COLOSSEUM

Colosseum's "Valentyne Suite" was one of the first records of the group i ever heard and owned, finding an lp copy of it in 1988. I was instantly impressed with the combination of variety and cohesion here in this record which the band pull off incredibly well.

On the first track called "The Kettle", they remind me of Cream, and "outcream" Cream in a dazzling display of guitar-led, no holds barred aggression. The song is also a focus for the vocal work of James Litherland, who is a fine singer, as evidenced also by the remaining numbers on side one of the lp. Those other side one tracks display a crafty knowledge of both the blues and jazz that are united in a partly rock framework, and whether there are vocals or instrumental passages, things never drag for an instant or lose your interest.

A highlight of this whole record is the drumming of Jon Hiseman, who at times has a busy, aggressive delivery, but never can be summed up as only that , what with a creativity and colorful approach that has set many a benchmark for other drummers.

The greatest highlight of this record, though, is the three part "Valentyne Suite" comprising side two of the lp. A longtime staple of the band's live concert repertory, and rightly so, as it brilliantly displays the instrumental prowess and capabilities of Colosseum in a stunning, exciting work that was just made to be played live. There are a few backing vocals to the suite, but one of the really remarkable things about it, is how different instrumentalists, like Dick Heckstall-Smith on sax and Dave Greenslade on keys especially, have room to breathe and articulate some wonderful soloing, but never loose "the framework of the whole". (same could be said of Litherland's guitar soloing) And Tony Reeves on bass does a great job of bridging the gap between Hiseman's complex, multi-faceted drumming technique and the rest of the band. There is a cohesive direction to The Valentyne Suite, and near the end of "Theme Three", Hiseman plays some drum flourishes that unite the other band members and leave you at the end wishing things hadn't finished. This album has to be heard to be believed. Five stars.

Considering the band were only in existence for three years they had enormous impact on the progressive and jazz rock scenes, and to hear them again some twenty-two years after they broke up is quite something (even more remarkable is that they are soon to release a new studio album and are touring again!). The band came from many backgrounds, but brought into the rock arena a strong love and understanding for both the blues and jazz.

Jon Hiseman has long been rated as one of the best jazz drummers around; while there can be few sax players in the world that can stay the pace with Dick Heckstall-Smith. Add to that the guitar skills of Clem Clempson and keyboard playing of Dave Greenslade, with the vocals of Chris Farlowe (surely one of our most under-rated singers) and bassist Mark Clarke and here was the 1971 line-up back in full flow.

Not really a band made for singles or the radio, this is a band that strived on improvisation and building on each other, and so many years later that is still very evident in their performance. Yes, there are loads of solos and long instrumental passages, but the music just sounds right ? created by people with tremendous skill and mastery of their craft but at the same time not being overindulgent (well, not too much). They know when the time is right to bring the rest of the band back in.

A tremendous gig by a band on top form ? Hiseman says that the years apart have meant that they now play better than ever, he could well be right.

Not so much a review as a personal view of an album which I believe was the first to be released on the Verigo label, so found it interesting, as I like a lot of music from the same label.

Colosseum's, Valentyne Suite starts with the very energetic "The Kettle". As an opener, gets me going quickly. Not much of a brass man, so don't really care much for the brass segments in this release. Butty's Blues is as best they come when we talking The Blues'

Throughout this record, I find the keyboards of Dave Greenslade, to be exceptional. Valentyne Suite ' Theme One ' Excellent!

Overall an enjoyable album, but rates on the wrong side of 3.5, so a 3 is my verdict.

The Valentyne Suite is often seen as the peak of Collosseum's career. The styl is classified as fusion. In this case it's a fusion of brassrock and hardrock; a mixture of Chicago and Deep Purple flooded with solo's of guitars, saxophones, flutes and keys. This fusion sometimes comes close to progressive styles like eclectic prog or symphonic prog. For 1969 this belongs to the first wave of progressive rock together with King Crimson, Renaissance e.a..

-Side one- The first side is filled with four songs with styles differing from hardrock (The Kettle) to brassrock and also some jungleflute parts. While I'm not so fond of the vocalist I do admire the direct sound of the many solo's and the variation in sound.

-Side two- Just one long track - the titletrack: the Valentyne Suite. Someone could expect a romantic track because of the title, but this is not the case. The Valentyne Suite is just a long jazzrock/brassrock track with a nice theme and lot's of jams. The structure could have been more intellectual, but the solo's are great. This is one long instrumental piece.

This record has a great production for it's time and the musicians are highly skilled. If the songstructures were more intellectual this could have been a masterpiece.

This was COLOSSEUM's debut released in 1969. It's very much a Jazz / Blues affair and very commercial sounding at times. I must admit that to my ears this doesn't compare to their next two albums in "Valentyne Suite" and "The Grass Is Greener". I would swear there were at least two horn players but apparently Dick Hectall-Smith could play two at once. Alrighty then.

"Walking In The Park" is catchy with horns and vocals standing out.Guitar before 1 1/2 minutes when the vocals stop but the horns continue to blast.Vocals are back late. "Plenty Hard Luck" is led by the guitar, drums and horns early.Vocals join in quickly though.The organ of Greenslade takes the lead then the horns are back out front.Vocals return 3 1/2 minutes in. Not much of a fan of these first two tracks.

"Mandarin" is my favourite track on here. Love the sound of this one right from the start. We get a bass solo too. Guitar leads after 2 1/2 minutes and we get a full sound before 4 minutes. "Debut" builds then guitar comes in after a minute but it's brief. Catchy stuff. The organ leads after 3 1/2 minutes then we get a drum solo 5 minutes in then the horns return with the organ. More brief guitar.

"Beware The Ides Of March" is perplexing to me with that "Whiter Shade Of Pale" melody. I do like the guitar and dissonant horns though. "The Road She Walked Before" features percussion and vocal melodies before the vocals arrive with horns. Piano leads 1 1/2 minutes in when the vocals stop.

"Backwater Blues" opens with guitar before the vocals come in.This is Bluesy stuff. A sax solo comes in after 3 minutes then the vocals return late.

"Those About To Die" is uptempo with horns, organ and drums leading. Guitar before a minute.

This certainly has it's moments but i'll stick with the two albums they did after this one.

The first live album from a band I have never rated. But I paid top dollar for this copy of the CD version. It is regarded as a classic album and it is highly regarded.

Colosseum was a fusion band who also dipped into the symph prog scene with their first very ELP influenced/influencing albums. Or perhaps make that The Nice. The keyboards here is very much in the Keith Emerson style. The guitars are blues and so is the vocals. Maybe this is like what ELP with Jimi Hendrix would had sounded ? Jimi Hendrix was once auditioning for ELP and that project almost became a reallity. Most of this album sounds like ELP with blues vocalist and guitarists.

The quality is good throughout. In 2011, the music feels far too much standard big band blues/jazz to me. The ELP keyboards is the difference between this live album and umpteen other big band blues live albums. None of the tracks here is great either. But it is still a good live album and that's it.

3 stars

I have to admit that it is my favourite album of Colosseum. It has accompanied me since 1971 and I always return to it with great pleasure. I love to listen to its vinyl version (do you know the wonderful feeling when you take out the record carefully from the envelop, wipe it with a cloth with an antistatic liquid and put it on a turntable?), but I do not discard a CD played in the car either. This album has a magic, some force which does not allow you to stop listening to it. It is just like in Hitchock's films: they start with an earthquake and then the tension continues to grow. The Kettle is an earthquake here - it is a hard rock piece, with a daring rhythmic section where a guitar riff develops - if it had appeared in a Led Zeppelin album, it would have become a world-wide hit. The tension grows with the jazzy work Elegy, recorded with a participation of a string instruments, a nostalgic blues Butty's Blues and classic rock The Machine Demands A Sacrifice, to achieve the crescendo in Valentyne Suite, occupying the whole second side of the vinyl. It is a real masterpiece, the biggest artistic achievement of Colosseum. It consists of three parts, which were created in different periods and composed by different persons. However they constitute a coherent and logic whole, presenting first love feelings and first disappointments.The composition is perfectly arranged. Every instrument is precisely in its place, there is order, but there is also place for improvisations of organ, saxophone, and the guitar. It starts with a wonderful motive with organ, with a vibraphone undertaking a dialogue with them. Another part is a thrilling duo of saxophone and grand piano (yes, yes, no electronic imitator, but a real grand piano). Then a quick riff with the bass guitar introducing an energetic solo with organ finishing the first part. The second part starts pathetically; after a few organ accords there enter vocalize sung by several persons. It forms a background for a calm, saxophone solo part, which then becomes more predacious, not to say aggressive. As it is in Dick ... Strong drums accents end the second part. In the third part the guitar claimed to speak. The initial melancholic atmosphere, constructed together with a saxophone and organ, disappears when it starts to play more aggressively, and the rhythmic section sets out a quicker speed. And it continues till the culmination, followed by the repeated leading motive ending the work. In my personal progrock suites' ranking, Valentyne Suite has the leading place, although Tarkus ? ELP, Nine Feet Underground ? Caravan, or Close To The Edge ? Yes are just behind it.

I warmly recommend this box both to ardent fans of Colosseum to those who would like to start their adventure with the wonderful music. Zealous fans will be interested in concert versions of well-known compositions not published yet as well as radio recordings for BBC. The latter was included in the CD in the way they were broadcast in the radio, i.e., with preceding announcements, and even interviews. Part of the concert recordings comes from the same tour, which documented with the album Live 1971, but they are other versions, from other concerts. For example, three compositions connected into one lasting 22 minutes: I Can't Live Without You, The Time Machine, and The Machine Demands A Sacrifice, while the second one is just a long drum solo part. Sensational! Or the recording coming from the same concert in Manchester of Valentyne Suite, lasting longer than it is in the studio album and is recoded with more freedom. Thrilling! Those who want to enter the magic world of Colosseum music will find almost everything there which was included in subsequent studio albums. There are over 4.5 hours of music there! It is also worth to note the extremely beautiful issue of the box. Intriguing graphics, hard covers, nice mounting of the disks in plastic boxes, and finally the carefully prepared 36-page-long leaflet which is a real mine of knowledge about the group. It is true that there are some small errors (it is wrongly stated that the first four compositions in the second CD come from the Valentyne Suite album, while in fact they come from The Grass Is Greener), but the overall product makes a fantastic impression.

This double concert album was recorded in new composition of the band, including Barbara Thompson on saxophones. It contains both classic works and songs from Tomorrow's Blues. They are compositions newly arranged and performed in a completely different way when compared to the old versions. If we take into consideration the fact that the skills of the musicians developed further in the meantime, we get a recipe for a masterpiece. And in fact this album is a real masterpiece. The musicians clearly wanted to refer to the famous album Live of 1971, which can be proven with the application of the fonts on the sleeve equal to the fonts on the album of 1971. The end of the album Live 05 is marked by the composition entitled Lost Angeles in a well developed and improvised form, just like it was the case in Live. And here is the end of the connections. And the music? It is simply thrilling! Almost all compositions included in the Live 05 deserve the appraisal. Their new versions are simply revealing. If you know previous versions, also so perfectly finished and performed in a master way, it is difficult to believe that you can have them even better. But it is so! Let me take Valentyne Suite as an example here. It starts in a classic way, with a motive run by organ supported with a saxophone. However, the bass line is run in a different way and it indicates certain surprises. The piano and saxophone duo is wonderful mainly thanks to the reliable Barbara, who then shows her skills in a beautiful, sober solo part, followed by a dynamic solo part of Dave with his organ. The second part starts in a sweet and melancholic way. The vocalise of Mark is a masterpiece, and then another saxophone solo entrance. The band accelerates during it, and an effective drum accent ends the second part, which makes an even bigger impression than it is achieved in the studio album. The third part is marked by a calm-down and a lazy riff of the guitar followed by organ. It is only a dynamic entrance of the drums, and a bass guitar solo part afterwards and one of the most beautiful moments of the album starts: Clem's solo part with the guitar. At first, a slow part with rare accords, developing into a quick and dynamic part with widened, Santana-like sounds. The rhythmic section is hilarious, and Clem enters into a trance producing sounds as series from a machine gun. And the final motive. Genial! Tomorrow's Blues is also exceptional. A long instrumental introduction again is one of the clearest moments of the album. When the main topic played with the organ appears, it becomes warm and wonderful. Chris starts to sing at the background of the repeating, guitar riff. Finally, the best part: reliable, wonderful Barbara in a moving solo part.

A strong album from Dave Greenslade's first band cements Dave's position as the jazz-rock Keith Emerson: Greenslade's organ playing has all the flair and aggression of Emerson, but has far less classical influence and takes far more from the jazz side of things. The band as a whole does a good enough job, with a side of short songs that resemble the sort of material Cream might have released if they had a hot organist and a bit more fusion influence, and the epic Valentyne Suite itself, a true keyboard tour de force for Greenslade. Not the best album that the Vertigo label would release, but a very fine one nonetheless, and an excellent start for a wonderful home for progressive music.