Modern Alchemist [Import]

Blodwyn Pig | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 5, 1998)
• Original Release Date: April 22, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Indigo UK
• ASIN: B000002XSL
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #494,393 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. The Change Song

2. Summers Day

3. Cat Squirrel

4. Dear Jill

5. See My Way

6. Drive Me

7. Slow Down

8. Ain't You Coming Home, Babe?

9. Mr. Green's Blues (Or Mr. Blue's Greens)

10. It's Only Love

11. The Modern Alchemist

Editorial Reviews

Compiled with the help of ex-Jethro Tull guitarist MickAbrahams, this is a collection of 11 early live recordingsfrom 1969-70 by the band he put together after leaving Tull.Includes 'It's Only Love', 'The Modern Alchemist' and 'TheChange Song'. 1997 Indig

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic 1960's blues rock marred by bad sound, October 11, 1999

By 

Todd Rosenstock (Newtown Square, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Modern Alchemist (Audio CD)

Mick Abrahms left Jthro Tull in 1968 to devote himself to a more blues/jazz based sound. And boy,did he succeed. Blodwyn Pig was the result, a great jazzy quartet with the multi-talented Jack Lancaster on sax. This is a cd of live recordings made from BBC transcription discs and hence the sound is OK at best. Many times I'm sure the applause has been dubbed onto BBC studio tracks. Nonetheless, there's some killer music here: their minor hit See My Way, Modern Alchemist (a great jam), It's Only Love (featuring Lancaster playing 2 saxes at once), and a great version of Cat's Squirrel that unfortunately fades before the end. If you know this band's sound, it's must to have. Otherwise, start with Ahead rings Out, their only good studion piece.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Performances, May 10, 2002

By 

"rptele" (Chatham, N.J. United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Modern Alchemist (Audio CD)

I strongley disagree with the reviewer who rated this CD a one star based largely on the sound quality. Maybe because I'm older and I'm use to recordings with less then perfect digital sound. How many classic jazz and blues albums are out there with less then desirable sound quality? Think Coltrane, Dolphy, Son House, Robert Johnson, etc. I also disagree with him about how bad the sound quality is. This CD is more then listenable. But put the sound quality behind you, the performances on this CD are excellant. I've been a fan of Blodwyn Pig and Mick Abrahams for awhile. I don't love everything they/he does, but I do enjoy most of their work. This CD really captures their energy. Some great live performances. The version of the Modern Alchemist on this set is fantastic. Great solos my Jack Lancaster and Mick. There is not one dull moment on this recording. If you like Mick Abrahams and Blodwyn Pig, and music that is just the right blend of rock, blues, and jazz, then you'll be more then please with this CD. Forget about the sound quality, I've heard much worse, but the performance the band turns in on this CD is stellar.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Recorded in a barnyard, December 10, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (Annandale, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Modern Alchemist (Audio CD)

I am a huge fan of the first two Blodwyn Pig albums -- the driving, blues-jazz-rock fusion of this early Jethro Tull offshoot should have made them a huge hit in the late 1960s. I've never heard guitar and saxophone work so well together in a rock music format. Thus I had high hopes for this live recording. But for me it is destroyed by the terrible sound quality. Sounds like it was recorded with a hand-held recorder from the back of the hall. For hard-core fans only. All others should try Ahead Rings Out, or Getting to This, each of which I'd give 4 or 5 stars to if I was taking the time to review them.