One Way Glass

The second album by Manfred Mann's Earth Band to be released in 1972, Glorified Magnified is as solid a heavy rock album as you're likely to find from that era, and it still holds up three decades later, mostly because these guys are smarter than the music they're playing and don't mind indulging their taste as well as their dexterity. They can romp and stomp through "Meat" or "I'm Gonna Have You All," complete with a slashing guitar solo by Mick Rogers on the latter, or throw in a synthesizer interlude by Mann on "One Way Glass" that's so quietly and carefully executed as to be worthy of a classical piece – and not skip a beat doing it.

The second album by Manfred Mann's Earth Band to be released in 1972, Glorified Magnified is as solid a heavy rock album as you're likely to find from that era, and it still holds up three decades later, mostly because these guys are smarter than the music they're playing and don't mind indulging their taste as well as their dexterity. They can romp and stomp through "Meat" or "I'm Gonna Have You All," complete with a slashing guitar solo by Mick Rogers on the latter, or throw in a synthesizer interlude by Mann on "One Way Glass" that's so quietly and carefully executed as to be worthy of a classical piece – and not skip a beat doing it.

Esoteric Recordings announce the first ever official UK remastered CD release of First Meeting by Trifle. Formed in late 1969 the band comprised George Bean (vocals, guitar), Patrick Speedy King (bass), Barry Martin (saxophones), John Pritchard (trumpet) and Rod Coombes (drums). Trifle signed to Pye's Dawn imprint in 1970 and their only album was recorded for later that year, by which time the band were joined by trumpet player Dick Cuthell for the recording sessions. In the vein of similar acts such as Manfred Mann Chapter Three and Colosseum, Trifle sought to fuse jazz and rock, also touching on folk styles (as evidenced by the fact that Trifle covered The Dubliners' "Dirty Old Town" (as the B-side to their' Old fashioned Prayer Meeting 'single). Remastered from the original master tapes with two bonus tracks. Includes booklet with restored artwork, photos & liner notes.

Cave Of Clear Light is a 3CD Anthology that tells the story of the Underground years of the Pye record label and its Progressive imprint Dawn Records. Often unfairly seen as a poor relation to the Progressive and Underground releases by major labels such as Decca, Harvest, Vertigo, Island and United Artists, Pye Records also released many albums and singles by artists who were at the forefront of the Underground rock explosion of the late 1960 s and early 1970 s. Cave Of Clear Light re-appraises the labels output and features tracks by artists such as Donovan, Status Quo, Man, Atomic Rooster and Fruupp, also including many rare tracks by highly collectable artists such as Jonesy, David Mcwilliams, Stray, Paul Brett's Sage, Fire, Titus Groan, Demon Fuzz, Noir, Comus, Gravy Train, Writing On The Wall and many more…

Over the last decade, Lanegan and Garwood have worked in tangent on 2013’s ‘Black Pudding’ as well as on Lanegan’s solo records (Garwood contributed to 2012’s ‘Blues Funeral’ and 2017’s ‘Gargoyle’ after which he toured as part of Lanegan’s band). This summer, the duo are set to release their second album ‘With Animals’ on Friday 24th August. ‘With Animals’, the twelve songs are spectral and sinewy, often defined by the spaces in between the sounds. A ghost’s whistle weaves itself around a pulsing single note on ‘Lonesome Infidel’; ‘Feast to Famine’s’ hard luck story floats above a guitar part so strung out and washed with distortion it’s become barely recognisable. It’s soul music for anyone who’s long since left the crossroads.

'Then and Now' just about justifies its 4 star rating if only because of the unseen early band footage and all too rare Manfred Mann interviews, both then and now!
Not so much a career retrospective as flash back to the beginning of the Earth Band circa 72 and a flash forward to current times, 'Then and Now' has its moments but would have been bolstered with some bonus footage of both Chris Thompson and the late Steve Waller, who were important mainstays in the band; that said, there's an accompanying CD box set reviewed elsewhere.

“Incident At a Free Festival” is a tribute to the mid-afternoon slots at Deeply Vale, Bickershaw, Krumlin, Weeley, and Plumpton – early 70s festivals that don’t get the column inches afforded the Isle of Wight or Glastonbury Fayre, but which would have been rites of passage for thousands of kids. Bands lower down the bill would have been charged with waking up the gentle hippies and appealing to both the greasy bikers and the girls in knee-high boots who wanted to wiggle their hips. And the best way to do that was with volume, riffs and percussion.