colosseum: ellegy - the recordings 1968-1971

• 6CD BOXED SET CELEBRATING THE WORK OF COLOSSEUM RECORDED BETWEEN 1968 AND 1971.
• A REMASTERED SET INCLUDING THE ALBUMS ‘THOSE ABOUT TO DIE SALUTE YOU’, ‘VALENTYNE SUITE’, ‘THE GRASS IS GREENER’, ‘DAUGHTER OF TIME’ AND ‘COLOSSEUM LIVE’ PLUS AN ADDITIONAL 12 BONUS TRACKS DRAWN FROM STUDIO SESSIONS AND LIVE RECORDINGS.
• INCLUDES AN ILLUSTRATED BOOK WITH ESSAY.

Colosseum came together in 1968, the brainchild of virtuoso drummer Jon Hiseman and saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith (who had played together in the Graham Bond Organisation and John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers). Teaming with bass guitarist Tony Reeves and keyboard player Dave Greenslade, the line-up of the band was completed with the recruitment of guitarist and vocalist James Litherland. Their debut album, ‘Those About to Die Salute You’ was was one of the first successful attempts to fuse jazz, blues and rock reaching number 15 on the UK album chart.

Their second album, ‘Valentyne Suite’, was the first release on the Progressive Vertigo imprint and spent nine weeks on the UK album chart, peaking at number 15. The album’s focal point was the three part ‘Valentyne Suite’ which earned the band critical praise and is now regarded as a milestone in early Progressive Rock. In the USA and Canada the album appeared in different form in 1970 as ‘The Grass is Greener’ remixed and featuring new member Dave “Clem” Clempson (guitar, vocals), who replaced James Litherland in the group. The album also featured a series of songs unreleased in the UK.

Released on the Vertigo in December 1970, ‘Daughter of Time’ heralded another line-up change within the group, featuring new recruits Mark Clarke (bass) and the distinctive lead vocalist Chris Farlowe. The album spent five weeks in UK Top 30. A series of UK concerts were recorded in 1971 and were issued in June of that year as the double LP ‘Colosseum Live’, a UK Top 20 hit. Colosseum dis-banded in October 1971, but were to reform in 1994.This Esoteric Recordings release also features studio bonus tracks and an additional CD of further live recordings from 1971.

TRACK LISTING

DISC ONE

Those Who Are About to Die Salute You
• Walking in the Park
• Plenty hard Luck
• Mandarin
• Debut
• Beware the Ides of March
• The Road She Walked Before
• Backwater Blues
• Those About to Die
Bonus tracks – recorded at Pye Studios, November 1968
• I Can’t Live without You
• In the Heat of the Night
• Those About to Die (demo)

DISC TWO

Valentyne Suite
• The Kettle
• Elegy
• Butty’s Blues
• The Machine Demands a Sacrifice
• The Valentyne Suite
• a. January’s Search
• b. Theme Two – February’s Valentyne
• c. Theme Three – The Grass is Always Greener
Bonus track
• Tell Me Now

DISC THREE

The Grass is Greener
• Jumping Off the Sun
• Lost Angeles
• Elegy
• Butty’s Blues
• Rope Ladder to the Moon
• Bolero
• The Machine Demands a Sacrifice
• The Grass is Always Greener

DISC FOUR

Daughter of Time
• Three Score and Ten Amen
• Time Lament
• Take Me Back to Domesday
• The Daughter of Time
• Theme for an Imaginary Western
• Bring Out Your Dead
• Downhill and Shadows
• The Time Machine
Bonus tracks
• Bring Out Your Dead (demo)
• Jumping Off the Sun (Lansdowne Studios – 3rd May 1970)
• 11 The Pirate’s Dream

DISC FIVE

Colosseum Live
• Rope Ladder to the Moon
• Walking in the Park
• Skellington
• I Can’t Live Without You
• Tanglewood ‘63
• Encore… Stormy Monday Blues
• Lost Angeles

DISC SIX

Live Recordings 1971
• Rope Ladder to the Moon (live – Brighton 1971)
• Skellington (live – Brighton 1971)
• I Can’t Live Without You Time Machine – The Machine Demands a Sacrifice (live – Manchester University 1971) 4 Stormy Monday Blues (live – Bristol University 1971)
• The Valentyne Suite
• a. January’s Search
• b. Theme Two- February’s Valentyne
• c. Theme Three – The Grass is Always Greener (live – Manchester University 1971)