TITUS GROAN

TITUS GROAN were a short-lived British Jazz-Rock quartet, named after the first Gormenghast novel by Mervyn Peake. Their one and only self-titled album, released in 1970, contained five tracks all over five minutes long, including one extended suite "Hall of Bright Carvings" with a running time of nearly twelve minutes. The 1989 CD reissue added three bonus tracks to the album. Let's venture forth now into the fantastic fantasy world of Titus Groan.

The album opens in rousing and rollicking fashion with "It Wasn't for You", a lively saxophonic blast of good old-fashioned bluesy Jazz-Rock, very much in the style of those other fine purveyors of uplifting funky fusion, Ginger Baker's Airforce and the Graham Bond Organisation. The singer has the same kind of rough raucous voice as Graham Bond. In other words, they both sound like they eat gravel for breakfast in the morning, but that's no less than what we'd expect from the best of British blues singers. In fact, this is just the kind of energetic and spirited Jazz-Rock we could all do with listening to first thing in the morning to get us up out of bed and instil a spirit of vim and vigour and get-up-and-go energy to face the day ahead. Alternatively, you could listen to some gentle and relaxing New Age music and roll over and go back to sleep again. Now that Titus Groan have grabbed our attention with the lively opening number, it's time for the extended four-piece suite "Hall Of Bright Carvings". This epic song is a real musical tour de force, featuring flamboyant flutes, heavy guitar riffing, booming bass-lines and pounding percussion. The dynamic contrast between the gently melodic pastoral passages combined with sudden explosive outbursts of musical artillery fire are what really sets this music alight with power and passion. Titus Groan can really carve their names with pride for producing stunning Jazz-Rock like this.

Side Two opens with "I Can't Change", which ironically, is a song full of constant change. It's a resonant flute-driven refrain that draws obvious comparisons with Jethro Tull, although the song takes a very unexpected turn midway through with a pleasant Country Rock diversion, before a return to more familiar fluty Jazz-Rock pastures. Either way, it's a great song that barrels along relentlessly and features enough sudden tempo changes to delight devotees of Jazzy Prog-Rock. The next song "It's All Up with Us" is very commercially appealing, which would have made it an ideal choice for release as a single. The impassioned silver-toned singer is positively bursting with optimism here and the heart-warming music sounds as bright and uplifting as a radiant sunburst of rainbow colours after a summer shower. This is timeless evergreen music where all the brightly-coloured flowers in the garden are blooming. And talking of flowers, along comes "Fuschia" (a misspelling perhaps?), which is sadly the final song on the album, although all good things must come to an end, unless of course you're lucky enough to possess the CD reissue with three bonus tracks included. "Fuschia" refers to Miss *Fuchsia* Groan from the Titus Groan novel. The music is another flawless funky fusion of pounding Jazz-Rock energy, which is altogether upbeat, up-tempo and uplifting.

Titus Groan have delivered a memorable timeless Jazz-Rock classic with their one and only album release. This energetic evergreen album sounds just as good today fifty years on as it ever did back in the halcyon days of the proggy 1970's.