The Grass Is Greener (album)

Last updated

The Grass Is Greener
Colosseum Grass1.jpg
Studio album by
Colosseum
ReleasedJanuary 1970
RecordedSummer/Winter 1969
Genre Progressive rock
Length38:30
Label Dunhill
Producer Tony Reeves, Gerry Bron
Colosseum chronology
Valentyne Suite
(1969)		The Grass Is Greener
(1970)		 Daughter of Time
(1970)
Alternative cover

The Grass Is Greener is an album by Colosseum, released in January 1970.

Contents

In contrast to other albums by Colosseum, The Grass Is Greener was released only in the United States and Canada, [1] on the Dunhill label, distributed by ABC. It was conceived as a North American alternative to November 1969's Valentyne Suite , complete with a muted, blue-green variation of the aforementioned album's cover. It features four tracks recorded with then-new guitarist/vocalist Dave "Clem" Clempson in the winter of 1969 ("Jumping Off the Sun", "Lost Angeles", "Rope Ladder to the Moon", "Bolero"); three tracks from the 1969 Vertigo LP Valentyne Suite but with vocal and guitar parts provided by Clempson ("Butty's Blues", "The Machine Demands a Sacrifice", "The Grass Is Greener") instead of James Litherland; and one track, "Elegy", that appears to be the same as the original from Valentyne Suite, including Litherland's vocal. The record was remastered and released as a bonus disc in Sanctuary Records' 2003 deluxe CD edition of Valentyne Suite.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Babyblaue Seiten Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]

In a review of The Grass Is Greener at AllMusic, Jim Newsom said he was "impress[ed]" with Dick Heckstall-Smith's saxophones and woodwinds, and Dave Clempson's "blazing guitar licks". [2] Newsom found "Jumping off the Sun" and Jack Bruce's "Rope Ladder to the Moon", "especially strong", and called the title track the "highlight of this disc". [2]

Achim Breiling wrote at Babyblaue Seiten that in contrast to its predecessor, Valentyne Suite, The Grass Is Greener is a well balanced and diverse album. Breiling opined that, except for "Jumping off the Sun", which he felt is a little too "poppy", all the tracks are "beautiful", bluesy-jazz-rock songs, and some of Colosseum's best recorded numbers. [3]

Track listing

side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Jumping Off the Sun" Mike Taylor, Dave Tomlin 3:00
2."Lost Angeles" Dave Greenslade, Dick Heckstall-Smith 5:30
3."Elegy" James Litherland 3:26
4."Butty's Blues"Litherland6:45
side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."Rope Ladder to the Moon" Pete Brown, Jack Bruce 3:42
6."Bolero" Maurice Ravel 5:28
7."The Machine Demands a Sacrifice"Brown, Jon Hiseman, Litherland2:48
8."The Grass Is Greener"Heckstall-Smith, Hiseman7:31

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Heckstall-Smith</span> English saxophonist (1934–2004)

Richard Malden "Dick" Heckstall-Smith was an English jazz and blues saxophonist. He played with some of the most influential English blues rock and jazz fusion bands of the 1960s and 1970s. He is known for primarily playing tenor, soprano, and baritone saxophones, as well as piano, clarinet and alto saxophone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colosseum (band)</span> British jazz-rock band

Colosseum are an English jazz rock band, mixing blues, rock and jazz-based improvisation. Colin Larkin wrote that "the commercial acceptance of jazz rock in the UK" was mainly due to the band. Between 1975 and 1978 a separate band Colosseum II existed playing progressive rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Hiseman</span> English drummer and sound engineer (1944–2018)

Philip John Albert "Jon" Hiseman was an English drummer, recording engineer, record producer, and music publisher. He played with the Graham Bond Organisation, with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and later formed what has been described as the "seminal" jazz rock/progressive rock band, Colosseum. He later formed Colosseum II in 1975.

<i>Valentyne Suite</i> 1969 studio album by Colosseum

Valentyne Suite is the second album released by the band Colosseum. It was Vertigo Records' first album release, and reached number 15 in the UK Albums Chart in 1969. The album peaked at number 18 in Australia in 1970.

<i>Daughter of Time</i> (album) 1970 studio album by Colosseum

Daughter of Time is the fourth album by English jazz rock band Colosseum, released in 1970. The album remained for five weeks in the UK Albums Chart peaking number 23. Recorded in the midst of an upheaval in the band's lineup, only one of its eight tracks, "Three Score and Ten, Amen", features all six of the official band members.

<i>Colosseum Live</i> 1971 live album by Colosseum

Colosseum Live is a live album by Colosseum, released in 1971. It was one of the band's most commercially successful albums, remaining in the UK Albums Chart for six weeks and peaking at number 17. The album peaked at number 48 in Australia in 1972.

<i>Colosseum LiveS – The Reunion Concerts</i> 1995 live album by Colosseum

LiveS The Reunion Concerts 1994 is a live album by English progressive jazz-rock band Colosseum. It includes two tracks from their reunion concert at the Zelt-Musik-Festival in Freiburg, Germany and six tracks from the second reunion concert at the E-Werk in Cologne, Germany.

<i>Bread and Circuses</i> (Colosseum album) 1997 studio album by Colosseum

Bread & Circuses is a 1997 album by Colosseum.

<i>Tomorrows Blues</i> 2003 studio album by Colosseum

Tomorrow's Blues is an album by the band Colosseum that was released in 2003.

<i>Anthology</i> (Colosseum album) 2000 compilation album by Colosseum

Anthology is a 2000 compilation album by Colosseum.

<i>Those Who Are About to Die Salute You</i> 1969 studio album by Colosseum

Those Who Are About to Die Salute You – Morituri Te Salutant is the debut album by Colosseum, released in 1969 by Fontana. It is one of the pioneering albums of jazz fusion. The title is a translation of the Latin phrase morituri te salutant that according to popular belief, gladiators addressed to the emperor before the beginning of a gladiatorial match.

<i>Bare Wires</i> 1968 album by John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers

Bare Wires is a studio album by John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, featuring Mick Taylor on guitar, released in 1968 on Decca Records. The album was the last John Mayall studio album to feature the name "Bluesbreakers". The album was also Mayall's first successful U.S. album reaching #59 on the Billboard 200.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Litherland</span> Musical artist

James Litherland is an English singer and guitarist best known as a founding member of the progressive rock band Colosseum. He was born in Salford, Lancashire, England. He is the father of singer and producer James Blake, who adapted his father's song "Where to Turn" into "The Wilhelm Scream".

<i>The Collectors Colosseum</i> 1971 compilation album by Colosseum

The Collectors' Colosseum is a compilation album by Colosseum that was released in England in 1971.

Bakerloo was an English heavy blues-rock trio, established by Staffordshire guitarist David "Clem" Clempson, Terry Poole and others in the late 1960s, at the high point of the influence of The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream. Although the group was prominent only for around a year (1968–9) and released only one album, it played an important part in the history of the genre, especially in view of its members' subsequent involvement with Colosseum, Humble Pie, May Blitz, Graham Bond, Vinegar Joe, Judas Priest and Uriah Heep.

<i>Romantic Warriors II: Special Features DVD</i> 2013 documentary film

Got RIO? Romantic Warriors II: Special Features DVD is a 2013 documentary film and an addendum to the 2012 feature-length documentary Romantic Warriors II: A Progressive Music Saga About Rock in Opposition. The film was written and directed by Adele Schmidt and José Zegarra Holder, and was released in the United States by Zeitgeist Media. It was generally well received by critics, with a reviewer at AllMusic saying that it "is a showcase for tremendous musicianship and a must-have for existing [Rock in Opposition] fans".

<i>RoqueForte</i> 2010 studio album by Aranis

RoqueForte is a 2010 studio album by Flemish acoustic avant-rock, experimental and neo-classical chamber music group Aranis, led by composer and contrabass player Joris Vanvinckenroye. It is their fourth album and was released in Belgium by Home Records.

Cities of the Heart is a Jack Bruce double CD release of sections of two live performances given on 2 and 3 November 1993 in Cologne, Germany, to celebrate Bruce's 50th birthday. They were recorded for the WDR "Rockpalast" TV show and a DVD of the shows, entitled Rockpalast: The 50th Birthday Concerts, was released by MIG Music in 2014.

<i>Somethin Els</i> 1993 studio album by Jack Bruce

Somethin Els is the tenth studio album by Scottish musician Jack Bruce. The album was released on 23 February 1993 by CMP Records. It features the first appearance of Bruce's old Cream bandmate Eric Clapton on one of his solo albums.

The Hamburg Blues Band is a German blues band, notable for its associations with prominent English musicians as invited guests and band members.

References

  1. ↑ "Colosseum – The Grass Is Greener (1970, Gatefold, Vinyl)". Discogs.com. 23 August 1970. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Newsom, Jim. "Colosseum: The Grass is Greener". AllMusic . Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  3. 1 2 Breiling, Achim (4 December 2004). "Colosseum: The Grass is Greener". Babyblaue Seiten (in German). Retrieved 19 May 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.