Colosseum II

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, even as it touches all of the bases essential to mid-'70s progressive rock -- including bravura keyboard flourishes and long, singing lead guitar lines -- with an emphasis on Moore's soulful guitar leads. Vocalist Mike Starrs, while not an immensely engaging singer, does a nice job keeping up with Hiseman and bass player Neil Murray -- the group had at least one foot firmly in the Yes/Emerson, Lake & Palmer school of art rock, mixing lyrical, classically inspired melodies and high-wattage amplification on the synthesizers and guitar -- and Starrs' range at times leaped up from Greg Lake's deep tenor range to somewhere near Jon Anderson's territory. Yet the most obvious influence on the debut album came out of the jazz world, and the work of John McLaughlin and the original Mahavishnu Orchestra -- close your eyes, shut off your memory of who you are listening to, and it's easy to find yourself thinking that the guitar and bass parts, and even elements of the drumming, are lifted out of Inner Mounting Flame and, to a lesser degree, Birds of Fire -- and this is not a bad thing, because Moore, Murray, Airey, and Hiseman are more than sufficiently virtuosic in their playing to pull it off. 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" -- carrying a lot of heavy amperage and a gorgeous solo piano section -- and the funky "Gemini and Leo."

The 2005 Castle Music expanded edition has all of that material plus enough add-ons to fill out this CD and add a whole additional disc -- these include two different versions of the epic "Castles," inspired by a Hiseman poem, and "Gary's Lament," which sounds like a lost outtake from Mahavishnu's Birds of Fire, plus the refreshingly funky, bluesy rendition of Graham Bond's "Walking in the Park," revived from the original Colosseum's repertoire. Disc two is filled with further recordings by the band represented on the original LP, including the tight, hard-rocking progressive instrumental "Night Creeper," which ought to have done well as a single, plus a trio of extended studio tracks by the second incarnation of Colosseum II, with John Mole on bass and Moore taking what vocals were necessary, in lieu of the departed Mike Starrs. Mahavishnu influences abound across "Siren Song" and "The Scorch," bridging the two different lineups, and the disc concludes with a trio of searing live tracks, of "Dark Side of the Moog," "Siren Song," and "The Awakening," recorded live on the BBC in June of 1976, the latter constituting some of the last work of this band's original lineup. The sound is excellent throughout, and the diversity of sounds makes this an essential acquisition for fans of this band, Hiseman, Moore, or the harder side of progressive rock. Even John McLaughlin and Mahavishnu fans may get a kick out of what they hear. ~ James Christopher Monger & Bruce Eder, All Music Guide