{"id":7086,"date":"2018-09-02T19:00:50","date_gmt":"2018-09-02T18:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.progradar.org\/?p=7086"},"modified":"2026-08-21T15:56:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T14:56:05","slug":"review-esoteric-antenna-reissue-round-up-by-james-r-turner-keith-emerson-colosseum-nirvana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/2018\/09\/02\/review-esoteric-antenna-reissue-round-up-by-james-r-turner-keith-emerson-colosseum-nirvana\/","title":{"rendered":"Review – Esoteric Antenna Reissue Round-Up by James R Turner – Keith Emerson, Colosseum & Nirvana."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Keith Emerson: Off the Shelf<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a remastered edition of an eclectic collection of more than just odds and sods originally released back in 2006 and reissued last year after Keith\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

Never one to do anything by halves there\u2019s nearly 70 minutes of music here, which runs the gamut from Keith\u2019s classical inspired compositional work, his TV and film work and the contributions he made to progressive music via both The Nice<\/strong> and ELP<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The earliest recording on this alternative best of is a BBC Radio session from the early days of The Nice<\/strong>, where their psychedelia meets proto-prog image belies the fact that they had a diverse inspiration, and here (complete with Davy O?List<\/strong> on guitar) is their unique cover of Frank Zappa\u2019s<\/strong> Lumpy Gravy<\/em>.<\/p>\n

For ELP<\/strong> fans there is a rousing version of Abaddon\u2019s<\/strong> Bolero performed by Keith with the London Philharmonic Orchestra<\/strong>, which is as grand and OTT as anything they ever did, I mean if you get an orchestra to go nuts with you, why the hell not? There\u2019s also a 1980\u2019s excerpt from a solo rendition of Pictures at an Exhibition<\/strong><\/em>, showcasing Keith\u2019s unique style.<\/p>\n

His solo work is well represented on the smoky blues room piano piece And Then January<\/strong><\/em>, with its late-night vibe and plaintive mood shows the more reflective side of Keith\u2019s musical personality. Straight Between The Eyes<\/strong><\/em> (featuring Levon Helm<\/strong> and Garth Hudson<\/strong>) is the first from the soundtrack to the film Best Revenge and, while being a bit 80\u2019s in its style and execution, has a wonderful drawled vocal by co-writer John Doukas<\/strong>. Also from the sessions but which didn\u2019t make it to the soundtrack, is an interesting version of the old Elvis<\/strong> classic Don\u2019t Be Cruel<\/strong>, where they slow it right down and funk it up, complete with fat bass and slabs of chunky 80\u2019s synths, all of which turns it into an MTV big hair ballad.<\/p>\n

Mixing his influences and genres, the interpretation of Walter L<\/strong><\/em> (featuring the London Jazz Orchestra<\/strong>) and some moog soloing shows how proficient and comfortable Keith was across all genres and is a testament to how easy he fitted into big orchestral pieces or solo piano work. With solo synth pieces like Motor Bikin <\/strong><\/em>, a reworked version of America<\/strong><\/em> featuring Pat Travers<\/strong> on guitar and then the theme tune to Jim Davidson’s sit-com Up the Elephant and Round the Castle<\/strong> finishing off on a cover of Sex & Drugs & Rock n? Roll<\/strong><\/em>, this is no ordinary compilation album. More a snapshot of a career, and one that was always deeper and more musically diverse than the work he was famous for with ELP.<\/p>\n

Released 28th April 2017<\/p>\n

Order from Cherry Red:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.cherryred.co.uk\/product\/off-the-shelf-remastered-edition\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Colosseum II: Wardance<\/strong><\/p>\n

This, the third album from the late Jon Hiseman’s<\/strong> revitalised Colosseum<\/strong>, was originally released back in 1977 and see\u2019s Hiseman joined by some of the greatest musical talents of that era. Gary Moore<\/strong> on guitar, John Mole<\/strong> on bass and Don Airey<\/strong> on keyboards.<\/p>\n

When you get 4 superb musicians in one band then creative sparks will fly and, as is mentioned in the liner notes, the band didn\u2019t have the luxury of rehearsal times. Instead, the taut and driving fusion of jazz and rock that is on display here was honed to perfection on the road and then recorded as live in the studio due to the limited time available.<\/p>\n

From the opening title track, Hiseman proves how effective he is as a band leader, choosing some superb band members to bounce of and work with. His death recently was a massive loss to the musical world as he is as powerful a drummer as anyone around and the way he propels the groove, allowing both Airey and Moore to spar, is exemplary.<\/p>\n

Throughout this album it\u2019s hard to pull out a star player, as all 4 work the groove and play round each other with deftness and skill, and, while Moore and Airey moved on to other things, they sound so hungry here. It is a shame that the hard work they put in seemed to be forgotten as band\/label decisions ultimately scuppered this line up.<\/p>\n

Hiseman returned with the original Colosseum<\/strong> line up later but this line up and era shouldn\u2019t be overshadowed and should be recognised as important to the fusion sound as the original band.<\/p>\n

Released 27th April 2018<\/p>\n

Order from Cherry Red:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.cherryred.co.uk\/product\/colosseum-ii-war-dance-re-mastered-edition\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Nirvana: Black Flower<\/strong><\/p>\n

Originally released in 1970, the third album from Nirvana<\/strong> duo Patrick Campbell-Lyons<\/strong> and Alex Spyropolous<\/strong> was arranged and produced by Tony Visconti<\/strong> and Mike Hurst<\/strong> (who was previously a member of the Springfield\u2019s<\/strong>). Unfortunately, as is always the way, when the tapes were delivered to Island Records Chris Blackwell<\/strong> turned it out, feeling it wasn\u2019t suitable for the label, not to mention the fact he was concerned the title was too similar to the phrase Black Power<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The lush orchestration and sublime production enhance the duo’s compositional skills which were maturing nicely. From the wonderfully uplifting The World is Cold Without Yo<\/strong>u<\/strong><\/em>, where the orchestration and the chorus genuinely swells, to tracks like Excerpt From “The Blind<\/strong>and The<\/strong><\/em> Beautiful”<\/strong>, where the orchestration drives the music, takes this beyond mere pop psych and into new rock classical crossover sounds.<\/p>\n

This cross fertilises elements of singer-songwriter work, the reinterpretations of Brecht by Scott Walker<\/strong>, and the dramatic Gothic rock of singers like David McWilliams<\/strong>, all filtered through the Anglo-Greek pairing of Campbell-Lyons & Spyropolous, whose disparate influences weave together an intense musical experience.<\/p>\n

Chock full of catchy tunes, well observed lyrics, a whole spree of bonus tracks, this is recognition at last for an album that slipped under the radar on release and led to the demise of the original Nirvana<\/strong> line-up. Which was a shame, as on tracks like Black Flower<\/strong><\/em> or Love Suite<\/strong>, the duo were really pushing themselves forward together, it would have been interesting to see where they went next.<\/p>\n

Released 27th April 2018<\/p>\n

Order from Cherry Red:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.cherryred.co.uk\/product\/nirvana-black-flower-re-mastered-expanded-edition\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Keith Emerson: Off the Shelf This is a remastered edition of an eclectic collection of more than just odds and sods originally released back in 2006 and reissued last year after Keith\u2019s death. Never one to do anything by halves there\u2019s nearly 70 minutes of music here, which runs the gamut from Keith\u2019s classical inspired […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7087,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,2],"tags":[3351,2773,2180,1105,3252,3350,3348,15,3349],"class_list":["post-7086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","category-reviews","tag-black-flower","tag-colosseum","tag-esoteric-antenna","tag-james-r-turner","tag-keith-emerson","tag-nirvana","tag-off-the-shelf","tag-progradar","tag-wardance"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phnn7q-1Qi","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/progradar.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Esoteric-Antenna.jpg?fit=305%2C131&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7086"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7086\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17387,"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7086\/revisions\/17387"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}