Greenslade

Greenslade were one of those progressive bands of the mid 1970’s that should have garnered a huge following but somehow never caught the public attention in the way that band such as Yes or ELP did.
A shame because their abilities were unquestionable, and their music holds together well, even today.

There have been reissues over the years but this collection of all four of their albums really puts their consistent talents in clear view.

Dave Greenslade’s background was originally in jazz and then with jazz-rockers Colosseum before that band’s break up in 1971 and he brought to his own band both the jazz chops and a feel for the new progressive styles that were gaining audiences and critics praises alike. Bass player Tony Reeves had been with Greenslade in Colosseum and drummer Andrew McCulloch had been a member of Fields and one of the incarnations of King Crimson. Bringing in a second keyboard player instead of a guitarist made them pretty unique, at times sounding rather like The Nice and at others taking on a more jazz-tinged Brian Auger-esque vibe, with Dave Lawson – ex Samurai and Alan Bown Set – fitting the bill.

So, the overall sound is organ-heavy prog with jazz overtones and a strong melody base, rather than being overtly rhythmic in character.
The first three albums all featured the original lineup with Reeves leaving after the recording of album number three ‘Spyglass Guest’, which was commercially the high point for the band. For album number 4, ‘Time & Tide’, Martin Briley joined on bass and added guitar and vocals as well which brought some changes to the sound, especially his guitar parts.

The music throughout these four albums has a lighter feel than some of their contemporaries, in part the reason that the band is so fondly remembered.

As usual with Esoteric, the remastering is excellent and the package includes all the original albums sleeves as well as a good booklet.
A good collection for anyone building a Progressive collection but also for the Greenslade fan as the remasters are better than many previous reissues.