Steve Peregrine Took - CRAZY DIAMOND

Описание

Steve Peregrine Took - CRAZY DIAMOND - CDr - 1995/2002 -
- Cleopatra Records/Angel Air Records - 5055011701182 - 50 grn
FACTORY PRESSED GENUINE DISC, NOT A HOME-MADE FAKE OF ANY KIND.
The Missing Link To Tyrannosaurus Rex that was released on 7th February 1995 album by Cleopatra label, was re-released as CRAZY DIAMOND on 9th July 2002 by Angel Air Records. Steve Took was Bolan's first partner and bongo player, until he was replaced by Mickey Finn in 1969. Nobody ever heard again of the man until they announced his untimely death in 1980. And now here is this CD with songs from early 1972, recorded on ten track in London with a band. Steve Took sang, played guitars, keyboards and percussion. What we hear, is psychedelic rock. Nothing to write home about, but it's alright. One of the band members was a certain ''crazy diamond''. Was it Syd Barrett. Well, one of the songs is called "Syd's Wine". It may be true that most of those involved here were in various stages of mind-altered consciousness when these recordings were made. But you'll find myself playing this fascinating album over and over again. There are some truly great tunes here. Almost majestic and ethereal despite their obviously unfinished jam-like quality. Steve Took proves here that given time and space he could certainly come up with the goods and he shows some great keyboard sounds and he's backed up by some fine musicians. Most of the lyrics are barely intelligible but this adds to the uniqueness of this endlessly enjoyable album. CRAZY DIAMOND album might not necessarily convince people that Steve Peregrine-Took was a renegade genius overshadowed by Marc Bolan, but in its own way it's a roughly enjoyable listen. The guest performers on the album promise much - Pink Fairies renegades Mick Farren on guitar and bass and Twink the Wonder Kid on drums and Took's erstwhile partner in the obscure Shagrat, Larry Wallis, on guitar, among many others. There are even some random appearances by another drug-ravaged refugee from the '60s - Syd Barrett, credited with guitar and "various noises", likely including turns on the surprisingly sweet "Syd's Wine". For all the promise of the participants, there's nothing quite as truly, hauntingly gone as Barrett's own solo work or Took's older efforts in T. Rex itself, or, say, Skip Spence's work on Oar. But for all that, some songs come close, more often the calmer but still weird and wonderful acid folk efforts than the OK-enough space rock chugs, which sound like reasonable if not remarkable Hawkwind outtakes. The odd recording quality, murky and sometimes distanced, often adds to the strange beauty of the better numbers, like the fried jangle of "Flophouse Blues (In The Mountain Grill)" and the more straightforward rock/goth epic turn of "Seventh Sign". Since Took can barely be heard or easily interpretable on most numbers one gets the sense of his voice more than what he's singing. The fairly generic, hard rock stomp "I Caution You" is one of the few exceptions where his singing is straight up in the mix. There are flashes of the yearning quality familiar from his heyday with Bolan, while other times he's pursuing his own strange mystic ramble, and his occasional keyboard playing is often surprisingly haunting and effective. It's a collection of unfinished, somehow both joyous and ominous soundscapes and straight ahead rock. It's a proof if any were still needed that Steve Took was far more than a bongo playing sidekick.
Replica From Original Austrian Edition.
Issued In A Standard Jewel Case With Black Tray Includes Insert.
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