KING BISCUIT FLOWER HOUR PRESENTS GTR
GTR
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2.94
| 28 ratings | 5 reviews | 7% 5 stars
Good, but non-essential |
Live, released in 1997 Songs / Tracks Listing 1. Jekyll and Hyde (5:46) - Steve Hackett / guitar
CD King Biscuit Flower Hour Records 70710-88021-2 (1997 US) and to The Bearded Bard for the last updates Edit this entry |
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GTR King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents GTR ratings distribution
(28 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of rock music(7%)Excellent addition to any rock music collection(25%)Good, but non-essential (39%)Collectors/fans only (25%)Poor. Only for completionists (4%)
GTR King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents GTR reviews
Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings
Collaborators/Experts Reviews
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Symphonic Team
Probably one of the best live arena-prog-rock albums of all time!
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR RIO/Avant/Zeuhl,Neo & Post/Math Teams
"Jekyll and Hyde" is a bit slower and the sound of Hackett's guitar is cleaner. Howe play the synth guitar and the bass is more in evidence. Also the drums have lost the 80s electronic plastic sound. The result is a totally different song respect to the studio version. Of course the song itself is not a masterpiece, but at least it's not disturbing.
"Here I Wait" was probably the best track (if "best" is a word that can be used) of the debut album. Without the 80s flavour it's quite a Yes song. Also here the tempo is a bit slower and all the song is improved by this slowing down.
"Prizefighters" is a previously unreleased song. Opened by "violins and pizzicato" reminds me to Procol Harum. Not a masterpiece, probably too mellow, but always better than everything that can be found on the studio album. The interlude is a typical Hackett instrumental for the tempo, enhanceded by Howe's synth guitar. Let me say that "Improved" and "enhanced" are words easy to use respect to the absolutely awful debut.
"Imagining" was the studio album's closer. The classical guitar intro is a bit longer and some passages have been added. It's a pity that it doesn't continue in this way until the end. Even if the bass introduces the "real song" in crescendo, as it was Squire playing, the song is poor. The first sung part is accompanied by drums. This contributes to clean it up, but this is still a song good for Big Generator or for the Duran's sountrack of James Bond. The Spanish guitar coda is not that bad.
"Hackett to Bits" has the advantage of being instrumental and not featuring a Max Bacon, but it's not very different from the original version and the original was nothing special.
"Spectral Mornings" is another new track. Probably one of the few really co-written by the two Steves. It's a melodic instrumental on which the lead guitar sounds like Mike Oldfield's, and the drums are a bit too invasive.
Finally a Genesis cover heavily re-arranged with a bass line that's kept directly from Camel's Liggin' ar Louis and a guitar that would have been better played by Latimer for the first two minutes. It takes over 3 minutes to be recognizable enough. "I know what I like"...I like the Camelesque intro, but it's not functional to the song. It's just a scenic interlude. not that is badly played, of course. I'd never thought that I have preferred Phil Collins to anybody else, but it's the case. Also Fish's version on Suites is better than this in terms of singing.
"Sketches In The Sun" was the other highlight of the studio album. Open chords for Hackett and mandolin like playing by Howe. One of the few good things in both the albums.
Another song not present on the first GTR: "Pennant" is not very different from what listened up to now...quite boring, too. It's followed by "Roundabout". probably the only good reason to purchase this album/DVD. Unfortunately Max Bacon is NOT Jon Anderson and his pitch on this song is one octave lower than Jon's. Stll a great track, anyway.
After this good interlude we are back to the poor songwriting of GTR studio: musically speaking "The Hunter" could have been used as soundtrack for the Teletubbies, and the only time when Max Bacon tries to get the high pitch as in the studio album, he fails.
"You Can Still Get Through" sounds very Yes as in the original version, but less 80s. On this pitch Bacon is not bad and the variation on the chorus makes it less trivial. This is a track that can be saved.
"Reach Out" is on the same line. Very few to say about it, apart of the central instrumental part that has been improved and hosts a couple of guitar solos, so it's really better than the original.
Unfortunately the live session is closed by the worst poppy song: "When the Heart Rules The Mind". It reached the top40 in the 80s. And it should have been left there, at Top of the Pops.
This album is an anhancement respect to the very poor studio, but of course a live played by skilled musicians like the two Steves can't be totally bad. Unfortunately the songs are almost the same of the debut. It can have two stars instead of one, but it's just pop.
PROG REVIEWER
I think that if it was not for the not so good stuff from the original album, this could have been a great moment and a fine group after all. And even if the songwriting was originally one of their many issues, all the tunes sound better here than on their debut. Much better! The inclusion of such cover versions fo classics like I Know What I Like and Roundabout was quite risky. However, the results - taking in consideration it was the 80�s, the uncoolest time to do such thing - are very good and respectful to the originals. They play a complete, note perfect version of Roundabout! I loved the version of Hackett�s Spectral Mornings (actually only part of that song linked with Genesis instrumental After The Ordeal. Great!).
The CD also brings up a new song (Prizefighters intended for their second album) and Howe�s Pennants (form his sophmore solo release The Steve Howe Album). The production is simply excellent, with all instruments ande voices very well balanced. All the songs are performed with enthisiasm and conviction. This record is everythign their debut was not.
Ok, I would love to give this CD a higher rating, but since most of their stuff is really AOR/80�s pop with a little prog thrown in, I can�t say it is an excellent addtion to any prog rock music collection. However, if you like melodic rock done by brilliant musicians, you should check this out. So I�ll be giving it a 3.5 stars rating.
A very nice surprise from a band that seemed doomed from the very start.
PROG REVIEWER
Latest members reviews
This is in truth a review of GTR - Roundabout, a bootlegesque version of the King Biscuit. album where they have changed the track order for some reason. For example, the three tracks comprising the Hackett/Genesis med-ley are now on different parts of the CD. Also they have cut out all the talk ... (read more)
Report this review (#181541) | Posted by Frasse | Tuesday, September 2, 2008 | Review Permanlink
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