"Spyglass Guest/Time And Tide" by GREENSLADE (May 2011 Edsel/Rhino 2CD Reissue and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…Inner Space…"

Like many longhaired spotty-teenagers in the early to mid 70’s - I was completely drawn in by PROG ROCK and its mind-expanding themes. I’d be sat there on a Saturday morning (before Alan Freeman’s Rock Show on Radio 1) with my Garrard SP25 turntable, Dustbuster and Emitex Cleaning Cloth whirling away - whilst I devoured the graphically drawn lyrics on Genesis and Yes gatefold album covers. It wasn’t long before my complex-rhythms addiction spread to Uriah Heap, Gentle Giant and Badger – in fact anything with a Roger Dean album cover on it. It was therefore a natural progression that I would stumble on Dave Greenslade’s keyboard vehicle – GREENSLADE. I thought the first two albums "Greenslade" and "Bedside Manners Are Extra" (both issued in 1973 on Warner Brothers) had good moments - but their 3rd LP "Spyglass Guest" saw a level of sophistication that was undeniably better – and in places – even rather beautiful. Which is where this timely UK 2CD reissue comes in…

UK released May 2011 - "Spyglass Guest/Time And Tide" by GREENSLADE on Rhino/Edsel EDSD 2098 (Barcode 0740155209834) contains Greenslade’s 3rd and 4th studio albums Remastered onto two CDs and mellotrons out as follows:

Disc 1 (38:49 minutes):

1. Spirit Of The Dance [Side 1]

2. Little Red Fry-Up

3. Rainbow

4. Siam Seesaw

5. Joie De Vivre [Side 2]

6. Red Light

7. Melancholic Race

8. Theme For An Imaginary Western

Tracks 1 to 8 are their 3rd album "Spyglass Guest" - originally released August 1974 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 56055 and in the USA on Mercury SRM-1 1015.

Disc 2 (32:33 minutes):

1. Animal Farm [Side 1]

2. Newsworth

3. Time

4. Tide

5. Catalan

6. The Flattery Stakes [Side 2]

7. Waltz For A Fallen Idol

8. The Ass’s Ears

9. Doldrums

10. Gangsters

Tracks 1 to 10 are their 4th album "Time And Tide" – originally released April 1975 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 56126 and in the USA on Mercury SRM-1 1025.

The 20-page booklet is much better than I thought it would be – all the original album artwork is here including the lyrics and inner gatefold pictures; there’s a knowledgeable history on the band and the albums by ALAN ROBINSON and best news of all is the hugely upgraded sound. PHIL KINRADE has done the remastering at Alchemy Studios in London and a superlative job it is too – far better than the dull Eighties CDs I’ve had for years just to have the music. Speaking of which - the music is keyboard-driven Prog Rock with sophisticated Jazz rhythms, chord changes and a lyrical lightness of touch that was even fun at times. Bandleader Dave Greenslade played a huge array of instruments - ARP Synthesisers, Fender Rhodes, Clavinet, Glockenspiel, Harmonium, Mellotron and even Tubular Bells. The band also featured Dave Lawson on Various Keyboards and Lead Vocals, Tony Reeves on Bass with Andrew McCullock on Drums. Ace sessionman and guitarist Martin Briley joined them for "Time And Tide”.

To the music - no matter how much affection I once had for these albums - in 2011 a lot of it sounds horribly dated. Tony Reeves vocals still feel strangulated to me. But there is still wonderful stuff on here nonetheless - in particular the instrumental that ended Side 1 of "Spyglass Guest" - "Siam Seesaw". Alan Robinson’s liner notes describe it as "…thoughtful, elegant and a real gem…" and he's right. I’ve waited decades to hear it sound this good – and I’ll admit that at 52 – a little Proggy tear of joy came out of my eye on rehearing it. "Little Red Fry Up" has the guitar of former Colosseum axeman Dave "Clem" Clemson, while Andy Roberts of Liverpool Scene and Plainsong did acoustic guitar on the lovely "Siam Seesaw". "Joie De Vivre" is excellent (lyrics above) – featuring Violin work from Graham Smith (String Driven Thing) trading off keyboard codas with Greenslade. "Red Light" is the nearest they ever got to a single track – clever lyrics with the keys aping the melody. "Rainbow" opens with rainfall and a sinister piano lead-in – it’s then added to by treated drum and cymbal patterns, which fades into a prettier piano passage halfway through that is beautifully produced by Jeremy Ensor. It’s very Prog, but it’s actually very good. "Spyglass Guest" ends on a cover version of Cream's "Theme For An Imaginary Western". In fact the album saw their only chart action in the UK - 3 weeks - peaking at Number 34.

1975s "Time And Tide" saw collaboration with Patrick Woodroffe on the album artwork (they would work later on 1980s double "The Pentateuch Of The Cosmogony") – Woodroffe’s art bearing more than a passing resemblance to Roger Dean’s iconic work. While it might have looked the part, the opening "Animal Farm" is awful and the bitchy "Newsworth" isn’t much better. The Treverva Male Voice Choir lends itself nicely to "Time" which in turn segues into the full-on Mellotron instrumental "Tide" - as a duo, they're very good. "Doldrums" is nice (like an outtake from "Wind And Wuthering"), but most of the rest sounds wildly out-of-place for 1975 and even tedious. 

1976 would see the arrival of PUNK which would blow away all this Hippy nonsense – and rightly so. But for a brief moment back there - to me and many others who held this band and that period of music in great affection - a 25-minute Mellotron solo seemed like the most natural thing in the world – and even beautiful somehow…

To sum up – this 2CD set is a five-star reissue of three-star material – making available again two rare vinyl LPs with enhanced packaging and really great sound. And at less than a fiver, if you’ve any affection for even parts of them - it’s a deal. 

I’m off now to get a haircut and find a real job… 

PS: their first two albums "Greenslade" and "Bedside Manners Are Extra" are also reissued May 2011 on Edsel as a 2CD set for the same cheap price...