Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Beggars Opera
Label: Vertigo Records
Released: 1970
Running time: 42:04
Rating: 4.5/5
Scottish symphonic prog rockers Beggars Opera were one of those bands that plenty of people tipped for a long and successful career after their first releases, because things really did look good at the start. Sadly, the chain of events after the early seventies took a different course than expected, and these days hardly anyone knows they ever existed, unless they happen to be a big fan of the British progressive rock scene. The classic Beggars Opera of the early seventies were an incredibly talented and technically polished band with downright fascinating arranging and improvisational chops.
They were perhaps even the most gifted musicians of all the comparable Scottish rock bands of that era, so it’s no wonder the disappointment was huge when, after three brilliant studio albums, they lost their former artistic spark and wandered off in a rather strange, commercially tinged direction, ending up as nothing but a pale shadow of their former greatness. Their first single, »Sarabande«, got a nice reception across continental Europe even before they put out their studio debut, »Act One«, in 1970. It was even one of the best debuts by any symphonic prog band, which speaks volumes about the quality of this cult Scottish outfit.
On their first releases Beggars Opera occasionally reminded people of far better-known countrymen led by Jethro Tull, The Nice, Deep Purple and Uriah Heep, but at the same time they sounded original enough to win over a good few devoted followers, who revelled in their explosive and often pompous mix of rock and symphonic music, packed with wild yet carefully controlled improvisations that radiated technical brilliance throughout. The traditional Beggars Opera sound, established on »Act One«, rested on the mighty guitar variations of founder and unofficial band boss Ricky Gardiner and the complex orchestral arrangements of keyboardist Alan Park, a true master of energetic and dynamic Hammond organ playing, which often brought a dark atmosphere to individual pieces.
Original Beggars Opera singer Martin Griffiths boasted a distinctive, charismatic voice that was somewhat akin to the legendary David Byron (Uriah Heep), and the band knew how to make good use of that on their early releases. The often jazz-spiced rhythmic nuances from bassist Marshall Erskine and drummer Raymond Wilson further enhanced the complex nature of most of the »Act One« compositions, every one of them a unique blend of eclecticism, unpredictability and almost playful melodicism. A fine example of the outstanding improvisational wit and sense of pomp is the opener »Poet And Peasant«, which kicks off with a psychedelic intro, followed by virtuoso organ variations and white-hot drum stampedes, while Griffiths’ almost maniacal vocal mannerisms rule over the speeded-up tempo. The dramatic guitar harmonies in the closing section, with only minimal changes, became a standard in the NWOBHM scene and classic heavy metal ten years later.
»Passcaglia« is marked by classical-style organ arrangements and aggressively charged rhythmic leaps, in the middle of which Martin’s melancholic vocal approach is especially impressive, standing in sharp contrast to his vocal lunacy on the previous track. Gardiner shows off his exceptional guitar technique at every opportunity and hints at why none other than David Bowie invited him to play on the album »Low« in 1976. Park’s organ improvisations are a real feast for the ears, and with their dark yet boisterous nature they bring to mind the organ playing of some particularly mischievous imp who’s riding a rocket at the same time. »Memory« opens with a complex and pompous instrumental intro, where a fierce battle rages between organ and electric guitar, while Griffiths shines with his own blend of emotion and theatricality, delivering a gloomy lyric about unhappy love.
Next up are two compositions that run nearly twelve minutes each. The first is the fascinating improvised instrumental »Raymond’s Road«, where Park and drummer Wilson literally go all out with the sheer amount of crazy organ and rhythmic improvisation, and which also contains a very interesting variation on Mozart’s classic ‘Eine kleine Nachtmusik’. The latter sounds so dark, as if Mozart had descended from heaven into hell and, with a few rhythmic accelerations thrown in, was playing it for a very attentive choir of devils. Gardiner, too, keeps ‘losing the plot’ during the breakneck guitar improvising in the first part of this epic. In fact, during the long instrumental jam at a ‘supersonic’ tempo, the whole band sounds as if they had lit crates of dynamite under their feet and were in a hurry to jump away as fast as possible. In the final stretch, in the middle of the crazy improvisations, they deftly slip in a fun variation on Rossini’s classic ‘William Tell’ and Grieg’s ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’, and the mad dance of instruments reaches its peak.
For the epic finale, Beggars Opera serve up the ambient highlight of the album in the form of »Light Cavalry«, where they once again show off an enviable level of technical virtues and rhythmic speed, enough to make anyone whose favorite band is Dream Theater lick their lips even today. The pompous instrumental introduction with its sacred-tinged organ harmonies recalls the madness of the previous composition, and that ends in the third minute when Griffiths’ melodramatic vocals kick in. In the middle of the crazy rhythmic rampage, where the drums once again pick up double-time bursts, they provide a fitting infusion of subtlety. The pompous organ variations reach their peak in an epic outpouring, while brilliant compositions like »Light Cavalry« instantly stir up a sense of regret that, with such poor promotion, the stars of music weren’t kind enough to such an outstanding band to let them write themselves into the ranks of the greatest.
»Act One«, a fascinating debut, still stands as one of the key works of Scottish progressive rock, and it’s the first of three very good Beggars Opera albums with Martin Griffiths on lead vocals. Sadly, after he left, the quality of Beggars Opera’s music dropped drastically, as Ricky Gardiner went on to make quite a few questionable decisions about the fate of this cult band. After a long break starting in the early eighties, Beggars Opera have been operating since 1996 as a rather different story, a family trio of Gardiner, his wife, keyboardist Virginia Scott, and their son Tom on drums. This version of the band has hardly anything in common with the classic Beggars Opera, even though it carries the same name.
Lineup
Martin Griffiths – vocals
Ricky Gardiner – lead guitar
Alan Park – organ
Marshall Erksine – bass guitar
Raymond Wilson – drums
Production
Phil Coulter and Bill Martin
Tracklist
1. Poet and Pesant (7:10)
2. Passacaglia (7:04)
3. Memory (3:57)
4. Raymond’s Road (11:49)
5. Light Cavalry (11:57)
