JURASSIC SHIFT

There was a period, of about three month - nearly two years ago, where I encountered the name Ozric Tentacles no matter where I went and so it was only a matter of time before they would get on my play-list. Since then they have been one of those bands that I do listen to from time to time, but without experience any real attachment to their music.

Jurassic Shift is generally considered to be Ozric Tentacles' early masterpiece and it felt therefore as a natural introduction to the band for me. Back then, I remember listening a lot to Eloy's Planets and after noticing that the two bands shared the sub-genre of Psychedelic/Space Rock I boldly assume that there would also be quite a few similarities in their sound. Naturally I was very wrong and the first moments of the opening track Sunhair put me in my place right from the get-go. Ozric Tentacles are more of an experimental sounding band with only a hint of Space groove added to their music just to smooth out the edges and make longer compositions feel very bearable to get through. What I mean by my statement is that their music can go from sounds of trance music to heavy metal on one and the same composition without making any of these elements sound out of place thanks to the smooth elements of their Space groove filling out all the rough edges. Just listen to the 10+ minute track Feng Shui and I'm sure you'll understand exactly what I mean.

All of this is completely hunky dory with me, but there's just one more element to this band's style that tends to not be a favorite of mine. I'm talking about writing groovy music only for the sake of writing groovy music and unfortunately, for me, there are quite a few of those instances featured on every album that I've experienced from this band so far. It almost as annoying as listening to a Jazz Rock/Fusion artist adding smooth Jazz compositions into the mix, aka the Pat Metheny effect, meaning that it might not be all that annoying for some listeners at all while others get completely frustrated with the artist in question. As for my Pat Metheny-example, I do enjoy the two of his albums in my collection, but to be honest most of that enjoyment comes from my childhood nostalgia for his music and I'm actually hesitant of giving any of his other albums a go because of just that. Since I started listening to Ozric Tentacles in my early '20s, I can't really give them the same luxury and therefore have to resort to slightly more drastic measures when I judge their material.

This is definitely a great album for anyone wanting to hear very accessible experimental groove music with a hint of Space Rock added to it, but I wouldn't really want to recommend something that I'm personally all that attached to. Yes, Ozric Tentacle is a fun little band which is also what they will remain due to their unwillingness to broader their horizons outside of making groovy music for their followers. Hence, good, but non-essential.

**** star songs: Sunhair (5:43) Stretchy (6:51) Feng Shui (10:24) Jurassic Shift (11:05) Train Oasis (2:45) Vita Voom (4:48)

*** star songs: Half Light In Tillai (5:35) Pteranodon (5:40)