Customer Reviews

Live

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'll have to admit the reason I bought this album was because it was a double and was cheaper than the other double albums at the time. Wow, what a surprise! I'd never heard of this band before and just took a chance that paid off. This album rocks! I've never been a big fan of jazz-rock but this one really hit it off for me. The musicianship combined with Chris Farlowe's voice makes for an exciting combination that this band never duplicated. Because of this album, I bought an earlier release by them and could hardly listen to it. This album displays some great musicianship and I liked the keyboards, the guitar playing, and especially Dick Heckstall-Smith's double sax playing. Since the demise of Collosseum, I tried to keep track of everyone and was only able to keep up with Greenslade, especially after seeing them play in Madrid, Spain twice. I heard Collosseum got back together again recently and I would love to see that show. I have looked for this locally on CD but all they have is a compilation of their older and newer stuff and if I were to fork out a few bucks for their music, this live album would be my one and only choice. A great album!

This was recorded towards the end of Colosseum I's existence, and according to drummer Jon Hiseman, almost NEVER got released (something about planning to erase the original master tape in a fit of perfectionisitic pique). But fate intervened and thankfully, this ferocious classic performance of the mighty Colosseum was preserved intact.

Under Jon Hiseman's leadership, Colosseum created a heady and ferocious brew of progressive rock blues and jazz like nothing else. Capped off with Chris Farlowe's dramatic (sometimes overly so) blues drenched vocals, the band would leave one breathless on a good night.

1. Rope Ladder to the Moon - An ingenious cover of a Jack Bruce song that's actually BETTER than the original! Starting of with arpeggiated guitar and vibes, Chris Farlowe then roars in and takes it to the moon, the intensity builds with a great mid-sction where Dave Greenslade makes his Hammond organ snarl and growl like a hungry lion as Hiseeman eggs him on, the full band comes back in for a fiery conclusion, great way to start off!

2. Walking in the Park - A cranked up blues that dates back to The Graham Bond Organization (of which Dick Heckstall-Smith was a member), taken at such an unsafe tempo it nearly threatens to blow apart but our heroes keep it together and land on their feet.

3. Skellington - Continuing in a bluesy mode but at a slower (relatively speaking)tempo, however, it goes a bit off course betweena pointlessly long psychedelic guitar noise freakout and Chris Farlowe's vocal histrionics. Not a bad song but it could've done without all the excess.

4. Tanglewood. - A serious tour de force! Take one Michael Gibbs composition, rearrange it for these feisty Brits and stand back! What results is a dense, complex yet oddly memorable instrumental with the band combining its vocal resources powerfully (wordless singing no less!), and the late saxophonist Dick Heckstall Smith getting the spotlight with his double-sax solo (a'la Roland Kirk), he was simply amazing, no gimmicks, no devices (they didn't have digital harmonizers back then) just pure musicianship. One of the major highlights of this set!

5. Encore...Stormy Monday Blues - The old T-Bone Walker song given the Colosseum treatment, this was their fun tune and you can hear it clearly!

6. Lost Angeles - The other major reason to own this disc. This epic piece starts with Dave Greenslade showing his Hammond organ artistry leading the band into a dense fiery epic of life in the Smog Belt. Tight ensemble passages intertwine with heartfelt and concise soloing as Chris Farlowe spins the tale of woe. The band winds down and Dave Greenslade switches to vibes, as guitarist Dave Clemson builds a plaintive and heart-wrenching bluesy solo. The momentum builds and builds, almost to the point of blowing the song to pieces but just as you think that is inevitable, the band pulls off a rousing conclusion and leaves the crowd amazed!

7. I Can't Live Without You [*] A bonus track, but qite frankly I'm a bit puzzled by its inclusion as it just isn't very memorable or essential.

But the bonus track thing aside, This is a very exhilirating set by a band that really relied on its raw talent and musicianship and played from its heart, no gimmicks, no fakery, no overdubs.

If only more people took that to heart.

I hadn't listened to Colosseum in probably 20 years when I saw this CD in the bargain bin of a local music store. I bought it and put it into my car's CD player on my way home and was thoroughly blown away. They had an energy and cohesiveness which I am certain no group today possesses. It showed that they are a much better live than studio band which is extremely rare. Each musician is a maestro and each is given a chance to shine. The lead singer has an incredible range and can do things with his voice I haven't heard before - everything from scat to yodeling. The sound is extremely tight, the production is fantastic, and the songwriting impeccable. If you want to compare them with someone, think early Traffic with twice the energy and a much fuller sound. It normally takes me several listenings to appreciate a new CD. This one blew me away the first time I heard it. Buy this CD!

One disc 74 minutes approximately. Good mastering-the sound for a live recording from this era is clean and immediate sounding. This album has Chris Farlowe on vocals,whom many feel was a bit over the top in this band. While I too miss the Colosseum of "old",the vocals are a small issue in comparison to the instrumental fireworks of the rest of the band. Clempson's guitar is muscular throughout,Hiseman's drumming is full of energy,and the horns of Heckstall-Smith are as intelligent as ever. The organ work by Greenslade seems to fit in well too. Live,this band must have been something to hear! A combination of rock rhythms and jazz-like arrangements,the total must have been almost overpowering. On disc,the power comes through,especially at a slight elevation of volume. The song choice in a live setting was typical-a selection of tracks that lent themselves to fiery interpretation and extension. Hiseman used to use The Who's LIVE AT LEEDS as an example of what seemed possible in a live setting for his own band.

This concert was at first not to well-liked by the band-they thought of wiping the tapes clean and using them over again. Thankfully that didn't happen,and the result is this visceral,powerful album. While I too miss the subtler vocals of their first albums,at least in a live setting they're not as abrasive sounding as in a studio setting.

This is a good example of music from this period when any and everything seemed possible. This seems to grow on you after a couple of listenings-even the histrionic vocals seem to fit better in this setting. All in all,a welcome addition to the Colosseum catalogue. The booklet is informative,giving a good overview of what this band was going through at the time. I,too,am glad they decided not to wipe the tapes clean. If you give this band a chance,you might feel the same way.

I bought the LP of this album when it first came out, after seeing the band on that tour. It blew me away then and, having now purchased the CD, I can only say that this is simply the best album they ever made. 'Lost Angeles' alone is a track worthy of enduring greatness and as another reviewer said, this album shows what powerful musicians Hiseman, Clark, Farlowe, Heckstall-Smith, Clempson and Greenslade were. Buy this album immediately. You will not regret it!

I AM WRITING FROM CHILE -SOUTH AMERICA. THIS SONG (AND ALBUM) LISTENED 25 YEARS AGO FOR ME ONCE TIME ONLY, IN AM RADIO, PROGRAM NAMED "HIGH VOLTAGE" OF PROGRESSIVE MUSIC. AFTER THIS TIME,NOW I CAN GET IT. THIS SONG HAS AN INCREDIBLE FORCE AND MUSICIAN VIRTUOSITY MAKE REMAIN IT FULLY VALIDITY.

This is their best album. All the musicians are fantastic. Just to mention the singer Chris Farlowe who later played with Jimmy Page on Outrider, and one of the best guitar players ever: Dave Clampson, who later replaced Peter Frampton in Humble Pie, and often worked with Jack Bruce. Mark Clarke on bass later played in Rainbow, and most recently with Leslie West. The other excellent album from Colosseum is: The Grass is Greaner, but is not available on CD, and is almost impossible to find on vinyl.

This is a fantastic album. If you like hard rock, and jazz-rock fussion you better run and buy this CD. You will hear the best guitar solos ever. Dave Clampson is fantastic on this album. Also check his work with Bakerloo, Humble Pie, Rough Diamond, and Jack Bruce. All other musicians on this album are great. They went on to form or join some other known and less known groups: Tempest(with Allan Holdsworth), Greenslide, Rainbow, Jimmy Page (Outrider), ... For those of you that already own some other Colosseum albums, this is by far their best album.

Colosseum Live is one of those hard to rate live albums. You see, I really WANT to give it a perfect 5 stars, but it seems every single song is flawed in some way which distracts the flow of the entire performance, and so rewarding the album 5 stars just isn't possible I'm afraid.

First of all, it needs to be said that the actual jamming portions of Colosseum Live are unbelievably good. Listen to the guitar jam at the very end of "Lost Angeles" for complete proof. THAT particular jam is one mean, butt-kicking 6 minute ride. Going into it, you definitely won't be prepared just how relentless it is. It reminds me of the jam at the very end of Wishbone Ash's "Sometime World" or, perhaps a better comparison, the early Allman Brothers Band when Duane was still around. I like the lyrics too- yeah, get me away from "Lost" Angeles too (jokes!!)

My biggest complaint is that the lead singer is... sorry to say, pretty awful on numerous occasions. He sings lackluster vocal melodies for the most part, however luckily they're kept brief to allow room for the actual jamming to fully develop. And what constitutes the jamming? Mostly keyboards, electric guitars, and the occasional slab of saxophones. They're almost always played tastefully and melodically, and that's great news.

Now the interesting thing about the sax jams is how, for example, on a track like "Tanglewood" they closely resemble that of Frank Zappa's "The Gumbo Variations" and it's extremely melodic and well performed. However this song is far from perfect because the terribly dated and fruity-sounding vocals in the beginning don't quite match up with the sax work, so the song feels awkward and unorganized as a result.

"Rope Ladder to the Moon" contains more fairly annoying vocals by the lead singer, who reminds me of John Lawton the more I listen to him. Again, the sax playing saves the day once again, and perhaps the keyboards do too.

Overall, if we ignore the vocal melodies and focus entirely on the instrumental jamming, we'd have ourselves a classic album. As it is however, the vocals are a distraction on several occasions and, as much as I want to ignore them and focus on the positives, I can't. You've been warned.

O Yeahhh!!

This is unbeleivably good. So much talent, excellent recording, live power, sheer brilliance.

I could go on ....