Release date: January 1970
Label: Dunhill Records
Production: Tony Reeves and Gerry Bron
Length: 38:30
Genre: progressive rock
Rating: 7/10
“The Grass Is Greener,” the third studio outing from English prog-rock pioneers Colosseum, originally came out only in the US and Canada. These days it’s a relatively rare record, and most Colosseum fans don’t rate it as highly as the rest of their catalog, since it’s a rather calculated, American-taste-friendly reworking of its excellent predecessor “Valentyne Suite” (1969).
It featured four new compositions, “Jumping Off the Sun,” “Lost Angeles,” “Rope Ladder to the Moon” and a cover of Ravel’s classic “Bolero,” all recorded with new guitarist Dave ‘Clem’ Clempson. He also sang most of the vocals on “The Grass is Greener.” Colosseum re-recorded the “Valentyne Suite” tracks “Butty’s Blues,” “The Machine Demands a Sacrifice” and “The Grass Is Greener” with Clempson on lead vocals, leaving the vocals of his predecessor James Litherland untouched only on “Elegy.” Clempson was a weaker choice than Litherland as a singer, since his perpetually slightly off-key approach was a poor fit for Colosseum’s sound, which makes the decision seem completely baffling.
Corporate-flavored moves like this, plus a total creative ‘purge’ of Litherland, who had clearly fallen out of favor with the rest of the band, didn’t leave the best impression, even though the four new pieces are far from bad. On them the band further refined their eclectic blend of jazz fusion and blues rock, which is already evident on “Jumping Off the Sun,” while “Lost Angeles,” thanks to its rhythmic drive and eclectic jazz fusion passages, quickly earned its place among the Colosseum classics.
The North America-only release “The Grass Is Greener” can hardly be counted as a proper Colosseum studio album. With its calculated moves and recycled earlier material, it comes off as anything but innovative. Strictly musically, though, the band was still in excellent form, as all four new compositions prove, but that wasn’t enough to put “The Grass Is Greener” among the classic Colosseum albums. The rest of the band, namely drummer Jon Hiseman, keyboardist Dave Greenslade, saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith and bassist Tony Reeves, for whom this was the last Colosseum studio project, soon realized that Clempson, though an outstanding guitar virtuoso, wasn’t the best pick for lead singer. So for their next record, “Daughter of Time” (1970), they brought in Chris Farlowe, who was finally the ‘right’ vocalist, the one who suited the tastes of the majority.
Review by: Peter Podbrežnik
Track list:
1. Jumping Off the Sun (3:00)
2. Lost Angeles (5:30)
3. Elegy (3:26)
4. Butty’s Blues (6:45)
5. Rope Ladder to the Moon (3:42)
6. Bolero (5:28)
7. The Machine Demands a Sacrifice (2:48)
8. The Grass Is Greener (7:31)
Colosseum:
Dave Greenslade – organ, keyboards, backing vocals
Dick Heckstall-Smith – saxophone
Jon Hiseman – drums
Dave “Clem” Clempson – guitar, lead vocals
Tony Reeves – bass guitar
James Litherland – vocals on “Elegy”
