I SPIDER

4.5 stars. WEB had released two studio albums when their singer decided to leave so enter Dave Lawson who would change their sound to more of a Jazz style. He had just left EPISODE SIX not long after Ian Gillan and Roger Glover left for DEEP PURPLE. I'm such a fan of Lawson's keyboard work and here he plays piano, organ, harpsichord, mellotron along with taking care of the vocals. He would go on to play in the amazing band GREENSLADE a few years after this. Man I like this album. The lyrics and sound all click with me. A six piece with two drummers, a sax player and the usual rock instruments. I have the Esoteric release which has some great liner notes and I love the old concert posters they show, all nine of them as we get a picture of how incredible it must have been to be in England in 1970 with all these great bands playing together. Okay the album cover is lame.

Up first is the over 10 minute suite called "Concerto For Bedsprings" dealing with lack of sleep and more. A dramatic intro but it settles with vocals and organ. A change at 1 1/2 minutes as it turns more sparse but also more urgent. Another change after 2 1/2 minutes with piano, sax and jazzy bass lines. So good! Percussion too. Reserved vocals after 4 1/2 minutes then it kicks back in with bass, vocals and more 6 minutes in. It settles back after 9 1/2 minutes. Great start.

"I Spider" is one of my favourites. Mellow organ and bass to start as a beat arrives then soft vocals. It kicks in some before 1 1/2 minutes with drums and guitar but then settles back as contrasts continue. Some nice sax after 5 minutes then the vocals return before 7 minutes. Some sinister sounding sections on this one which isn't surprising considering the lyrics.

"Love You" opens with mellotron and picked guitar I believe. Relaxed vocals too then it calms right down at 1 1/2 minutes. It then kicks in with some power with sax over top as passionate vocals join in. Nice. Love the sound of that guitar soling after 3 1/2 minutes as the vocals step aside. They return a minute later. Great sound.

"Ymphasomniac" along with the title track are my favs and this is the only instrumental on the album. I like how it builds and we get mellotron after a minute. A calm with bongos 2 minutes in then heavy drums only a minute later before piano joins in. I like this a lot. Sax follows and more then organ comes to the fore after 4 1/2 minutes. So good!

"Always I Wait" has these lyrics about girls are wearing skirts that get shorter and shorter(haha) reminds me of my French teacher in elementary school who wore mini-skirts back in the early seventies. Surprised they haven't made a comeback. Heavy fuzzed out sounds and organ early as the vocals join in. A calm after 2 1/2 minutes with organ, bass and a beat as the vocals stop. Jazzy bass before 3 1/2 minutes then the vocals return briefly. They are back though before 5 1/2 minutes then some heaviness. It settles with vocals after 6 minutes.

I spent a lot of time with this one and SAMURAI's debut which is really the followup to this one. That review is next.