Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Colosseum II
Label: Bronze Records
Release: 1976
Rating: 5/5
Colosseum II were a cult British jazz rock fusion outfit, founded in 1974 by Jon Hiseman, best known as the drummer and head honcho of the legendary progressive rock pioneers Colosseum, after the breakup of his second pro band, Tempest. Hiseman first joined forces with the legendary Northern Irish guitar hero Gary Moore (ex-Thin Lizzy), which meant the new version of Colosseum was already a lot punchier and more guitar-driven from the get-go. After a few jams together, the two legends only started recruiting the other two members in 1975, when they began laying the groundwork for a studio debut. Among the names that almost ended up in Colosseum II were Mark Clarke (ex-Uriah Heep, Colosseum, Tempest, Mountain), Duncan MacKay (10cc, The Alan Parsons Project, Kate Bush) and Graham Bell (Skip Bifferty).
After a grueling search for the right musicians for their ambitious new project, Hiseman and Moore finally settled on keyboardist Don Airey (ex-Cozy Powell’s Hammer), bassist Neil Murray (ex-Gilgamesh, Cozy Powell’s Hammer) and Scottish singer Mike Starrs, three still-unestablished musical talents who later, especially Airey and Murray, left a major mark on the world of classic rock. With those names, you could call it a supergroup from today’s perspective. Compared to the original Colosseum, who never gave up their blues elements and saxophone, this lineup was much more jazz rock fusion-oriented, but also rawer and faster, which was somewhat to be expected from such virtuosos.
Colosseum II recorded their debut, »Strange New Flesh«, in 1976 under Hiseman’s label of the time, Bronze Records, who had high hopes for them, even though the British jazz rock fusion scene never managed to enjoy the kind of commercial boom that their musical ‘brothers’ across the Atlantic pulled off in the mid-seventies. In technical, compositional and arrangement terms, and when it comes to Starrs’ vocal approach too, »Strange New Flesh« was a stunning achievement that still never stops thrilling with its rhythmic dynamism, arrangement variety and extraordinary virtuosity.
Compared to most other British jazz rock fusion bands of the time, Colosseum II on »Strange New Flesh«, which you could easily call their best work, didn’t sound intellectual and refined at all. Next to most of the British jazz rock fusion scene, they were, thanks to their emphasized punch, real ‘brutes’, but thanks to the ever-present melodicism they were all the more comparable to the Canterbury scene of the day. That’s no surprise at all, given that in his short time as a member of the Canterbury band Gilgamesh, Murray had picked up plenty of witty rhythmic tricks, which he then brought to Colosseum II.
The opening ‘supersonic’ instrumental treat »Dark Side of the Moog«, a witty nod to Pink Floyd’s studio masterpiece »Dark Side of the Moon«, lives up to its title with epic duels between Moore’s frenzied guitar variations and Airey’s slick mini moog antics, while Hiseman’s merciless drum kit pounding and Murray’s thick bass lines provide extraordinary rhythmic variability. On the far more subtle »Down to You«, dominated by Moore’s melancholic guitar passages, Starrs shows off his big singing talent for the first time on the album. His voice has plenty of soul, which adds an interesting dynamic between the synth-processed, symphonic arrangements and the melodic guitar improvisations. Moore also dives into some witty acoustic guitar variations, with Airey eagerly accompanying him on piano, until an almost classic jazz rock fusion instrumental section kicks in, where the Hiseman-Murray rhythm duo also runs at full steam.
»Gemini and Leo« has witty funk-flavored rhythmic variations, where Starrs’ passionate vocal approach feels especially at home. Airey’s full-bodied layers of Hammond organ are backed up in a hugely entertaining way by Moore’s guitar madness, while Murray’s rattling bass lines and Hiseman’s jerky drum transitions follow along eagerly. At every step you can feel that the band had an immense amount of fun improvising and weaving the individual melodic motifs together, even if the fun was short-lived.
»Secret Places«, ruled by playful vocal harmonies, has, because of its emphasized punch, almost more in common with hard rock than jazz, even though the subtle rhythmic variations are thoroughly jazzy. Here too you can clearly hear that the Hiseman-Murray rhythm duo was thoroughly jazz, Airey was a schooled classicist, while Moore was always a rocker at heart. In the middle of the opening solo section on »One Second Thoughts«, the first of three mouthwatering guitar improvisations that rule this composition, Moore shows a generous dose of subtlety, while Starrs’ vocal once again delights with its melancholic pathos and unusually high vocal range. Airey’s witty mini moog improvisations keep perking up the deeply melancholic, laid-back atmosphere throughout.
The closing 10-minute masterpiece »Winds« is the most complex and also the most polished piece, arrangement-wise, on »Strange New Flesh«. It opens with Hiseman’s frenzied drum improvisations, which are slowly joined by furious guitar passages, energetic bass lines and subtle synth textures. The moment Starrs’ fiery vocal comes in, the dramatic atmosphere gains a whole new dimension. Eventually, riding on Starrs’ brilliant singing, the virtuoso crew manages to shape a monumental, epic chorus, one of the greatest achievements in this cult band’s story.
Even though you can feel that the chemistry within the band didn’t click a hundred percent at every turn and never unleashed all the massive potential packed into this colorful bunch of musical talents, »Strange New Flesh« is still one of the best jazz rock fusion debuts ever, and a must for anyone who loves the late Gary Moore. Regarding Moore in particular, who is usually most prized for his work with Thin Lizzy and his mighty solo career, it has to be said that he never sounded as creative and subtle in his later career as he did during his time with Colosseum II. Sadly, despite all that, Colosseum II have remained one of the most underrated British jazz rock fusion bands to this day.
That was surely helped along by the fact that »Strange New Flesh« was a complete financial flop that didn’t deliver the expected commercial success, so the then all-powerful bigwigs at Bronze Records demanded the exit of Murray and Starrs, which is exactly what happened. In the following years Starrs briefly replaced John Lawton (ex-Uriah Heep) in Lucifer’s Friend, while Murray tried his luck with a string of famous rock acts like Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, Black Sabbath and The Brian May’s Band, to name just a few. With John Mole as the new bassist, and after giving the Bronze Records brass the middle finger, Colosseum II went on to record two more excellent, instrumentally focused albums over the next two years, »Electric Savage« (1977) and »War Dance« (1978), and worked with Andrew Lloyd Webber on his album »Variations« (1978), until, after (yet another) departure of Moore to Thin Lizzy and soon after that Airey’s move to Rainbow, the inevitable and irrevocable, but somehow expected, breakup of the whole setup came.
Lineup
Mike Starrs – vocals
Gary Moore – guitar, backing vocals
Don Airey – keyboards
Neil Murray – bass guitar
John Hiseman – drums, percussion
Production
Colosseum II
Track list
1. Dark Side of the Moog
2. Down to You
3. Gemini and Leo
4. Secret Places
5. On Second Thoughts
6. Winds
