GREENSLADE were a unique band for their times, with two keyboard players, bassist and drummer and no guitar, until the ensemble’s final chapter in the ’70s, but the kind of art-rock the quartet produced has proudly stood the test of time. For all the studio glory, though, the group can’t boast a lot of concert recordings to their name. There’s three discs to be found: one a compilation of 1973 and ’75 shows, one a document of the band’s 1975 performance in Sweden, and one from the reformed collective’s 2001 gig. The more interesting to fans will be “The Birthday Album – Live Switzerland 1974” that’s scheduled for August 5th release.
Preserved for posterity in Prilly on January 18th of the aforementioned year, the album’s title refers to Dave Greenslade‘s 31st birthday, the rest of the ensemble being, at that moment, Dave Lawson, Tony Reeves and Andrew McCulloch. What they played then was most of “Bedside Manners Are Extra” and “Greenslade” – done in significantly different versions from the LPs originals. That’s what on there, as prepared by Greenslade himself (read the review):
The Birthday Album –
Live Switzerland 1974
1. An English Western
2. Sunkissed You’re Not
3. Bedside Manners Are Extra
4. Pilgrim’s Progress
5. Drowning Man
6. Time To Dream
7. Sundance
8. Feathered Friends
9. Drum Folk
