Customer Reviews

Time Machine: Anthology 1970-77

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I bought this new 2 cd compilation "Time Machine: Anthology 1970-1977" based upon the recommendation of a friend. I was not disappointed! Stray began life as a psychedelic/progressive influenced rock band in the late 1960's. They were a classic opening band for many concerts. Among the groups they opened for were Kiss, Mountain, Ian Hunter, the Groundhogs, Yes, Gentle Giant, Hawkwind, Uriah Heep, Nazareth and others. The classic line up of the band included Del Bromham on lead guitar and keyboards, Steve Gadd on lead vocals, rhythm guitar and harmonica, Gary Giles on bass and Ritchie Cole on drums. Bromham was also the group's principal songwriter. Fans of the band include Rush drummer Neil Peart, Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris and members of the Damned and XTC.

Stray did not get around to recording their first album until 1970. Their first album "Stray" included their best known track "All In Your Mind". It is a psychedelic/hard rock tour de force. The track was later covered by Iron Maiden. The first album also includes the classic "Time Machine". The band became less psychedelic with each successive album. However, the band still maintained progressive elements in their songs. Tracks like "Come On Over" and "Give It Up" utilized strings and horns to back the song and add depth. While essentially a hard rock band the band also maintained a good sense of melody and often used harmony vocals to good effect in songs like "Where Do Our Children Belong". Del Bromham is a forgotten guitar star from the seventies. Songs like "Our Song" showcase Bromham's acoustic prowess while the boogie "Georgia" shows he is adept at slide guitar as well. "Buying Time" shows Bromham was not afraid to utilize guitar effects. The set contains a few tasty rarities like "Mama's Coming Home", "Get Out Right Away" and "Georgia" which were either single b-sides or were unreleased at the time they were recorded and only released later on the Stray hits and rarities compilation "Tracks". It is interesting that catchy tracks like "Alright Ma!" and "Hallelujah" among others were either not released or were not successful as singles. A few good tracks like "Only What You Make It" and "Mister Wind" which are available on another 2 cd Stray compilation "The Definitive Stray" paired with the first album "Stray" were omitted. However the combination of good hooks along with excellent guitar playing and harmony vocals will make you want to hear more after purchasing "Time Machine: Anthology 1970-1977". With the exception of the "Definitive Collection"/"Stray" 2 cd set previously mentioned none of their original albums are currently available in compact disk. Hopefully this situation will be rectified in the near future. As the lyrics to "Time Machine" suggest "the time has come at last, let's go explore the past!"

Almost forgot about these Brit rockers.Haven't even heard a mere mention of Stray in years.For those of you that have never even heard of them,to make it plain and simple Stray was just good British album rock.They had released ten(count 'em - 10 lp's)from 1970-1977,but never got their just due,which is a real shame.'Time Machine...' is a nicely assembled 2-CD/35 track retrospect of their career.Line-up:Steve Gadd-rhythm guitar&vocals,Del Bromham-lead guitar&keyboards,Gary Giles-bass and Ritchie Cole-bass.Should appeal to fans of Mountain,Ten Years After,Bad Company and Cream.

i fond this 2 cd compliation on the shelf of my local HMV for a very cheap price well for HMV anyway.. and then i read on the back that stray were a cross between hard rock prog and a good dose of boogie woogie all the things i love from my music so i went and bought the sucker i got home put the first disc in and the first song all in the mind was about 3 minutes too long for my likely but it rocked anyway so i listened for the 65 minutes or so of the first disc and i loved every second then came the last track "hallelujah" what a damn fine rocking song that was too finish of the first disc
then the second disc blew me even more away damn fine heads down boogie woogie hard rock for all the hippies and maybe even hells angels if they give it a chance
go on..i know you'll like it