THE LIZARD KING
For many, he came out of nowhere and went into obscurity, yet the least famous of all the KING CRIMSON singers, Gordon Haskell had been on the scene even before he cropped up on “In The Wake Of Poseidon” and spread his wings on “Lizard”. In the late ’60s, Haskell jammed with Jimi Hendrix, had an album produced by legendary Arif Mardin several years later – only to see his success pale against his schoolmate Robert Fripp’s – then went to work with Cliff Richard… to be re-born last year with a massive hit “How Wonderful You Are”. That’s why there’s quite an interest has risen to his previous work, which is gathered now on “The Early Years” compilation that Gordon calls “my first solo recordings”.
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1. Good Man Down 2. Feel Like Running Away 3. Mumbo Jumbo 4. Lean On Me 5. Rolling Down That Hill 6. Incredible But True 7. Whatever Blows Your Dress Up 8. It’s Just A Plot 9. Tortured Heart 10. Hanging By A Thread |
WHO WON’T HAVE TO WAIT TOO LONG
When back in 1970 John Sloman, then a lead singer with URIAH HEEP, warbled “I won’t have to wait too long” those who loved his voice hoped the former LONE STAR frontman would keep up well when left on his own in the wake of HEEP’s break-up. That wasn’t to be – even though Sloman’s talent didn’t rest unnoticed and the golden-voiced one was invited to join Gary Moore and featured on the guitarist’s “Rockin’ Every Night”. After that John seemed to disappear, and perhaps it’s his involvement in PRAYING MANTIS 2003’s "The Journey Goes On" that prompted the singer to resume the career – and bring forth his first ever solo album, “Dark Matter”, out now. Well about the time: we’ve been waiting too long.
| 1. Humankind (What’s On Your Mind) 2. New Day 3. Joe Public 4. Room At The End Of The Hallway 5. Rage Of The New Age 6. Weatherman 7. Rose Without A Thorn 8. Really Don’t Want To Know 9. Jammin’ With Jesus 10. Dream A Dream |
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BYRON’S LAST POEMS
Early ’80s saw the decline of the charismatic David Byron, whose voice had loomed so large in URIAH HEEP legend, and in 1985 he died. The last project David immersed himself in was THE BYRON BAND he formed in 1979 with a young guitarist called Robin George, the one to work later with another rock casualty, Phil Lynott. Yet with 1981’s “On The Rocks” the only output by the band, there remained more decent material in Robin’s archives. Two years of seeking out the deal led to nothing, and now “Lost & Found” will be released by George himself and available for purchase in July at www.robingeorge.co.uk, benefitting The Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy charity. A good cause and a good reason.
| 1. Learn The Dance 2. I Need Love 3. Fool For A Pretty Face 4. Safety In Numbers 5. Bad Girl 6. One Minute More (1982 demos) 7. Bad Girl (1980 demo) 8. She Was Good 9. Fool For A Pretty Face 10. She Was A Dream 11. She Got Pride 12. Untitled Melody 13. Learn The Dance (writing at David’s house 1981) |
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14. How Do You Sleep 15. Safety In Numbers 16. I Need Love 17. Piece Of My Love 18. Goodnight Blues 19. Last Chance Jam (1981 rehearsals) 20. Bad Girl 21. Start Believing 22. July Morning 23. How Do You Sleep 24. Sweet Lorraine 25. Piece Of My Love 26. Liverpool Blues 27. Roll Over Beethoven (live in Liverpool 1980) 28. Angelsong (Robin’s dedication to David) |
ON THE 7th HOUR, ON THE 7th DAY
They never played together before, yet they thrived on the parallel branches of the DEEP PURPLE family tree: Jon Lord in WHITESNAKE and Bob Daisley in RAINBOW, not mentioning other great gigs the two had been involved in, like PAL or Ozzy Osbourne. Earlier this year though, when retired organ player visited Australia where the bass plucker lives, to perform his own “”, Jon came up on stage to enforce the sound of Bob’s new band, THE HOOCHIE KOOCHIE MAN. To not document that would be a crime, but crime there won’t be with a release of the eponymous double CD and DVD later in the year. A value of the Aussie Jimmy Barnes singing on some tracks is arguable, still.
Disc 1:1. Hideaway |
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Disc 2:13. The Hoochie Coochie Man * |
MAIDEN DANCING
They still keep their axes high and still are unbreakeable even in unbelievable three lead guitars format, so September will see the release of the IRON MAIDEN new album, “Dance Of Death”, which is to be mixed not only in usual stereo but also in 5.1 Surround – a good reason to be dancing. On the side note, there’s a bit of trivia about the album: a track “New Frontier” is the first number composed by the drummer Nicko McBrain.
| 1. Wildest Dreams 2. Rainmaker 3. No More Lies 4. Montsegur 5. Dance Of Death 6. Gates Of Tomorrow 7. New Frontier 8. Paschendale 9. Face in The Sand 10. Age Of Innocence 11. Journeyman |
CLIVE THE CLAVICHORDER
Clive Nolan is one of the most proficient keyboard operators in today’s progressive rock. Whether it’s with PENDRAGON, with his pet project ARENA, or with Oliver Wakeman, there’s always an air of high art about Clive’s writing and playing, valued even by John Wetton who invited Nolan to work on the veteran’s "Rock Of Faith"album. No doubt, then, such a prolific work must have resulted in certain number of out-takes, demos and other rarities that are becoming available now with a series of arhival releases starting with “Skeletons In The Cupboard (Archive Volume 1)”:
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1. Walk On Water (Clive Nolan) 2. Listen To The Doctor (PARTNERS IN CRIME) 3. Heaven (PARTNERS IN CRIME) 4. Old Priest Suite (film music) 5. Say Goodbye To The President (THE CAST) 6. Beauty And The Beast (dance mix) 7. Jigsaw (SHADOWLAND demo) 8. The Whistleblower (SHADOWLAND demo) 9. In My Heart (Tina Riley) 10. Tomorrow Today (THE CAST) 11. Out in the Cold (THE CAST) 12. Quantum Leap (Nolan and Orford) |
INTELLECTUAL BACKUP
While many consider "Subterranea - The Concert" the best performance by IQ, there’s no limit for excellence – as there’s no limit for the opinions: in order to fund new, enhanced stage show and to let the fans indulge in the band’s live output, a new project has begun, entitled “The Archive Collection”. Coming from the artists’ own cupboards, there will be many gig recordings up for taking, the first being IQ20″, a soundboard recording of the February 16th, 2002 concert in Germany. “Collections” means “for collectors”, so this 2-CD set will be a strictly limited edition of 2,000 copies.
Meanwhile, the new album is at the writing stage, and the mixing of the “IQ20” DVD is being done, that’s why the re-recording of “Tales From The Lush Attic” is put on hold for a while.
Disc 1:1. Intro |
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Disc 2:8. The Narrow Margin |
