TIME AND TIDE

The cracks were definitely appearing by the time of this Greenslade's fourth album in 1975. The band split up after this release, and although the name has been resurrected from time to time with varying line ups, this was their final studio album.

The clues that things are not quite right are clear enough to see. The tracks are all brief, the album having a woefully short running time of just 32 minutes. There's no Roger Dean sleeve either, although Patrrick Woodroffe, who Dave Greenslade would go on to work with in a solo capacity, does contribute a striking image for the front cover. Shame about the mugshots on the rear though!

The album opens with a couple of upbeat pop based songs, neither of which makes an impression. The rather nondescript vocals, and lack of a decent tune render these songs anonymous.

Things veer towards the bizarre with a quick romp of vocalising by the Treverva Male Choir on the brief "Time", followed by a moody mellotron passage for "Tide". Only the closing instrumental "Catalan" on side one offers anything approaching the sort of thing we have come to expect from Greenslade. This diverse instrumental may have Spanish hand claps, but it is a least adventurous and interesting.

Unfortunately, the second side of the LP takes a decided turn for the worse, with five mediocre short tracks. "The flattery stakes" must rank as the worst track Grenslade have put their name to, being a poorly performed pub rock number which sounds like a very rough demo. Only the closing "Gangsters" offers anything approaching the standard which might be expected of the band, so it is significant that this brief instrumental was written as a theme tune to a BBC programme.

Both the brevity of the tracks, and the lacklustre performances of these songs indicate that the tank was empty, and thankfully the band had the good sense to call it a day. In all, a very disappointing affair, largely devoid of inspiration or indeed effort.

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