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Colosseum

Daughter of Time: Remastered & Expanded Edition

Review by Gary Hill

This new remastered version of a classic album features three bonus tracks. I have never heard the original before, so it's all new to me. The blend of progressive rock, psychedelia and more built into this disc works really well. There are definitely comparisons to be made to Emerson, Lake and Palmer, but that's not the end of the musical concepts here. This has a lot more psychedelic rock than that. Besides, it's just more unique. I think that this is a very effective set from start to finish.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2017  Volume 5 at  garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2017.

Track by Track Review
Three Score and Ten, Amen

The introductory section here does a great job of building interest. It's part prog, part psychedelia and all cool. When it shifts out for the vocal section, the change is abrupt. The vocal movement makes me think of something that might have fit in the Jesus Christ Superstar soundtrack. This works through a number of changes as it grinds forward. Parts of it land closer to psychedelia. Other things are decidedly proto-prog. There are elements of jazz rock here, too. It drops to a mellower movement later. A poetry reading is heard over the top of that. It works back out to the rocking stuff before it ends.

Time Lament
Classical music and psychedelia merge on the opening part of this. The tune works forward with more rocking sounds building out. It shifts and turns this way and then another. It has a lot of jazz built into it. It a cool proto-prog rocker for sure.
Take Me Back to Doomsday
As keyboards open this and drive it forward, I'm very much reminded of ELP. The rocking guitar that joins after a while brings it more into a psychedelic rock vibe for the vocal section. As it works out later we get some folk prog, jazz and psychedelia all dancing off of each other.
The Daughter of Time
Powerhouse jazz rock jamming opens this. They take that through for a while and then work it to more of a mainstream "song" type movement. Then it drops way down. Vocals come in over the stripped back arrangement, and as they reach a crescendo the music rises up to meet them. This continues to evolve and grow from there with a definite proto-prog texture. It is just such a hot tune.
Theme from An Imaginary Western
There is almost a Procol Harum vibe to a lot of this number. It's a killer cut that works really well. It's a bit more on the melodic mainstream side of the equation. Perhaps this is closest to folk prog.
Bring Out Your Dead
The fast paced jam that starts this again makes me think of ELP quite a bit. This killer instrumental works through some great changes. It's a lot of fun and all prog rock.
Downhill and Shadows
Coming in with a wailing horn, there is a real bluesy quality to the start of this thing. As the band joins around the one minute mark, a guitar solos in style. The vocals come in over the top with this having a real mainstream blues rock vibe. The cut gets into some proggy territory in the guitar solo based extended instrumental movement later, but overall this is more of a pure blues rocker than it is anything else.
The Time Machine

While there are other instruments at the start, this quickly works out to a drum solo. Basically this entire eight-minute or so piece is a drum solo. I'm not a fan of drum solos, so it doesn't do a lot for me.

Bonus Tracks
    
Bring Out Your Dead (Demo)

As advertised, this is a demo of the earlier cut. It works quite well. I prefer the final version, but this is a lot of fun.

Jumping Off the Sun
This is a screaming hot tune. It rocks like crazy with a psychedelic edge merged with prog changes. The guitar soloing is particularly melodic and tasty.
The Pirate's Dream
This is over twelve minutes long and epic in terms of both structure and length. Another fast paced jam with lots of prog and psychedelia built into it at the beginning, this starts strong. I like the vocal arrangement quite a bit and the song just drives forward with a real intensity in the first movement. It drops to a mellower movement for a dramatic jazz meets theatric section. They build it back upward, but then drop it down to a mellower, psychedelic rock infused segment from there. Some cool jazz takes it around the half-way mark. The piece really lands as pure jazz rock in that section. It builds back out gradually from there, powering forward in fine fashion. A world music turned hard rocking jam emerges later. This is a crazy powerhouse stomping movement. It resolves out to more of a standard hard rocking texture from there.
 
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