Customer Reviews

Strangely Strange But Oddly Normal: An Island Anthology

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3 star:		(1)
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Back in 1987, there was a 2-CD set released here in the States called Island 25th Anniversary. While the compilation contained many of the label's biggest stars of its rich and imaginative history, the title was a bit misleading--remember that Chris Blackwell actually started the company in 1959 in Kingston, Jamaica, only moving the operation to England in 1962 when Jamaica declared its independence from the UK (part of the half-century dissolution of the British Empire). Nonetheless, it was a nice primer of the label's biggest hits.

Comes 1999, and the label (having changed distribution from WEA International to PolyGram at the dawn of the '90s and then becoming part and parcel of Universal when that company bought up the failing PolyGram lock, stock and barrel) issued five single CDs covering all the label's genres--R&B, reggae, ska, acoustic folk-rock and electric/progressive rock--under the aegis of Island's 40th Anniversary. I owned copies of Vols. 3 and 4 (#3 was Acoustic Waves 1968-1975, #4 was Electric Currents 1967-1975) and had plans to buy the other sets, but as they were in apparently limited release, this ambitious plan proved unsuccessful. Nevertheless, I had been given a chance to taste of the label's more obscure (and frequently more interesting) artists who may have had less exposure in the US, and certainly not the degree of airplay on classic rock radio that the more famous ones had. Thanks to those discs, I first heard Nick Drake, Richard & Linda Thompson, Heavy Jelly, Amazing Blondel, the Incredible String Band's later and rockier material, Sandy Denny's solo material, others. I decided then that I would seek out these artists' albums as fervently as possible; after all, what true music anorak would be without essential Island discs?

And now, Island has given us the Strangely Strange But Oddly Normal box set, which digs ever deeper--gloriously!--into the label's wonderfully eclectic rock 'n' roll stable. To be sure, I have a few complaints; for instance, if they were to include Cat Stevens, why did they insist on recycling his most overplayed hits? (And that's saying something, much as I like "Wild World" and "Peace Train"--why not "On the Road to Find Out?" "Lady D'Arbanville?" "Trouble?" "Longer Boats?" "Silent Sunlight?" "Ruins?" "Rubylove," even?) And the choices for inclusions by Traffic were a bit too obvious, although I thought "No Time to Live" from the group's eponymous second album was an inspired choice--why not "John Barleycorn" or the "Glad/Freedom Rider" twofer, or yet "Medicated Goo"? And for Jethro Tull, why was "Life's a Long Song" not included? That's a hard track to find, unless you have the Original Masters comp from '85.

That said, the rest of the tracks are quite wonderful. Favourites:

Spooky Tooth, "Sunshine Help Me"

Heavy Jelly, "I Keep Singing That Same Old Song"

White Noise, "Black Mass: An Electric Storm in Hell" (those bloodcurdling screams of the damned as Satan's lightning blasts them...wow! Hair-raising. Yeah, I dug it. *g*)

Head Hands & Feet, "Song for Suzie" (a really nice, moving track)

Mott the Hoople, "Thunderbuck Ram" (long a favourite of mine, since Atlantic reissued the group's first 4 albums on CD in the early '90s, it was nice to see Island finally anthologise them properly again--would also have loved to see "Rock and Roll Queen," "Waterlow" or maybe "Death May Be Your Santa Claus"--quite possibly the best song Mott ever recorded, sheer balls to the wall rock 'n' roll)

Art, "Supernatural Fairy Tales"

Amazing Blondel, "The Siege of Yaddlethorpe" (I first heard them when "Pavan" was included on Acoustic Waves 1968-1975)

King Crimson, "Cat Food" and "Groon" (I agree with the reviewer who said it was nice to see something other than "21st Century Schizoid Man")

Emerson, Lake & Palmer, "Knife Edge" (again, a refreshing change from the overanthologised "Lucky Man" and "Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Part 2," as fine as those tracks are)

Blodwyn Pig, "See My Way" (I had never actually heard these guys before, although I knew of them)

Clouds, "The Carpenter"

Nick Drake, "Northern Sky" (I love this song!)

...actually, I love pretty much everything that's included here. This box set sums up everything that was best in Island's rock 'n' roll catalogue, and leaves you hungry for more. Yes, I too own a number of the tracks on here already, but many more I do not, and until the day comes when I can fully pack out my CD collection with all of those reissued albums, this is indispensible.

I found this album at Amazon.co and thought the readers might find it of interest. With profuse apologies to Mick Abrahams for the chopped up line that I used for the title.

This is definitely a five star album. Back in the day, in the sixties, record companies would put out albums called sampler albums at a cheaper price to introduce new acts alongside established artists without compromising the chart potential of singles or, increasingly albums. CBS had great success with the Rock Machine series but then in Britain, many people fell under the Island spell with the triumverate of You Can All Join In, Nice Enough to Eat and Bumpers each containing a number of the artists herein.

Alas those days, those were the days, are long since gone and they deserve a book on themselves alone. But this wonderful triple album brings some of the magic right back, right back to where it once belongs. I already have most of these tracks on their individual albums but I wanted this one anyway. Some of the tracks, Heavy Jelly's I Keep Singing the Same Old Song (You Keep Singing It Too) are ones I have not been able to track down over the years, some of the tracks are simply essential and I have in mind the wonderful Rainbow Chase by the original Nirvana, the Northstar Grassman and the Raven and John Martyn's Glistening Glyndebourne as personal favourites.

Artists sadly missing from this mortal coil, particularly Kossoff of Free and Nick Drake, half of Traffic, Sandy Denny (why doesn't the original Bridget St. John now of New York get together with Ashley Hutchings and the Fairports - what anawesome combination?) but I digress, and others. The Island rosta was of a diversity not seen before or since and with such world class calibre.

Quite a few of these guys I saw in live performance. I will never forget Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople atop two sets of speakers perched on a s! mall table at the Sunderland Locarno working his particul magic upon the audience whilst in the middle of a bottle of Newcastle Brown or the sheer high octane energy of Robert Palmer and Elkie Brooks on fire at the same venue when in Vinegar Joe, Fairports in a blistering performance at Fusion in Sunderland. Memories yes, but plenty there too for the uninitiated: listen to the blues soaked Free with Paul Rodgers masterful voice, or the Elizabethan influenced Amazing Blondel with their unpronouncable instruments names, the still progressive not yet boring virtuoso performance of ELP.

The many different styles will suit most, from the gentle folksiness of the String Band and Robin Williamson, the introverted from Nick Drake, Cat Stevens with two of his catchy yet essentially serious songs to the slightly wierd such as the title of the collection Strangely Strange yet Oddly Normal by the infamous yet same Dr. Strangely Strange. Some well known names like Tull (great performance Sunderland Empire 1970), the almost well known but sadly missed Quintessence.

All in all these players are all in their own way the mainstays of the British progressive movement which as Chairman Mao observed were part of a thousand blossoms bloom in the early seventies. This is a collection for everyone from old to young alike. For us oldies it can be a nostalgia trip without the crass sentimentalism of the new Neil Young album, for the young 'uns it is a chance to get back to the roots of modern music. and, in conclusion I want to recommend this to everyone I would just like to quote verbation from the back of the You Can All JOin In album... And So Say All Of Us.

The first version of this box set was released in 2005 and contains 48 tracks. The 2009 re-release, also available on Amazon, only has 46 tracks. The missing tracks are:

King Crimson - Cat Food (Single Version)

King Crimson - Groon (Single Version)

There must have been some sort of licensing issue that caused the tracks to be pulled.

Ha ha, this has to be a put on right? No?

A compilation of erstwhile proggers and trippers appearing on Island Records between 1967 and 1972, a veritable golden age.

See, me being a complete expert on all things prog, I wouldn't really need a compilation like this; which is basically a luxurious sampler of a cruelly maligned rock sub-culture, packed as it is with excellent songs by the likes of Fairport Convention, Traffic, Jethro Tull, King Crimson and Mott the Hoople as well as lesser known but no less worthwhile turns such as Fotheringay, Vinegar Joe and Quintessence. It's probably aimed at the prog novice, just finding his way through the minefield and not the seasoned creased participant - like your modest reviewer.

Defining itself by it's huge length, and pinkness, 'SSBON' is a cynics dream. Vast songs with loooong guitar solo's, freaky titles, crazy lyrics and a thick booklet of info which could pass quite easily as the current edition of 'Centre Parting Weekly'; each page crushed to the borders with splendid snaps of ravine-deep furrows. A fantastic pic of The Alan Bown Set prods the meaningless observation that all 27 of them has C P's, even the bald guy! (I think he paints his on) A lot of people think this is just childish, irrelevant and has nothing to do with music, and that's probably true; but I can hardly press the keys for giggling, knowing as I do that I'm enforcing a stereotype I initiated but has a definite basis in reality.

Bravo by the way, to the singer from Heavy Jelly who has a bouffant! What a rebel!

It's all about aesthetics of course, which I think are vitally important when you're projecting a music. How much less fun would we have if they were all skinheads?

Anyway, centre-partings to the side(!) 'SSBON' is THE place to start if you're thinking of setting out on the windy psychedelic journey to personal karma and peace. The only provisions you need are a floral shirt, faded loons, some wacky-baccy and a comb with 4 inch teeth! Experienced campaigners will have most of this stuff, but it's kinda nice to think of a nervous, wide-eyed postulant, just coming to the world-that-is-prog, kicking back and being transfixed by the sounds here. You just know he won't be the same again...

Value wise, (and I know how important money is to some of you!) there's over 3 ½ hours of music, (that's if you include White Noises' 'Electric Storm in Hell' which I thought was 'Hull', and is Hammer Horror film racket.) most of which, despite my follicle based ribbing, is genuinely and lastingly good.

No-one is taking themselves too seriously, the fun-factor is encouragingly high and the whole collection doesn't waiver in its mission to drive prog into the hearts and minds of vituperate disbelievers in all the corners of civilisation.

And it's not a massive leap to imagine people whistling 'Glistening Glyndebourne' on their way to work, or humming 'the Siege of Yaddlethorpe' while they're washing the car. Strangely strange, but oddly normal indeed.

And wouldn't the world be a better place if it had more people called Wynder K. Frog in it?

This label was every bit as important as EMI's Harvest label, and this set should've leaned heavily on early obscure singles and albums along side the hits.

I would've started with The V.I.P.'s "I Wanna Be Free", who became Art for one album and then Spooky Tooth with the addition of Gary Wright.

Plenty of the earliest albums, like Quintessence deserve inclusion.

By the looks of the tracks, I doubt I will buy it...after all I already have 3/4's of the songs on CD already.