DAUGHTER OF TIME

I have been a fan of Colosseum for quite a few years now and have relished in the musical textures of their first two albums. I have especially come to love "Valentyne suite" but shied away from this one, "Daughter of time". Why that is I cannot account for. The bellow of Farlowe, perhaps? Anyway, I have since come to embrace this album wholeheartedly.

Progressive rock with a strong jazz and blues bottom, that is Colosseum in a nutshell. I Think that nowhere is this brew more evident than on "Daughter of time". In part "Valentyne suite" is their magnum opus, in no small part due to it's title trackclocking in at 17 minutes, but as a whole I feel that "Dauthter of time" is a much more focused and matured product. Sur, there is plenty of blues to go around but the edges have been rounded off and made slightly less evident, leaving the British blues boom behind, in a manner of speaking.

I have listened to Chris Farlowe's album "From here to Mama Rosa" (co-credited to The Hill) that came out in 1969. It is interesting to hear Farlowe's delicate steps towards all out jazz-rock on that album, especially in hindsight since the album sees him take such a massive step towards the really dense and heavy progressive rock on "Daughter of time".

And where to begin my superlative belch about to break free? Well, in short there is only one thing to say and that is that the first seven tracks out of eight are top class jazz-rock-prog. It doesn't get any better than this. The flow of jazz over a heavy rock bottom, wrapped up in a progressive vision of interstellar magnitude is simply breathtaking. (What the hell does that mean?)

"Three scores and ten" opens up with a dramatic Choir and heavy rhythm before going off into a different beat, slowing down again in the chorus. Then there's a very special section at 3.50 with a spoken piece. Magic! "TIme lament" is a ballad-y type of songs with great soaring melody. "Take me back to doomsday" is stunning jazz-rock and the title track is similar in style to the cover of "Theme from an imaginary western", which is totally mindblowingly beautiful. "Bring out your dead" is an instrumental piece showcasing intricate time changes and muscial wizardry. "Downhill and shadows" brings back the blues roots of the band. Great track but less interesting than the other. "The time machine" is more or less a drum solo, so to me that is the least interesting of the tracks and the one that brings down the rating. Though I have to say that it is a marvellous solo, I fail to enthuse me to go through it again.

On the Esoteric edition there are, as always, alot of interesting bonus tracks. Of particular interest to me is "The pirate's Dream" that appears again on Dick Heckstall-Smiths solo album a couple of years later.

Ah, yes. "The bellow of Farlowe". Actually it fits in very well with the music on "Daughter of time". He complements it perfectly and his vocals are powerful and emotive, giving the album an extra dimension. One wonders what hade become of Colosseum had they recorded yet Another album.

To round things up before you nod off, this is a beuatiful, powerful and enthralling piece of progressive jazz-rock that fills my soul with joy, my body with movements resembling an itch to dance. Apart from "Downhill and shadows" (3 stars) and "TIme machine" (2 stars) the tracks on the album are all 5 stars. When I have calculated and reasoned with myself the final rating is four stars. An amazing album full of instrumental magic, astounding vocals and warmth and fullness that is next to none.