Release date: 7.11.1969
Label: Vertigo Records
Production: Tony Reeves and Gerry Bron
Length: 34:46
Genre: progressive rock/jazz rock fusion
Rating: 9.5/10
»Valentyne Suite«, released at the end of 1969, was the second album in the story of English prog rock pioneers Colosseum and the follow-up to their debut »Those Who Are About to Die Salute You«, which had come out just a few months earlier. Today most prog rock fans rightly regard it as the best thing Colosseum ever did, and it was also their first album for Vertigo. On production, bassist Tony Reeves was once again joined by Gerry Bron, longtime manager of Uriah Heep and founder of the Bronze label.
The centerpiece of the album was an instrumental-leaning, epic title suite featuring a masterful performance from keyboard wizard Dave Greenslade, who at the time was ‘challenging’ the figure and work of the legendary Keith Emerson with it. The epic suite, almost seventeen minutes long, was split into three wildly eclectic jazz rock fusion sections, charged with incredible energy from start to finish, while every single member of the band, not just the superb Greenslade on Hammond organ, piano and vibraphone, gets plenty of room to show off their remarkable instrumental chops. The middle part surprises with a melancholy, nostalgic interlude of choral harmonies, while the symphonic-jazz arrangements are a real feast for the ears throughout. »Beware the Ides of March« was originally planned as the closing part of this unforgettable epic, but the band later changed their minds, since this evergreen instrumental had already appeared on the aforementioned Colosseum debut.
»The album also featured three shorter pieces, the standout being the nostalgic »Elegy«, which, mostly thanks to guitarist James Litherland’s vocal approach and the stormy organ passages, sounded a bit like early Uriah Heep. Also interesting was the dark »The Machine Demands a Sacrifice«, with its jazz-tinged drum transitions and daring sax passages courtesy of Dick Heckstall-Smith. The rowdy, almost cocky blues rocker »The Kettle« and »Butty’s Blues«, crowned with symphonic flourishes at the start, were a little less interesting on »Valentyne Suite« thanks to their many dominant blues elements, especially next to the title epic, but they were still on par in quality with most of the material from the Colosseum debut.
With »Valentyne Suite«, thanks to the title-track masterpiece, Colosseum reached their artistic peak and made the key album of their career. For a short while they found themselves among the elite of the best and most important pioneering prog rock bands, and a bright future seemed to be waiting for them. Even though the band was ‘on a roll’ so early in their career, the members weren’t thrilled with Litherland at the time, and soon after the release of »Valentyne Suite« he was replaced by guitar virtuoso Dave ‘Clem’ Clempson (ex-Bakerloo, later of Humble Pie), who also briefly took over as lead vocalist on the next Colosseum album, »The Grass Is Greener« (1970), which was released only in the US and Canada.
review by: Peter Podbrežnik
track list:
1. The Kettle
2. Elegy
3. Butty’s Blues
4. The Machine Demands a Sacrifice
5. Valentyne Suite Theme One: January’s Search
6. Valentyne Suite Theme Two: February’s Valentyne
7. Valentyne Suite Theme Three: The Grass is Always Greener
Colosseum:
James Litherland – lead vocals, guitar
Dave Greenslade – Hammond organ, vibraphone, piano, backing vocals on “The Machine Demands a Sacrifice”
Tony Reeves – bass guitar
Jon Hiseman – drums
Dave Heckstall-Smith – saxophone, flute on “The Machine Demands a Sacrifice”
guest musician:
Neil Ardley – conductor on “Butty’s Blues”, string arranger on “Elegy”
