T2

Review Nº 837

T2 was a British prog rock band formed in London. Their career took place between 1970 and 1972, then between 1992 and 1997. The band was formed in 1970 around former musicians from Bulldog Breed, bassist Bernard Jenkins and guitarist Keith Cross and from Please, drummer and songwriter Peter Dundon. They were first called Morning. They changed their name to T2 because there was already a US formation with the same name. The success was immediate. The trio landed a contract with Decca. T2 begins an important tour which sees them notably performing at the Marquee Club. In the meantime the band recorded their debut album "It'll All Work Out In Boomland" with only four long tracks, which one of them occupies an entire side of the vinyl. It displeases Decca who decides not to take care of the promotion of the album. This decision was fatal to them. They separate before the departure for a great American tour.

T2 has a very curious, interesting and original story. In the 90's, many forgotten bands had something like a second chance. One of such bands was T2. However, it wasn't the first moment when audiences discovered T2's work. T2 could enjoy their moment of fame back in the early 70's. In fact, T2 is even to some extent a contradiction of the fate of most formations, about which we currently learn at most from deeply buried in Internet fan sites of enthusiasts. T2 didn't release their album on their own. Its circulation did not amount to several dozen of vinyls distributed to friends and families. T2 had no problems finding a record label. And even so they didn't escape. The record label lost interest in T2 almost immediately after the release of "It'll All Work Out In Boomland". The album wasn't promoted and the vinyls rarely found their way to music store displays. And so, all the circumstances were created for T2 cannot survive.

Refined is probably the best way to describe the music on "It'll All Work Out In Boomland". T2 played it with passion, expertise and a feeling, reflecting the essence of the presented music too well. In T2's music, the dominant element that basically determines the reception of the pieces are the almost improvised parts that broaden and give character to the often catchy and quite compact leitmotifs. T2 has achieved an almost perfect balance between the extensive and the virtuoso progression mixed with the psychedelic and typically hard rock music focused on great riffs and catchy licks.

T2 were one of many power trios of that era, a popular configuration for bands back then, both in terms of economics, and logistics. T2 starred the prodigious talents of guitar wrangler Keith Cross, and were led by drummer, vocalist, and composer Peter Dunton. Keith should stick to the guitar, as his mesmerising fretwork is something to behold. Dunton, who, combining the conduct of the rhythm section with singing, turned out to be an extremely competent singer. Much of this is due to Dunton's awareness of his limitations and not going beyond the range of the voice available to him.

"In Circles" opens the album, giving a good insight into the style dominating on the album with an unusual ability to combine often rough riffs with a perceptible gentleness. This is the 70's hard rock more complex than the protagonists of UK hard rock at the time. The tune's haunting vocals, pounding drums and versatile, virtuoso guitar define the T2's sound. "J.L.T." is completely different. It has a slightly different, softer tune, with Cross playing piano and a light orchestral backing as the track progresses. It's somewhat psychedelic and with the vibraphone there is even a kind of floating jazz note. "No More White Horses" is a cover of a tune originally done by Dunton and Jinks in their previous band. The original three and a half minute psychedelic rock track was transformed by T2 into an eight and a half minute progressive masterpiece. In addition to the solid rock, there are psychedelic elements and even a brass support. It closes the tune and side one of the vinyl album. Side two consists of a single track, the twenty one minute magnum opus "Morning" which gives each band member a chance to show off their chops. It's basically divided in two parts, with a slow acoustic opening that leads into a mid-tempo rock song with more free-like hard rock chords. Taken as a whole, this is really a good piece of psych/hard rock which begins gently with soft guitar and vocals before becoming a roller coaster ride of twists and turns, with some glorious playing. This is an incredible ending to an amazing album.

Conclusion: You don't have to mystically glorify all projects of the early 70's. But some deserve more attention than others. T2 is such a band with their album "It'll All Work Out In Boomland". The special mix of hard rock, psychedelic and prog made this trio so attractive. They aren't progressive like Genesis or Yes or even King Crimson but more like the psychedelic bands of the late 60's. With just over 44 minutes, it gives the impression of be much longer, mainly due to the intensity of the music it contains. The team didn't manage to repeat this level of expression and the original line up of T2 quickly went down in history, not fully using its potential. Fortunately, we have a debut to which every self respecting music lover of the 70's should return many times. I would advise the album to every classic prog rock fan.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

The music here was recorded back in 1970, to be their second album after their debut "We'll Work It Out In Boomland", but it was never released. Put in the vaults you could say after virtuoso guitarist Keith Cross left the band. T2 had a comeback though in the first half of the nineties releasing three albums but the drummer/vocalist Peter Dunton would be the only original member to participate, and those albums are very poorly rated. Maybe the release of this archival recording in 1997 doesn't happen without the failed comeback, I don't know, but this is release is a must if your a huge fan of "We'll Work It Out In Boomland" like myself.

Similar sounding to the debut but the sound quality is not as good, although it has no negative affect on my enjoyment of it. More mellotron here, and perhaps this is more adventerous too with those three long closing tracks being great examples of that. "Highway" is a short 3 minute piece that is the most straightforward of them all. Heavy riffs, powerful vocals, along with guitar solos gets us warmed up fast. "Careful Sam" at 6 minutes starts off quietly enough but soon abrasive guitar solos and a more passionate sound take over. "Timothy Monday" opens with relaxed vocals and a laid back sound. Really enjoyable before that instrumental section around 2 minutes in with the guitar soloing. Nice. Back to the vocals and this ends heavily.

The last three tracks really make this a very solid 4 star record. So much mellotron on these three that range from over 8 minutes to 14 1/2 minutes. "Cd/The Minstrel" is 10 1/2 minutes long and features such an amazing jazz section around 3 1/2 minutes in by all three musicians. So cool. There's a beautiful mellotron section after 7 1/2 minutes and earlier with laid back vocals. More abrasive guitar on "Fantasy" as well as another jazzy section just before 3 minutes. This can get experimental as well. The closer "T2" would have been a fitting closer for their careers actually had this been released back in the day. Mellotron is the word but at 14 1/2 minutes it runs the gambit. A statement of sorts.

I have been playing this in the evenings over the last few weeks but must move on sadly. My kind of music, and this is one of those archival releases that is a real find.

Something else good did finally come from the band, though. In 1997, they released the demos for their sophomore album, recorded in 1970. Being demos, the audio quality can be a bit rough, but T2 was still in top form back then. This collection's official name is T.2., but it is also referred to as Fantasy and 1970.

"Highway" is a groovy, bluesy song and is probably the most straightforward cut in their oeuvre. The chorus, though, contains dramatic Mellotron, and the playing is top-notch. This composition is smarter than most of what you would hear from contemporaneous blues-rock acts. "Careful Sam", in contrast, opens much more quietly. Folk and jazz flavors mingle here, and Dunton's vocal performance is especially nice. The song's second half is considerably heavier, and it features a stellar, thrilling guitar solo from Keith Cross. "Timothy Monday" also heavily utilized quiet-loud contrasts, and the psychedelic folk of the verses complements this cut's heavier moments.

Side one of this collection ends with the two-part, 10-minute "CD/The Minstrel". "CD" is a lurching blues-rock cut, and the guitar solo has a wonderfully off-kilter feel to it. Jazz elements are prominent in its quieter moments. In contrast, "The Minstrel" opens with Mellotron flute and strings. This relatively restrained and idyllic mood lasts for its whole runtime, and it is a nice contrast to the heavy elements which preceded it.

"Fantasy" kicks off side two, and there are some obvious similarities to "In Circles". The main riff is jagged and unconventional, and the rhythm section holds down a jazzy groove. The verse is quiet, and the vocal performance reminds me a lot of Robert Wyatt's work with Soft Machine. The instrumental moments in the middle are especially weird and discordant, but it works well.

This archival release ends with the 14-minute "T2". Its opening is starkly different from the band's other output. Electric piano and Mellotron are the primary elements, and there's a floating feeling. It reminds me a lot of bands like The Small Faces in its lighter moments. The mood shifts easily between sunny and stormy, and even when guitar shows up, it's more for atmosphere than to take the lead.

After about four minutes, acoustic guitar emerges for a verse, and Dunton's singing is delicate and pretty. Mellotron and distorted guitar eventually come roaring back, and the swooping strings remain the lead instrument for a while. After another verse, guitar takes the lead in an energetic, jazz-influenced solo, and the song ends on a fun, piano-led passage.

It really is a pity T.2. is just an archival release. I would have loved to have heard these properly recorded and mastered. But as it stands, I am glad that these songs found the light of day, at all.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2024/06/24/lesser-known-gem-t2-itll-all-work-out-in-boomland/

Twenty years after their dissolution, Pete Dunton re-formed the band with guitarist Mike Foster. This new T2 put out three new albums in three years, starting in 1992.

Second Bite was the band's first new album in two decades, and it is hot garbage. I cannot be mean enough to this record. Its only redeeming quality is that it has a photograph of a chameleon on the cover, and that's only because I'm a reptile enthusiast, as I've mentioned before. (And even then, it's a pretty lousy photograph.)

Second Bite is replete with cheap-sounding synths, washed-out guitars, and an air of general crappiness. It sounds like a rehearsal for a demo recording. I'm about 90% certain the drums are a machine, too. Dunton's usual vocal delivery sounds tired and lifeless, and the production is among the worst I've ever heard. His voice is somehow both murky and too loud, with an oddly processed twinge. The songs here were mostly written back during the band's original incarnation, and good versions of them exist elsewhere. This record sounds soulless, exhausted, and amateur. There is the occasional passable passage, such as on "Careful Sam" and "The Minstrel". Even parts of the 22-minute slog "Age 2 Age" could have been salvaged by a more competent band and producer.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2024/06/24/lesser-known-gem-t2-itll-all-work-out-in-boomland/

"In Circles" kicks things off with an attention-grabbing, irregular riff. Harsh, staccato chords are contrasted with floating, jazzy arpeggi before diving into a slinking, twisting guitar solo. The drumming is deft and technical in support of Cross's masterful soloing. Dunton's vocals are subdued and smooth, and they are a strong complement to the unusual, tumbling riff that powers the verses along. Matching the lyrics of disorientation, the instrumental backing has a spiraling, twining quality. Cross flexes his technical chops again in the song's midsection. Despite the length of this instrumental detour, things remain coherent and enthralling for the entire duration. The song's finale features ugly, dissonant chords.

Following this thundering introduction is something much mellower. "J.L.T." is a quiet, pastoral piece that is primarily acoustic. Piano plinks out the main melody, and Dunton's gentle voice is a natural fit for a song like this. Chimes and subtle Mellotron make this folky little piece quite lush. The chorus swells a bit more each time it is repeated; the keys grow more enveloping, and Dunton's drumming becomes more frenzied. In this song's instrumental outro, brass instruments slowly fade in, matching the tune of the piano and chimes. This lends the song a sense of richness and importance, in contrast to its humble starting point.

Ending side one is "No More White Horses", a song Dunton had previously recorded with his band Please. A palm-muted guitar gradually fades in, building a sense of dread and doom. When the dam finally bursts, Cross's guitar solo is blistering and furious, full of tortured bends and nimble fretboard gymnastics. The opening riff of this song would feel at home on an early Black Sabbath record. In contrast, the first verse is slow and mournful. It's mostly acoustic, and Dunton's voice is again a perfect fit. The chorus is simple but memorable, and an acoustic-electric contrast is used to great effect. Cross gets another solo after the first verse, and it's different from and the perfect counterpoint to his first. This one is much slower and full of emotional weight that builds to an explosive climax. Piano shows up on this track too, and the delicate tone pierces through the thick distortion on the guitar. Brass brings a sense of majesty to the mournfulness. As the song ends, it descends into a dissolving pit of discordant distortion.

Side two consists solely of the 21-minute epic "Morning". It opens quietly, with just Dunton and acoustic guitar. The rest of the ensemble jumps into it on the first chorus, and there is an irrepressible upward momentum, like the sun peeking over the horizon. After this opening passage, the band launches into a stomping instrumental passage with lots of technical start-stop playing and more searing solos from Keith Cross. This passage in particular feels like a direct precursor to Rush.

Cascading guitar lines, vocal harmonies, and jazz-influenced drumming underpin the next section. An extended melodic instrumental passage eventually disintegrates into sharp, squealing guitar harmonics and tribal, tom-heavy drumming. This moment of experimental ambiance reemerges into a reprise of the song's opening chords.

Continuing to build momentum, the song has a light, bouncy, psychedelic melody, but it's contrasted against herky-jerky jazz-rock. T2 again smartly deploys brass in this movement, and it serves to enhance the feeling of bright majesty. The band continues bouncing around between ideas, with galloping hard rock, but this suite remains incredibly coherent. Cross could shred with any of his contemporary guitar greats, and Dunton's performance could go toe-to-toe with Keith Moon's best. The mood is chaotic and anxious, but the band always manages to skillfully connect their disparate musical dots.

Eventual CD releases of this album would contain a trio of live recordings. One is "In Circles", and one features on a later release. The third song, "Questions and Answers", is slow and somewhat bluesy. Cross again puts on one hell of a performance in this powerful and affecting song.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2024/06/24/lesser-known-gem-t2-itll-all-work-out-in-boomland/

Proggers love "Top" lists for their favourite music. I own over 500 prog albums and this would make any top 10 (probably quite high in the 10) I could compile. It is imaginative, clever and well played. The songs "No More White White Horses" and "Morning" are prog classics.

I can remember buying the vinyl original on its day of release and 2 of my pals also bought it. Sadly, their record label didn't back them enough so they fragmented when they could have been big prog figures of the 70s.

As a power trio they managed to make huge prog creations with just a little use of other instruments in the studio (the brass sounds on the 2 tracks I have mentioned are superb). My only negative comment is that I prefer Keith Cross's power guitar chords to his fast solos but this is not really a criticism.

The recent boxset including 2 albums' worth of additional material includes a remaster of the classic "Boomland" album which is far superior to the previous releases on CD and I am still getting more familiar with those songs on the extra material as I keep playing the "Boomland" CD.

A criminally underrated band who, with more backing, could have been BIG! with just a guitar, bass, drums lineup. Shame on their record label of 1970!

I'm of the opinion that progressive rock and heavy metal share a strong bond from infancy. It's true that many of the metal bands of the eighties and nineties were heavily influenced by prog bands of the seventies, but more than just that, I believe that way back in the late sixties as both progressive rock and the first generation of heavy rock artists were developing their crafts, both subgenres had emerged from the nexus of psychedelic music. Simply speaking, progressive rock would borrow a lot from jazz and classical while early heavy metal would come from a combination of acid rock or heavy psych and a revamped version of the blues. Yet thanks to the experimental psychedelic rock years, both subgenres would freely choose items from the other's bag of tricks. One needs look no further than King Crimson's 21st Century Schizoid Man to hear how both prog and metal could be presented in a single song.

T.2. were an English band that took heavy guitar rock and blended it with a jazzy rhythm and created extended songs which sometimes featured psychedelic guitar distortion and feedback sections and other times soft, acoustic moments. In the simplest description of their music, imagine "Fire and Water" era Free with the largely unknown Necromandus. They released a single album in 1972 and a second album's worth of material was shelved until 1997. They released three albums in the nineties which seem to have been mostly overlooked.

"It'll All Work Out in Boomland" is an album of four tracks with side B being taken up by the 21-minute "Morning". The song that ends up on YouTube proto-metal and early heavy rock compilations is "No More White Horses", which opens with a simple three-chord riff played muted at first but then opens up as the music intensifies. It's a great example of early doom metal as indeed was the music of many English bands at the time. The band is joined by a trumpet (possibly two) and then the song mellows down for the verses while powering up for the choruses. It closes with lots of drum action and blazing guitar work.

The album opener, "Circles" is also a very worthy track to mention for its jazz-based drumming and bass work and some of the guitar playing as well. But there are open chords and barre chords played with crashing bursts of distortion. Near the end, the music lays back for some experimental jazz-type playing as the guitar goes from clean jazzy exploratory notes to psychedelic distortion rumbles and feedback.

The middle track on side A, "J.L.T." is a mostly acoustic track not unlike something Pink Floyd might have done on the soundtrack for "More".

Side B's "Morning" is basically in two parts, with a slow acoustic opening that leads into a mid-tempo rock song with more Free-like hard rock chords. There's a two-minute psychedelic/experimental interlude before the second part begins, which is characterized by a more up-tempo rock number that then becomes a showcase for wild guitar soloing. Note that during these lead guitar showcases, the drums are often going nuts in parts while the bass is holding down a repetitive but frantic rhythm. The bass does stand out a lot on this album and though it often repeats its lines, bass player Bernard Jinks says in the CD re-issue booklet that he intentionally restrained himself to allow for Keith Cross (guitar) and Peter Dunton (drums) to be able to show off their talents more.

The re-issue comes with three bonus tracks, all of which are BBC sessions. "Questions and Answers" and "CD" are not on the album and feature a more psychedelic guitar sound and playing style, leading me to believe that these are older recordings. "CD" must be the hardest hitting track on the whole, uh, CD. I also feel the guitar solos on these two tracks are more emotive than what we hear on the actual studio album. The final track is "Circles" again, though I feel it's less effective here with the BBC because the drums are not mixed very loudly and the heavier guitar chords are also quieted down.

T.2. were a band that took the jazzy blend of rock, intensified the guitar sound with lots of hard-hitting open chords and barre chords, and added some frantic lead guitar. They played longer tracks and like most bands of the day, they added mellow acoustic parts. There is also the presence of brass on a couple of tracks. They are not progressive like Genesis or Yes or even King Crimson but more like the psychedelic bands of the late sixties who added parts to songs that allowed for a galloping rhythm section to provide a backdrop for fast fingers on the guitar fretboard. An album recommended more to people who enjoy heavy psychedelic rock and early hard rock / heavy metal and less to people who enjoy experimental jazz or symphonic rock.

British heavy symphonic blues power trio T2's crowning gem, "It'll All Work Out In Boomland" is a truly archetypal release of the early 70's.

A perfect compilation of all of the nuances of the emerging prog sound at the turn of the decade, "Boomland" ranges from the heavy blues rock of "No More White Horses" to the hazy psychedelia of "In Circles" to the lightly orchestrated balladry of "J.L.T." to the symphonic grandeur of "Morning". Impressively enough, though, it sounds neither dated nor derivative. Instead, T2 presents a very interesting, and powerful, patchwork of all of the different musical ideas being tossed around in UK at the time.

I would rate this a masterpiece if it wasn't for the slight limitations in terms of sound that are posed by the three-man lineup; aside from "J.L.T.", which features some gorgeous brass arrangements, the guitar-bass-drums sound can get a little monotonous. As it stands, this is a solid 4 star album; an excellent addition to not just any prog collection, but any classic rock collection, too.

3.5 stars...

Peter Dunton,Bernard Jinks and Keith Cross formed T2 in 1970 with an aim to play ground- breaking rock music with lots of energy and enthusiasm.Dunton and Jinks were members of the band ''Neon Pearl'',while Jinks met later Cross,as they both played on ''Bulldog Breed''.T2 were signed by Decca Records and released the album with the imaginative title ''It'll all work out in boomland'' in 1970.

The album contains four tracks,one of the being the long epic ''Morning'',taking the whole B- side of the LP.The starter ''In circles'' is where the band seems to have given all their energy and lust for good and powerful rock.A guitar-driven track,where Keith Cross shines with his unbelievable performance,characterized by the abstract chords and powerful grooves,with a tight rhythm section covering him as well.''J.L.T.'' is a lot more than a psych ballad with a very emotional Dunton singing and somekind of horn-section with trumpets ending the track with a thrilling melody.Side A closes with ''No more white horses'' ,which continues from where ''J.L.T.'' ended,with a piano-driven opening section with smooth vocals and backing trumpets supporting,when suddenly 17-years old Cross takes over playing his frenetic guitar all the way to the end.The endless energy and complicated breaks of T2 return on side B with ''Morning'',a composition split between acoustic parts with a psych orientation and great vocal sections, and instrumental passages based on Cross' hard/bluesy guitars and Dunton's dynamic drumming. It's the track where I am reminded most of ROBERT FRIPP's guitar style in his mid-70's works with KING CRIMSON...and that says something for Cross' talent.

Unfortunately T2 were short-lived and it is really a question what this band could have created a couple of years later,when progressive rock was on the rise.Overall,a very good and powerful heavy Proto-Prog release from a band with talent and skills.Strongly recommended!

T2 were one of the great mysteries of the late 60s early 70s. Should have been HUGE but somehow lost out to lesser heavy prog bands. All three members of this trio were exceptional musicians and the songwriting is top-notch. The interplay between the trio is well balanced between individual virtuosity and group dynamics. Although the recording itself isn't the highest quality, the music production is solid, especially the orchestral sections of "No More White Horses."

If you like the idea of the darker sides of the Hendrix Exprerience and Cream, paired with the scope and expanse of the early days of prog rock, then this release is well worth checking out. Also, If you're famliliar with the fuzzed out, underground-feel of early Vertigo label releases and that appeals, then this release should be a priority.

I'd like to know whatever happened to guitarist Keith Cross after the demise of T2?