Tony Reeves: Bass, Guitar (Bass), Producer

*** Strong debut of one of the most popular jazz-rock groups.The album comprises jazz- rock,
blues and symphonic rock tunes, reflecting musical background and aspirations of band members. It opens with rhytmically furious cover of Graham Bond's 'Walking In The Park' leading us to more jazzier 'Plenty Hard Of Luck' ; 'Mandarin' shows all the skill of Tony Reeves, a bass guitarist extraordinaire , while closing track of the A side of the record is literally their debut, origins of which are coming from John Mayall's superb 'Bare Wires' album. Side B of the record beginns with the proof of how inspirational can one classic piece be for the rock performers; following two numbers show band's blues affinities and closing track is jazz-rock at it's utmost. All in all, this 'Morituri Te Salutant' album has shown Colosseum's enormous potential which will fully explode on their masterpiece follower. ( Progarchives )

Jeff Beck - Blow By Blow 1975 (1992 Mastersound SBM EK 53442)

Genre: Jazz-Rock
Format: flac + cue + log
Released: 1992
Label: Epic

01. You Know What I Mean

02. She's A Woman

03. Constipated Duck

04. Air Blower

05. Scatterbrain

06. Cause We've Ended As Lovers

07. Thelonius

08. Thelonius

09. Diamond Dust

Jeff Beck seems finally to have figured out that his is not going to replace the great Sixties group which bore his name and featured Mickey Waller, Rod Stewart, Nicky Hopkins and Ron Wood. After some trying moments with a couple of abortive bands whose principal purpose was to give him someone to play with, this all-instrumental album points a newer, healthier direction for the man whose playing is more emblematic of the Yardbirds than either Jimmy Page, who followed him, or Eric Clapton, whom he succeeded.
Beck's music here is new only for him. It is closely connected to Stevie Wonder's, Herbie Hancock's and perhaps most of all, to that of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, his current touring partner. The only axe Beck has to grind is his Gibson; there are no statements here, only his usual flurry of notes. His affection for Max Middleton's keyboard playing seems more sensible than it did with the group that made Rough and Ready. Middleton is derivative of Chick Corea and Hancock, but it hardly matters. His principal function is to complement Beck and he does that well. Richard Bailey's percussion is a little freer than it needs to be, often as not, but then, this is not rock & roll.

Aside from "She's a Woman," where Beck's guitar literally sings a verse, there is little here to distinguish one song from another. But the tunes blend together pleasantly and the second side, particularly, contains some hints that Beck may finally have found a mode in which he is once more comfortable. His exhibitionism can find full play within the ensemble instrumental complex, as it never could when it had to worry about being upstaged by a vocalist. And in places, he is even lyrical.

George Martin produced, but without orchestral charts to arrange, he seems to have had very little to do, other than balance the mixes. Chances are that Beck will make better records, if he chooses to continue to work within the framework established here. The important thing about Blow By Blow, however, is that Beck seems finally to have found something to do with his talent other than waste it.
- Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 6/5/75.