RAW MATERIAL

RAW MATERIAL were a two-album British Jazz-Rock band who got together in swinging London in 1969. They released their first eponymously-titled album in 1970 and followed it up with the "Time Is..." album in 1971. Raw Material's two albums are now pretty rare material as they've become real collectors items. Their music is said to be a veritable smorgasbord of musical styles, so they've inevitably found themselves in the Eclectic Prog section of Prog Archives. Let's have a listen now to the second album of Raw Material and find out if it's a magical musical melange or a dull and uninteresting blancmange.

"Ice Queen" opens the album to the atmospherically haunting sound of an icy blast of wind blowing across some vast polar ocean, so you better wrap up warm for this song, because it sounds pretty chilly out there. When you hear the first burst of the strident saxophone breaking through the ice, we're on familiar territory, because the music is very reminiscent of Van Der Graaf Generator's sparkly electric sound, only without Peter Hammill's extravagant vocals. The music is a pounding percussive powerhouse of sound with all the power of an unstoppable icebreaker making and breaking it's way through a vast icesheet. This song is like an unsinkable ship ploughing it's way relentlessly through the ice on full-power and there's even a Jethro Tull-style flautist up on deck too giving us all a flourish of his flamboyant flute alongside the sonorous saxophonist. We're back on dry land for "Empty Houses", which has a magnificent and majestic marching rhythm to it. There'd be no empty houses if this rousing and raucous music was played Live, because this is a Jazz-Rock spectacular. This powerful band have the Raw Material to deliver a thunderous blast of rollicking rock that's loud enough to raise the roof. Jazz NEVER sounded quite like this back in Louis Armstrong's or Duke Ellington's time. This is Jazz-Rock that's as hard and heavy as a solid block of granite. Along next, comes an "Insolent Lady", although I'm sure she's a charming, demure and delightful lady if this lush romantic melody is anything to go by. It's the first of two extended three-piece suites on the album, with a running time of nine minutes. The first part of the suite titled "Bye for Now" is a BIG romantic piano ballad, bathed in a sea of sensational strings. You could fall in love all over again to this gorgeous sumptuous ballad. The mid-section "Small Thief" is a proggy free- for-all, featuring a surging saxophone, dynamic power chords, stop/start staccato breaks, and a Duracel drummer passionately pounding away on the bongos as if his life depends on it. The music is bright and brassy with the lively horn section in full flow. The self-titled third and final part of the "Insolent Lady" suite is a booming and bombastic Prog-Rock anthem with all of the power and the glory and resplendent colour of a grand military tattoo on Horse Guards Parade.

Opening Side Two is "Miracle Worker", a jaunty Jazzy number which weaves its magical musical spell, sounding like Jethro Tull given an extra burst of adrenalin. The sonorous horn section and pounding percussionist are at their braggadocious best here, surging ahead like a ballroom blitz with all of the ass-kicking power of a bucking bronco. These guys ROCK! It's time to get spiritual now for "Religion", although this is no sombre midnight mass, this is a surging Jazz-Rock number that's quite literally as bold as brass. This stirring music is really more spirited than spiritual. Finally, to round off the album, the "Sun God" arrives like a bright ray of sunshine. It's the second of the long suites on the album, divided into "Awakening", "Realization and "Worship", with a total running time of just over 11 minutes. The music is a glorious combination of gentle acoustic guitar and flute passages, combined with sudden and strident bursts of power and passion from the dynamic drummer and always impressive horn section. This magnificent "Sun God" is like a radiant aurora bathed in all of the rich glowing colours of the musical spectrum. It's a rich ambrosia of music designed to "Awaken" the very soul with the "Realization" that "Worship" is not something that's only reserved for solemn church occasions. No, this is powerful resounding music to revere and respect and maybe even worship, just like a "Sun God".

Raw Material have really delivered the goods with this second album. The music hits the listener like a storming ballista laying siege to a medieval castle. In a bravura performance, this talented group of British musicians give a dazzling display of dynamic power and energy in a raucous riot of bright and brassy Jazz-Rock. This is mean and mighty, hard and heavy Jazz- Rock with a no-nonsense brass knuckles attitude.

RAW MATERIAL were a band out of England who released two studio albums. This is the debut from 1970 and the followup is called "Time Is..." from 1971. The second album is much better than the debut in my opinion, not only more consistent but just better songs overall. They were a five piece band and besides the usual instruments we also get flute, sax and harmonica. This is a short one clocking in around 32 minutes.

"Time And Illusion" is my favourite off this album and one that reminds me of "Time Is...". I was a little excited the first time I heard this song because I thought this was an indication of how good the rest of the album was going to be. Nope! Anyway strummed guitar and reserved vocals to start and it's quite sparse sounding until it kicks in just before a minute with bass, drums and organ joining the party. Contrasts continue. We get an organ solo and what sounds like vibes which sound to upfront in the mix when they arrive around 3 minutes. By the way the organ solo I mentioned goes from after 2 minutes to the end so a 5 1/2 minute solo.

"I'd Be Delighted" is my least favourite track. Just too commercial sounding even if I like he rhythm section. Some flute comes in over top but man the chorus is bad. Sax before 3 1/2 minutes. Nope I don't like this one. "Fighting Cock" opens with guitar and bass as reserved vocals arrive. It kicks into an uptempo rocker with passionate vocals before 2 minutes. Vocals stop as a sax solo arrives before 2 1/2 minutes. The vocals are back a minute later.

"Pear On An Apple Tree" was a contender for the worst song but it got the consolation prize instead. Another commercial sounding track with the focus on the vocals and guitar. I'm just not into this one at all. "Future Recollections" opens with drums and bass as intricate guitar joins in then vocals. This is relaxed but the drums are active. A laid back number with mellow vocals and a 60's vibe.

"Traveller Man" is really the only other song besides the opener that I really like. This one sounds so much like JETHRO TULL, especially the vocals. Some nice guitar after 2 minutes as the vocals step aside for the rest of the song. The guitar goes on and on then we get harmonica taking over before 4 1/2 minutes as the guitar steps aside. It's back! "Destruction Of America" is a poem of spoken words that really is pretty good if you like this sort of thing. Seems like a prayer for the USA.

Most fans point to the second album as the one to get and I'd agree. While these may be obscure releases both have had many re-issues over the years so it's all about the timing I suppose.

British band Raw Material recorded two albums over the course of as many years between 1970-71, and on their self-titled debut from 1970, they offered an exciting mix of late Sixties/early Seventies adventurous rock with traces of psych, blues, folk and jazz elements, with lengthy instrumental jamming passages woven around strong melodic tunes. They were somewhat comparable to other bands of the time such as Beggars Opera, Rare Bird and perhaps the early albums of Birth Control in just a few fleeting moments, and while not as intricate or demanding, the use of sax and flute gave the group a surface similarity to Van der Graaf Generator without the depth or complexity, although that element would manifest more on the follow-up disc a year after this, `Time Is...'

Opener `Time and Illusion' is the longest and most ambitious piece at over seven minutes. After a brief vocal introduction and supposed chorus, the band launches into a grooving extended instrumental run of punchy sounding drumming, piercing Hammond organ and glistening piano with murky bass, and the way the piece slyly picks up in tempo with a brief taste of sax in the final minute is very tasty indeed. There's a cool Rolling Stones-like Jagger swagger to Colin Catt's snarling lead vocal on `I'd Be Delighted', a tough bluesy strut with cool pumping slinking bass and a raucous rowdy group chorus with dirty flute trills and sax blasts, and `Fighting Cock' begins as a mournful early King Crimson-style lament before erupting into a Skin Alley/Rare Bird-like boisterous and frantic piano/sax blast to close the first side.

`Pear on an Apple Tree' opens the second side with an amped-up foot-tapping bluesy rock n' roller with energetic guitar and piano runs, and the dreamy shimmering electric piano tiptoes and warm drifting group vocals of `Future Recollections' call to mind the Moody Blues. `Traveller Man' is a relentless chugging rocker powered by driving dusty harmonica and wild buzzing acid-rock guitar wailing sounding not unlike swampy German psych/kraut band Krokodil as it spirals off into the heavens, and closer `Destruction of America' is mostly a spoken-word passage with Mellotron landscapes rising around it.

Although hardly essential, Raw Material's debut is a charming and undemanding rock listen that quickly reveals consistently strong instrumental and compositional skills on repeated plays (and the terrific cover art is just the added gravy!), and it's an underappreciated album well deserving of a bit more attention. The second album has more ambitious progressive rock elements emerging and is probably the stronger of their two works, but if you like any of the bands mentioned above and are a sucker for the proto-prog sounds of the late Sixties and early Seventies, there's a good chance you'll greatly enjoy what Raw Material are doing here.

Three stars.

Raw material is a strange 'lbum, it has some jazz passages highly recomended. iT's not a complex progressive band, but of you love prog music you will find in this 'lbum why this genre of music was the favourite of the 70's. The tracks included in the 'lbum are Very different one from another. The track Number 4 is ver y similar to what we call in M'xico urban rock, the best tracks for me are number 1 and traveller Man. A Great prog 'lbum for prog lovers, the bass, the wind instruments and percussions are very mel'dic, the obscure atmosphere of the 'lbum is similar to the initial prog bands of the 70's, like crimson music, the most importante isste for me is the contribution to the understanding the prog evolution from the beginings.

British band Raw Material recorded two albums over the course of as many years between 1970-71, and the second album from the band, `Time Is...' is a strong collection of mostly Proto-prog styled pieces with light psych, jazz and folk elements. Due to the inclusion of saxophone/flute player Mike Fletcher, fans of the sax dominated early King Crimson albums and Van der Graaf Generator will find much to appeal here, with bands such as Beggars Opera, Pink Floyd and Novalis also other possible little reference points. It's not an album that instantly impresses, instead one that gradually reveals the consistently strong instrumental and compositional skills of the band on repeated plays.

On lead track `Ice Queen', the band were evidently quite influenced by Van der Graaf Generator, but although the sax lines throughout almost exactly recreate the VdGG classic `Killer', accusations of this band being an outright clone of them are completely false! A powerful and dramatic opener with howling winds, a dominating vocal from keyboard player Colin Catt, drifting flute and snarling lead guitar, with a nimble spiraling piano and thrashing drums driven jazz breakdown in the middle. Announcing intimidating sax opens `Empty House', a deranged Roger Water-esque vocal from Colin snarling `You and me can have some fun, empty houses one by one...'! Plodding heavy Uriah Heep-style guitars, treated droning sax over commanding acoustic guitars before heavy electric grooves twist the piece.

The first extended piece `Insolent Lady' incorporates soft dreamy Pink Floyd-like acoustic guitar passages, a warmer vocal, glistening electric piano, heavier sax, shimmering cymbal crashes, rising organs and gentle washes of synths that almost bring a rising and falling orchestral quality. `Miracle Worker' reminds instantly of Beggars Opera, a more upbeat melodic tune driven by addictive Hammond organ, Cliff Harewood's rapid fire mangled Byrds-like guitar licks and a catchy distorted electric piano solo in the middle over smashing drums.

There's a very slight psychedelic period Beatles sound on `Religion', mostly one chord played over and over behind dirty honking sax blasts, the imposing drumming building in urgency throughout to become quite hypnotic. The three part extended closer `Sun God' offers plentiful changing moods. The first section `Awakening' delivers an unhurried acoustic guitar and flute passage not unlike the drowsier Novalis moments, quickly shattered by the raucous `Realization' with wild vocals and clattering percussion, thick Hammond organ stabs and lusty guitar grooves before calming down into mellow jamming, the murmuring bass a highlight. After a brief reprise of the first section, `Worship' closes the album on a reflective ocean of fading-in placid synths before a final stirring sax fanfare.

There's no absolute classics to be found here, nor should the album ever be confused with being a lost classic, but `Time Is...' is still a strong and solid collection of early prog- influenced tunes, and it's a shame the band didn't get a chance to offer more works from here. It's definitely one to consider adding to the collection if you come across an LP or a CD reissue at a decent price, and it remains a very enjoyable album that deserves a bit more attention.

Three and a half stars.

It was while trying to find some info on FLAMENGO's classic record that I read in a person's review that they reminded him of RAW MATERIAL. I had never heard of that band as far as I could remember so I investigated and found out they released two studio albums (1970 / 1971) and then disappeared. The Gnosis site that rates albums fairly hard had this second record rated much higher than the first but also at an avareage rating of 11 out of 16 making this one a must have according to the experts. I wasn't blown away by it that's for sure but it is a solid 4 stars in my world. I'm very pleased to own it and the sax really reminds me of Ian McDonald's work on KING CRIMSON's debut.

"Ice Queen" opens with the wind blowing then the music kicks in and takes over. This reminds me of early KING CRIMSON then the vocals follow. Love when it settles 1 1/2 minutes in and the wind returns. Contrasts continue. A jazzy interlude before 3 minutes with piano. The wind is back 4 minutes in then it kicks in again. Flute arrives after 5 minutes. "Empty Houses" opens with guitar and drums as the sax joins in. Passionate vocals a minute in. The sax replaces the vocals. Great sound after 4 1/2 minutes, quite powerful. The vocals are back after 6 minutes along with the organ. This is great right to the end. "Insolent Lady" features acoustic guitar and reserved vocals early on. Flute and bass help out too. Mellow stuff. The piano replaces the vocals then it kicks in with sax 2 1/2 minutes in. Vocals follow. A silent calm before 4 1/2 minutes then strummed guitar takes over followed by piano then organ as it builds. Drums and sax follow then vocals after 7 minutes.

"Miracle Worker" is just a pleasure to listen to instrumentally. The sax, keyboards and guitar especially. "Religion" is an uptempo vocal track with blasting sax and a catchy rhythm. "Sun God" is the over 11 minute closer. It's fairly laid back to start then reserved vocals come in before 1 1/2 minutes. A change before 4 minutes as it picks up and turns fuller. It settles again after 5 minutes. I like it ! Intricate guitar and a dreamy sound here then back to the opening soundscape after 7 1/2 minutes as themes are repeated.

Well worth checking out if your into KING CRIMSON or VDGG.

Highly obscure and criminally underrated, British outfit Raw Material may not have exactly set the world alight with the two albums they released at the beginning of the 1970s, yet both do fully deserve their place in the gilded pantheon of 'lost classics'. A self-titled effort, the first Raw Material release (barely) saw the light of day in 1970, pretty early in progressive rock's development, but thanks to a chicken-livered label and complete-and- utter apathy from the days music press this was an album cruelly doomed to fail right from the start. However, whilst 'Raw Material' may have sunk without trace when first released, the same cannot be said for the album's 21st century CD reissue, which has happily re-ignited interest in the forgotten group(so much so that the Relics imprint have re-released the album on limited-edition vinyl!). And boy do they deserve it. Blending elements of psychedelia, organ-baked blues, jazz-tinged rock, folksy meanderings and lysergic- dipped pop, 'Raw Material' is indeed a fascinating set, featuring an eclectic brew of styles that somehow manage to hang convincingly together. The album also has a strange, atmospheric tone that lends a seriously cosmic ambience to proceedings, especially on the mystic opener 'Time & Illusion' which brings to mind both 'Meddle'-era Pink Floyd and King Crimson during their more aggressive moments. Add the pacey, blues- inflected raunch of 'Fighting Cock', the sparse, dreamy acid-pop of 'Future Recollections' and 'Traveller Man's flute-doused fusion and you have a genuinely exciting album that constantly surprises with it's stylistic invention and gutsy playing. Nowadays, of course, original vinyl copies fetch a small fortune on the collector's circuit, and for once the reputation of the record is matched by the music it contains. They may have been summarily ignored in their own time, but life has a funny way of turning the tables on almost everyone and everything, and thankfully the raw deal dealt to 'Raw Material ' has finally come full circle. An excellent slice of jazzy, cosmic prog, this comes very highly recommended indeed.

STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2012

Arriving a tad late to the party...

I´ve read a fair amount of Van Der Graaf Generator references regarding this band, and if I´m perfectly honest - I don´t hear anything other than both bands feature a saxophone player and maybe the odd falsetto vocals. Kindly sponsored by Colin Catt, these vary from mellow and sweet singing - to the more distressed and theatrical falsettos that he veers into, when the music gets stomping and rocking. Still a long way from Peter Hammill though... If anything Raw Material proved that you could play rock without having the focus strictly placed on the guitars, just as VDGG did, but saying the two sound alike is like saying that bananas and strawberries look the same. You know with the yellow peel and all...

Consisting of 5 blokes with a leg and a half stuck in the late 60s, this debut revolves largely around blues rock a la The Yardbirds with alternating tempers and moods, disguising the distinctive heritage of what some folks here 4 decades later on have decided to nail down as proto-prog. Ok I´ll bite. The guitars in play here have that clean and bluesy sound, which I really love, and are often used as an additional rhythm instrument. Along with the rhythm section, that sounds like something out of the US psychedelic West Coast scene, the feel of Raw Material is much more of a 60s band trying to convert their sound to the wild and adventurous new decade. That doesn´t mean this album isn´t good though, because it is, but if you´re looking to find the next Van Damme Generator, then you´re setting yourself up for disappointment - big time(I know I did...).

My favourite thing about this release is the way the organs sound. Especially when they are accompanied by some dreamy vibraphone work. You´ll pick this up on the opening cut as well as on Future Recollections, which incidentally also are my top picks. Both tracks ravel in a hazy sort of mystique, that only magnifies itself with these sweet lullaby dreamings cooked up by the interplay of these 2 instruments. If the band had pursued this fantastic spacey asset of theirs, and stuck with a more mellow approach, I honestly think they would have broken through the magical barrier that separates the Crimsons and Floyds from the Springs and Happy the Men. Raw Material are at their very best, when they work within the moody atmospheric, and what these conjure up are slow, meditative and pensive psych sections that just takes me away. Pitted against the rockabilly tendencies of the album, i.e. Pear on an Apple Tree - with screaming stuttering rock n´ roll piano and Chuck Berry like guitars - I certainly know which side of Dr. Jekyll I prefer...

The flute and sax playing on this album is wonderfully cheerful, and whilst being several nautical miles from the great Jackson both in terms of progressive gasoline and overall dexterity, I genuinely like these small windy touches - that brings with them that warm and humane feel to the mix. They are always melodic and not far away from the Sunday sermons you´ll get from the neighbour´s house held parakeet. Phh - phhheiw - phheewwiii!!!

If you like the sound of the late 60s - a big boots n´ reefer rockabilly boy rooster teaming up with windows to dreamy horizons of delicate and soft psych cockadoodledoos, then you could do worse than tracking this small gem down. It isn´t fancy, but it´s like your old worn jeans: Comfy, - ready for all occasions and maybe hiding a tiny bag of wizard´s tobacco.

VDGG clone with less talent.

A nice album that, despite some defects (first of all the uncertainties of the vocals) is a good addition to a record collection of progressive rock.

The opening track is Ice Queen. The sound of a wind storm introduces the song. The style of the band reminds immediately Van Der Graaf Generator. Highlights are the intense use of wind instruments and the central instrumental part in jazz style. Final crescendo with beautiful harmonies and a good flute solo. A piece of excellent quality. Rating 7 / 10.

A slow guitar riff opens Empty Houses, the second track on the album. The first vocal part is quite hard, and in some ways is reminiscent of bands like Uriah Heep, for example. Then an instrumental section with great use of winds and organ, however, soon brings the band back in the territories of VDGG. Rating 7 / 10.

Insolent Lady begins with delicate voice, acoustic guitar and flute. The pleasant melody continues at the end of the vocals, and with the use of other instruments (piano, bass guitar and synth), acquires more solemnity. In this part Cressida comes immediately to mind. After that, the song continues in a more aggressive way, with some tempo changes, until the final crescendo. This final section is masterfully played, with beautiful guitar, piano and winds, but shame about the vocals, too shouted for my taste and not in tune with the atmosphere of the song. Rating 7 / 10

Miracle Worker is an excellent piece in jazz style, where even the vocals are finally decent. Great use of wind as usual and great guitar riffs. An excellent change of pace leads to the instrumental section (which includes organ and guitar solos) with an exciting crescendo. Probably the best track on the album. Rating 8 / 10.

The beginning of Religion reminds me in some ways "Raid" (a song of a Charisma band called Audience). The song has a strange, dark atmosphere and is fully supported by the incessant sound of the sax. The ending could perhaps be further developed. Rating 6 / 10.

In the last song of the album Raw Material try to recreate Pink Floyd sound, without good results. Sun God opens with delicate synths and electric guitar, and it develops slowly, in a way so similar to what Floyd did for "Echoes", but without reaching the same results. The song is characterized by incoherent combination of different musical ideas, not entirely completely developed, and the result is frankly disappointing. The vocals are mediocre and also lack the extraordinary use of winds that characterized the previous songs. Rating 4 / 10.

Not essential, but surely good and recommended especially to fans of VDGG. Rating 6 / 10.

Best Song: Miracle Worker

Rewiew milestone #50 by DN.

Test Tube Baby + Time Served Glazier = Hour Glass Figure

(Two and a Half Stars Really)

Even a casual glance at the music blogs that proliferate on the web nowadays is more than sufficient cause for we nay-sayers to intuit the discovery of a very badly hidden Zirconium Mine of 'lost gems' lying discarded in piles along its many rusting conveyor belts. Such hitherto unheralded masterpieces of psyche/prog rock are invariably all the audible evidence anyone should ever need that controlled substances and recording equipment be stored in separate locations. This would also include PCs, as how else can we explain the incoherent babbling of hirsute plankton and the torture inflicted on unsuspecting K-Mart guitars described to us in breathless prose by those blogging tour guides for Gullibles Travels?

Time Is by Raw Material is often cited as just such an example of an overlooked and dumpy plain jane who grew into a beautiful swan with dimples to die for. (Do swans have dimples?) Regardless, let's get some healthy cynical perspective into play here and appraise this worthwhile but deeply flawed album.

Ice Queen - Not a paean to a gay Eskimo alas, but a very resilient construction of several thematic ideas skilfully arranged for sax, guitar, bass, keyboards and drums. The instrumental textures are quite intriguing and conjure up reference points from Atomic Rooster, 'riffy' Colosseum, Uriah Heep and given that the opening riff is but a semi detached quaver away from that of Killer, VDGG. However, there is no need for the writs to start flying as the song has sufficient originality to carry this cribbed inspiration and is easily the strongest offering here. I like how the bass of Phil Gunn cleverly contradicts the common garden 'rawk' chords and implies some darker and ambiguous hues to spice up heavy prog's habitual and limiting palette of primary colours. Colin Catt's vocals will probably polarize opinion about this band and I have to confess that I find his feisty sandpaper holler a tad wearying after a while.

Empty Houses - Redolent of Argus era Wishbone Ash if the latter had deployed a one man brass section and possibly Deke Leonard on guitar. The music throughout is very fine indeed but Catt's caterwaul pitched so far above his comfortable range is just a war crime against silence. However, in mitigation we are led to perhaps the only sure-fire 24 carat hook on the record:

You and me can have some fun Empty houses one by one

There is a very entertaining central instrumental section featuring Catt's huge organ chords over which Mike Fletcher weaves a wonderful strand of breathy sax which seems to imitate a snake charmer enticing a huge cobra from a basket. After several delightful minutes of this delicious anticipatory teasing, it is somewhat crushing to discover that the reptile in question turns out to be about as threatening as a muzzled gecko. Gunn's busy bass which I praised on the first track simply smothers much of the detail on the second and it is clear that our Phil had yet to learn when 'less is more'. He is clearly an excellent player but never seems to interact dynamically with Paul Young's drums which lends the rhythm section a disconnected and unfocused sound as a result. All things considered this ain't too shabby at all.

Insolent Lady - This employs that endearing conceit coined by early Crimson where short sections of tenuously related music are shoehorned together in the creation of a pseudo 'suite' e.g.

The Indivisibility of the Cosmos (Part One) including Dance of the Randomly Chosen Short Mythical Creatures etc

You get the idea. This starts with Bye the Way, a pleasant enough but rather twee medieval ballad in the style of a troubadour madrigal. In places the twittering fondant flutey Crimson critter can be easily coaxed out of hiding. Thereafter we encounter a rather incongruous and angular chromatic section played in unison which carries a feint echo of Do You Like It Here Now Are You Settling In? era Man. The climax is an effective and powerful strummed acoustic progression which does alas, outstay its welcome as Catt is once again guilty of simply repeating the one melodic idea ad infinitum.

Miracle Worker - A distinctly ordinary 'plodder' albeit with a good melody cut cruelly short for an interminable instrumental work out plagiarized from Dave Brubeck's Take Five. Mercifully we return to the song section briefly before the end but Raw Material must surely wish they had omitted the unconvincing noodle orgy in the middle.

Religion - A one chord jam with no redeeming features whatsoever. Perhaps a punning and unwitting critique of the subject alluded to in the title? Invite everyone you hate to your cremation and use this as your exiting soundtrack to the infernal region.

Sun King - Yet more nested sub-plots so beloved of prog with the token Awakening - Realisation - Worship artifice of conceptual rigour. The first section is genuinely moving as it contains a very memorable harmonic vehicle which Catt for once rewards with a haunting melody sung gently and plaintively from his lower register. Yep, a very impressive section boasting some beautiful and tasteful slide playing from the hitherto understated and mainly supportive guitar of Cliff Harewood. Even the inevitable crunchy conclusion is enjoyable here as the band seem at their most assured when nailing insistent riffs into their listener's heads and Catt's rasping snarl can be borderline infectious. We briefly return to the sublime opening thematic material before the lads send us on our way with a completely over the top finale replete with pious oohing and aaahing massed choir which always brings a smile to my lips (even though it's really Spinal Tap I'm thinking about)

So in summation, there is much to value here and even more to postpone that trip to Bargepoles 'R Us for the time being. I think the main flaws on Time Is are that Raw Material have clearly overreached themselves in the creation of song suites, and are much better suited to shorter riff based compositions. Phil Gunn spends way too much time above the 5th fret on his bass and the engine room pulse of the music suffers commensurately. Young's kit is rather buried under the four string avalanche, and his fills sound dangerously sloppy on occasion. Production wise, I suspect the engineer was a young 'un, as evidenced by the common beginner's mistake of adding too much reverb to the mix (Yes, it makes things in isolation sound hugely other-worldly, but in Toto, the dynamics and detail of the performance is drowned in a woolly and unfocused mush)

However, I like the attitude of this band and they do sound convincingly ballsy and sincere, so they get an extra half star for that alone.

PS Mrs L wishes me to apologise unreservedly for what she sees as a cheap gag at the expense of tundra dwelling homosexuals everywhere. No offence nose rubbers.