STRENGTH OF A DREAM, THE GRAVY TRAIN ANTHOLOGY

Although Gravy Train's career was all too brief, they still managed to switch labels midway through, resulting in two albums for Vertigo and two for Dawn Records. "Strength of a dream" is taken from their time with Dawn, thus consisting of the albums "Second birth" and "Staircase to the day" in their entirety, plus a number of non album A and B sides. As a pleasing bonus, we also get six tracks recorded for the band's unreleased 5th album. The epithet "Anthology" is therefore somewhat misleading, as there is nothing at all here from the band's first two albums.

The first of the albums included here, "Second birth" is much maligned in terms of the band's overall catalogue. When compared to their finest works, this is understandable, but heard in isolation it still contains some fine heavy prog songs with ambitious arrangements.

The bonus tracks on the first disc from around the same period consist of a couple of single B sides, including the now apply named "Sanctuary" (the label releasing this compilation), and the also appropriately titled A-side "Climb aboard the gravy train". The latter two songs were actually the band's final release, coming after the "Staircase to the day" album. While the eponymous A-side has clear commercial potential it failed to chart, perhaps because of the derivative nature of the sound.

The band's final album "Staircase to the day" occupies the second CD. This was in the eyes of many the band's finest hour, the album having a confidence to it deserving of far greater success than it achieved. Given the adverse circumstances surrounding its recording, including the theft of all the band's equipment, it is a credit to all involved that they managed to hold it together long enough to complete such a fine album.

The bonus tracks on this disc are the aforementioned recordings for the band's abortive fifth album, including two very different versions of "Playing in the city". That particular song would later form the title track of an album released under the name of the Norman Barratt band. As a whole, the tracks are lighter than on the two albums covered by this compilation, the objective apparently being to finally secure commercial success. The final track is a rare cover by the band of Free's "The stealer".

Overall, this is a superb way to obtain Gravy Train's third and fourth albums, together with some interesting if largely non-essential bonus tracks. The re-mastering brings out the fine arrangements well, while retaining the of-its time nature of the music.