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Gnidrolog - Live 1972

Artist:	Gnidrolog
Title:	Live 1972
Label:	Audio Archives AACD 032
Length(s):	70 minutes
Year(s) of release:	1999
Month of review:	12/1999

Line up

Stewart Goldring - lead guitar, vocals
Colin Goldring - lead vocals, guitar, sax, recorders, e-flat tenor horn, harmonica
Nigel Pegrum - percussion, flute, oboe
Peter Cowling - bass, cello
John Earle - alto, tenor, baritone, soprano sax, flute, vocals

Tracks

1)	Intro/Any Use In Living	9.16 *
2)	I Could Never Be A Soldier	12.34
3)	Time And Space	7.23
4)	Meanwhile Back At The Office	4.23 *
5)	My Mother	9.37 *
6)	In Spite Of Harry's Toenail	13.27
7)	Sixpence For A Handstand	8.28 *

* never before released in any format Timings exclude talking.

Try a sample of the album in

Summary

This band has been long out the running, but a new album Gnosis is coming soon. To keep you warm here's a live album recorded in Birmingham on the 10th of July in 1972. According to the booklet four of these tracks are on record for the first time. By the way: the band recorded two solo albums in the early seventies, none of which I am familiar with. So that you know.

The music

The album opens with one of thoe Goldrings introducing the band in his usual humoristic way (I met them in 1999 at Progfarm and they still have the same tongue in cheek kind of humor). Intro and Any Kind Of Living are combined into one. The Intro (I have no idea where it exactly ends) features lots of sax and is in style reminiscent of a band such as Colosseum: rock with jazz instruments, but rock nonetheless (and not even jazzrock). The sound quality leaves to be desired, especially the talked beginning are quite noisy. When the music itself is being played the noise is a of course a lot less audible. The sax has definitely the lead in its meandering, wrung-out way, but the song also features some typical early prog vocals. The music is in a sense quite typical for its time, except that it is maybe a bit more complex. A wavery flute sets in three quarters under way, and evokes Jethro Tull in a humorous way after which the flutist sets in a jig. The next one up is the anti-war song I Could Never Be A Soldier. This song enjoys a slow build-up from the flamenco styled, not so steady vocal part to the wild flute solo. Lots of anger and desperation in this song that notwithstanding the technical shortcomings, comes over very well. After a strong energetic up-tempo guitar part the song ends with a bass then sax "solo". Striking are the folk influences in the music, but well integrated since the music is an stays (progressive) rock. Time And Space is a more free form piece. The style is a bit jazzier here and we might draw comparisons with Soft Machine. Lots of variation in this song both melodically and rhythmically. Meanwhile Back At The Office (Or The Continuing Story Of Peter) opens quite mellow. The vocal melodies are not many on this album, since the band is "mostly instrumental", but they are always good ones telling weird and often funny stories. In addition to some fluttery sax playing, the song has something of early Van Der Graaf Generator with its rockbased saxophone playing. My Mother is funny little ditty with some quick but understandable singing, after which the saxophone lets loose a bit (I'm again reminded of Van Der Graaf Generator here). Not wanting to be taken too seriously the band breaks into a harmonica solo/jig. The playing of that instrument is quite weird. The next one up is In Spite Of Harry's Toenail, the title track of one of Gnidrologs albums. The song opens quite tensely and reveals epic qualities. Then we get a rather quiet part where I'm reminded of King Crimson on their first album. The guitar solo (accompanied by long tones on the sax) is a good, emotional one. Then we get a change of pace with the sax in the lead, playing its repetitive riffs. The guitar then takes over again taking the fore in a long jam ending in a cacaphonic climax. The bonus track is Sixpence For A Handstand. This is a jamming track with the sax in the lead and some Oldfieldian sounding guitar work ending in a spacey guitar solo.

The intensity of some of these performances leave me to wonder how the new album (recorded 16/17 years later than this one) will sound.

Note that some of the references I make are to people operating AFTER this was recorded. Draw your own conclusions.

Conclusion

The sound quality is not great, the vocals sound often quite wavery, and sometimes the flute as well. This is clearly a live album with all its shortcomings. However, the music on this album deserves to be heard. Of course, I can not advise people who like neo-prog or progmetal to go out and buy this, but if you like any of the bands I've mentioned (KC, VDGG, Tull, Soft Machine, Colloseum, or Canterbury) then you are welladvised to get a dose of this. Hopefully, being more interested in the older side of progressive rock will allow you to like this album with all its technical shortcomings. Like I did.