Colosseum

Several years after the original art rock supergroup Colosseum disbanded, drummer Jon Hiseman formed Colosseum II, a more jazz fusion-oriented outfit featuring guitarist Gary Moore (Thin Lizzy) and keyboardist Don Airey. Their eclectic debut, Strange New Flesh, shows some impressive chops from all involved, with an emphasis on Moore's soulful guitar leads. Vocalist Mike Starr, while not an immensely engaging singer, does a nice job keeping up with Hiseman and bass player Neil Murray. Highlights include the technically showy but blissfully irreverent ode to Pink Floyd, "Dark Side of the Moog," a nice version of Joni Mitchell's "Down to You," and the funky "Gemini and Leo."

First fully authorised release comprising Colosseum recorded live at the BBC 1969-1971. Over 60 tracks, many recordings new to CD - over 6 hours playing time. Painstakingly researched by Colin Harper, Nigel Lees and Ashley Wood. Restored and remastered by Eroc for optimum sound quality throughout. In-depth liner notes by Chris Welch with a foreword by Pete Brown. Includes 44-page booklet, photographs and contributions from former band members.

The second album from this British jazz-rock quintet rocks harder than their first outing. Their take on Jack Bruce's "Rope Ladder to the Moon" is especially strong, and "Jumping off the Sun" has a similar feel. "Bolero" has been done to death, but guitarist Dave Clempson (who later replaced Peter Frampton in Humble Pie) uses it to launch a showcase of guitar fireworks. In fact, Clempson's blazing guitar licks shine throughout. Dick Heckstall-Smith once again impresses on his arsenal of saxophones and woodwinds, and the seven-and-a-half minute title cut which he co-wrote with drummer Jon Hiseman is a highlight of this disc.

One of England's prime jazz-rock - or, more accurately, rock-jazz - outfits, most of the members of Colosseum had apprenticed in blues bands, and it shows very strongly on some of the material here. Both "The Kettle" and "Butty's Blues" are essentially tarted-up 12-bar blues, although they work well in a grander context; in the latter case much grander, as a brass ensemble enters for the last part, drowning out everything but the guitar, an indication that this recording is in dire need of remastering. "Elegy" is a fast-paced, minor-key blues that stretches guitarist James Litherland's vocal abilities. Things do get far more interesting with "The Machine Demands a Sacrifice," which offers solo opportunities to organist Dave Greenslade and sax player Dick Heckstall-Smith before re-emerging in what can only be called a proto-industrial style, all heavily treated clattering percussion…

Colosseum's debut album is a powerful one, unleashing each member's instrumental prowess at one point while consolidating each talent to form an explosive outpouring of progressive jazz-rock the next. Those Who Are About to Die Salute You is coated with the volatile saxophone playing of Dick Heckstall-Smith, the thunderous keyboard assault of Dave Greenslade, and the bewildering guitar craft of James Litherland. Together, Colosseum skitters and glides through brisk musical spectrums of freestyle jazz and British blues, sometimes held tightly in place by Greenslade's Hammond organ, while other times let loose by the brilliancy of the horn and string interplay. Each song sparks its own personality and its very own energy level, giving the band instant attention upon the album's release in 1969…

The Collectors' Colosseum is a compilation album by Colosseum that was released in England in 1971. Colosseum are an English jazz rock band, mixing blues, rock and jazz-based improvisation. Colin Larkin wrote that "the commercial acceptance of jazz rock in the UK" was mainly due to the band. Between 1975 and 1978 a separate band Colosseum II existed playing progressive rock.

This 1996 Streets And Walkways: The Best Of Gary Moore & Colosseum II provides a good overview of Colosseum II 's Electric Savage and War Dance while it also adds some songs from 1978's Back on the Streets by Gary Moore. Gary Moore has earned the status of guitar legend. This disc shows that he was as adept at playing in a jazz-fusion style as he was as a high octane rocker. This is an excellent introduction, for those who have only heard his more famous stuff, to a different side of Gary's playing.

Daughter of Time is the fourth album by Colosseum, released in 1970. The album remained for five weeks in the UK Albums Chart peaking number 23. Recorded in the midst of an upheaval in the band's lineup, only one of its eight tracks, "Three Score and Ten, Amen", features all six of the official band members. Mike DeGagne gave the album a rave retrospective review in Allmusic, chiefly praising the wide variety of instruments used, but also acknowledging the melancholy tones and sense of drama. His only criticism was that the songs are too short, "all around six minutes in length" (in fact, only three of the songs are around six minutes in length, and half of them are much shorter).