RESTORATION

I'm particularly biased when it comes to name of the great band of Colosseum. It's virtually impossible for me to express any opinion in neutral way, free of emotions, sensible to the point of good reason. Not sure whether to apologize for that. I tend to think it's acceptable to lean to one side or another when it comes to musical taste. If you disagree, you'd do better if ignored my review.

Cover says "Colosseum" in recognized lettering, and there is even a silhouette of a guy we recognize from the best live album there is. Now, I'm looking at the album of the band that declared retirement honorably seven years ago. Well, even the name of this album suggests what we have around: shaping up what's declared over & out a while ago.

Two of the three good ghosts of Colosseum ? Jon Hiseman and Dick Heckstall-Smith ? paid their toll to the boatman and left the scene. The third one, Dave Greenslade, retired and I guess there is no one who could persuade him to join resurrected band just like Hiseman did back in 1994 (and not without quite some effort, if I remember hat story well). Guys that gathered are good and honorable musicians, there's nothing wrong with them being in action ? but hey, using renown brand made them pull the pistol first.

I listened to this album last night. And I'd only recognize this a Colosseum album if threatened my life.

The only guy trying to make it up is Clem Clempson. And that is not enough. And those... female backing vocals... Female backing vocals? What the heck? Wh$%^^!@#%!!!! Come on! It's sold as Colosseum, not as a Eurovision contest candidate! Whoever produced this album wasn't thinking too much about all those who respect Colosseum as one of a kind. This music is not one of a kind and that makes it odd to think about it as a Colosseum album. I'm not sure what it's all about. Second to last number, "Home by Dawn", gets a bit closer to Colosseum blend, but that's not enough. If I'd want to listen to this once again, I'll need to persuade myself with more effort than pushing myself to dentist.

Don't get me wrong: this is a decent album and one can hear some decent musicianship on it. But it would be immature to rate any music by capacity of participants. This seems to be a contextual miss: we are suggested to measure the value of it by the same people who decided to pull up a retired brand we loved so dearly and stick it on the cover beside that silhouette taken form the album we all have in our collections and know the last bit of a sound from it. In other words: if I shoot them down, that's because they drew first at me, I had no other choice.