DAUGHTER OF TIME

IMHO this was Colosseum's weakest album. Hiseman pointed that "Daughter of Time" was actually written in the studio and does not feature any song previously developed on the road. I don't know if this fact has any impact at the general quality of the songs, but this album is far below than the previous two in terms of music - not in terms of playing: Dave Clempson is surely a better guitar player than James Litherland, Louis Cennamo and Mark Clarke both are as good as original bassist Tony Reeves and Chris Farlowe's vocals are very distinctive (although I prefer James Litherland's singing); Hiseman and Heckstall-Smith are on top form and maybe only Greenslade lacks brilliance when compared to other Colosseum albums. But the songs aren't as good as on "Those About to Die" and "The Valentyne Suite", making this album weaker than these. "Theme for an Imaginary Western" is a great track, but Mountain did a better job covering Bruce/Brown's surrealistic epic. There are some highlights: "Take me Back to Doomsday", "Downhill and Shadows" and "Bring Out Your Dead", and Hiseman's drums tour de force "Time Machine" - almost 8 minutes of pure percussive heaven. Newcomers must check out for "Colosseum Live", "Those About to Die" and "The Valentyne Suite", making "Daughter of Time" a collector's item.