ATOMIC ROOOSTER

Crane and Palmer came form the incredible "Arthur Brown's" adventure. Being as old as I am, I have the advantage to have seen this band on the TV set at the time ("Fire" of course). I can tell you that it was quite an experience!

Needless to say that to fully appreciate this album, you need a strong dose of love for the early days of hard-rock music with an inch of blues (like Purple, right?). To be honest, the bluesy aspects here were not the ones I liked the most (I have never been into this, actually). No wonder that "Broken Wings" nor "S.L.Y." could never please me.

On the contrary, several songs on the rockier side are just great. "Before Tomorrow" for instance will pave the way to lots of great heavy bands (Heep for instance). You just need to experience the fantastic intro to acknowledge. My fave here: wild, distorted, chaotic, jam-oriented (not far from the master Hendrix at times if it wasn' t for the keys). A monster track. Fully instrumental. Not prog. Just great. THE highlight.

Carl's work is of course fabulous. Just listen to the wild parts of "Banstead". The great Moon (Keith of course) is not far away.He IS the highlight in this song; just like during "Decline And Fall" during which his drum solo is just incredible. In those days, a drum solo on a studio album was not really frequent. This one is just superb. Like the whole number actually.

As if the band wanted to show another profile, they released the delicate "Winter". Introduced with some fluting and delicate piano, this song is an exception on this rather heavy album. The band is really showing another side of their music. Again, Carl is wonderful and the smooth flute playing is so charming (but you might know that I am rather biased). A true and profound prog song. Another highlight.

I am rating this album on the high range. Just because I am a dep lover of this lost era. Four stars.

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