Colosseum II - Electric Savage (1977) [Reuploaded]

Everybody's got that one album that took the blinkers off them; the one that damn near killed you on first listen with the excitement of whole new vistas opening up. In my case, that was this record, almost 25 years ago. I'd been into heavy rock for a few years when I bought this album, by a band whose name I'd never seen before. Needless to say, it blew me away with its instrumental fury and virtuoso playing….it sounded as though Colosseum II (Jon Hiseman, Don Airey, John Mole & Gary Moore) wrote and recorded these tracks specifically to please ME. Not quite jazz/rock. Much more like rock/jazz, driving and heavy but layered, intricate and absorbing in its (at the time) complexity. Of course, about a billion all-instrumental albums later, ELECTRIC SAVAGE doesn't stand quite as tall as it once did, but this is the one that doomed me to a life of searching obscure catalogues and haunting secondhand bins for that next knockout punch out of left field. (It's still true today. You can't complain about the sad state of rock if you're gonna let MTV, Rolling Stone and Top 40 radio determine your musical options…you've got to pack a lunch, grab a compass and go out searching if you want to find greatness). One Way Records (bless em) have released all 3 Colosseum II LPs on CD: this one, its antecedent STRANGE NEW FLESH (which features some vocals), and their masterful finale, WARDANCE. All are musts. Among the many highlights on SAVAGE, the lead tradeoffs of Moore and Airey throughout the album never sound less than vibrant, inspired, crackling with voltage. And for all of Gary Moore's recent success with his blues retro, he never approaches the mournful/blazing fire of his solo on 'Am I', one of two ballads here. Drummer Hiseman, whose first version of Colosseum never sounded like this, is more on and energized than he'd been in many years. Excellent and distinctive cover art, too. Well, what are ya waitin' for? BUY the damn thing already! (amazon)

Tracks
1. "Put It This Way" – 4:55
2. "All Skin & Bone" – 3:46
3. "Rivers" – 5:50
4. "The Scorch" – 6:02
5. "Lament" – 4:40
6. "Desperado" – 5:59
7. "Am I" – 4:16
8. "Intergalactic Strut" – 5:58

Personnel
* Don Airey - Synthesizer, Piano, Keyboards, Hammond Organ, Clavinet
* Jon Hiseman - Percussion, Cymbals, Drums, Gong, Bells
* John Mole - Bass
* Gary Moore - Guitars, Vocals



Thx to the original uploader