Greenslade - Greenslade (expanded / 24-bit remaster) 2 x CDs
SKU
23-PECLEC 22645
After Colosseum broke up, keyboardist Dave Greenslade formed his own progressive rock band, which most notably featured two keyboardists, bass and drums.
In addition to the original album, this features an entire extra CD of BBC recordings made from right around the time of this album and giving listeners a glimpse of how this original and early version of the band sounded live at the time!
“Newly re-mastered from the original master tapes and features an illustrated booklet with many rare cuttings and includes an essay by Malcolm Dome and exclusive interviews with Dave Greenslade and Dave Lawson. “
"Greenslade's debut elicits a style that was similar to many symphonic bands of the time, sometimes leaning towards the earlier sound of the British proto-prog bands. The lineup featured dual keyboards, no guitar and a strong rhythm section. As can be expected, the music here is highly melodic and symphonic, dominated by the keyboards of Greenslade and Lawson, which produced a predominately instrumental sound.
The vocals here are sure to rub some the wrong way, with Lawson's shrill and whiny vocals delivered in a fairly overwrought style. Thankfully, all the vocal songs have extended instrumental sections, and there are a few totally instrumental tracks.
The keyboard work is fairly reminiscent of early ELP/Egg with a hammond-driven sound. The rhythm section is quite strong as well, with Reeve's bass taking the place of the guitar, and McCulloch's strong, somewhat jazzy percussion creating a nice backdrop for the keys. The two standout tracks on the album, the instrumentals "Melange" and "Sundance" showcase this the best.
The former has some nice multi-tracked bass and great keyboard playing, along with a good sense of dynamics. The latter is a great show of keyboard work, with plenty of beautiful piano, driving hammond and powerful mellotron. After a few listens, the vocals become easier to handle, and are not nearly as distracting as before. There is plenty of great keyboard-dominated instrumental music here to recommend this album to any fan of symphonic progressive."-Mike Prete/Giant Progweed
- LabelEsoteric
- UPC5013929474543