Mister no Revolution

It is rare to find such a strong debut album. The French group Taal recorded Mister Green as a quartet. The instrumentation is typical to progressive rock: guitar, keyboards, bass, drums. Particularly well written, the songs hide many surprises, like the bass and drums motif at the of "Barbituricus" lifted from the Nice's "Rondo 69." That piece and "Flat Spectre," two 15-minute chunks, open the album on a gloomy pompous note, something close to Anekdoten-meets-Pink Floyd, with heavy riffs and guitar-hero solos. This is exactly the kind of thing that can kill a young band…except when your guitarist is good. Anthony Gabard stumbles upon a few clichés, but he plays his metalesque solos with such flare the listener has no choice but to approve.

This 80 page 12x12 hardback book includes: 4 x CDs and 1 x DVD “Tanx” and “Zinc Alloy” and the contemporary singles remastered by producer Tony Visconti, Demos and outtakes, Brand new liner notes by Tony Visconti and acknowledged expert Mark Paytress, Plus photographs of ‘Tanx’ and ‘Zinc Alloy’ period 7” singles from around the world, previously unpublished photos, sheet music and press cuttings…

By 1973's Tanx, the T. Rex hit-making machine was beginning to show some wear and tear, but Marc Bolan still had more than a few winners up his sleeve. It was also admirable that Bolan was attempting to broaden the T. Rex sound – soulful backup singers and horns are heard throughout, a full two years before David Bowie used the same formula for his mega-seller Young Americans…