Colosseum – The Valentyne Suite (1969)

I wasn't aware of Colosseum until after they'd ended, becoming only vaguely aware of their successor Colosseum II, who seemed a bit to jazz for my delicate teenage ears.

But a chance to pick this up for a few quid on a recent visit to Milton Keynes wasn't to be passed up (and yes, while my wallet was out, more followed).

This is very much an album of two halves - the first half is far more bluesy, with four vocal compositions. The Kettle is the one Colosseum piece you might recognise, a very Hendrix sounding song, while Elegy is very bluesy, with a fine sax solo from Dick Heckstall-Smith. There's a very traditional 12 bar jazz-blues feel to Butty's Blues, with Dave Greenslade's Hammond leading the way, while final song in the first half, The Machine Demands A Sacrifice, feels a bit more prog, with a flute opening, a precussive middle section (drummer Jon Hiseman) and some decent vocals from John Litherland.

The second half is one long piece, The Valentyne Suite, a jazz-blues epic which sounds compelling, despite the absence of any hook, but rocks along showing off the virtuoso talents of the band members.

Further reading suggest this was the highpoint of the band, many of whose members became stalwarts of the English jazz scene over the following decades, with a couple of them continuing in Greenslade, and periodic reunions of Colosseum. It's certainly an enjoyable slice of crossover jazz-blues-prog from the late 1960s.

Link to album tracks

4* - a fine piece of 1960s jazz-rock drawing on many influences