Colosseum - Daughter Of Time (1970)

A concept album loosely based on man's fascination and allure for war throughout the ages, Daughter of Time contains all the elements required to create a pure progressive rock album. Joining David Greenslade and Chris Farlowe is Louis Cennamo from Renaissance, who plucks away at the bass guitar with a heavy hand. A multitude of instruments combine to create a brilliant melange of music on every one of the eight songs. Vibrant spurts of trombone, trumpet, and flute are driven to the height of each song, which gives way to some implements of jazz fusion. Rich organ and vibraphone can be heard in behind "Three Score and Ten Amen" and "Take Me Back to Doomsday" adding to the melancholy theme. Countering this are beautiful string arrangements made up of violin, viola, and cello used effectively to conjure up mood, and doing an excellent job. Even a flügelhorn is blared from time to time on top of the accentuated drums. A spoken word passage from Dick Heckstall-Smith creates an eerie aura, as his voice echoes on about the coming of the apocalypse. Colosseum's music works extremely well in that it builds suspense and reels the listener into the songs. As far as the lyrics go, they're stark and foreboding and have a mediaeval taste to them, coinciding with the music perfectly. Each song, all around six minutes in length, should have been longer to let the instruments play out with their illustriousness. Except for the fact that it is a short album, Daughter of Time is a sturdy example of progressive rock. (allmusic)

Tracks
1. "Three Score and Ten, Amen" (Clem Clempson, Dave Greenslade, Jon Hiseman) – 5:38
2. "Time Lament" (Greenslade) – 6:13
3. "Take Me Back to Doomsday" (Clempson, Greenslade, Hiseman) – 4:25
4. "The Daughter of Time" (Barry Dennen, Greenslade, Dick Heckstall-Smith) – 3:33
5. "Theme for an Imaginary Western" (Pete Brown, Jack Bruce) – 4:07
6. "Bring Out Your Dead" (Clempson, Hiseman) – 4:20
7. "Downhill and Shadows" (Clempson, Hiseman, Tony Reeves) – 6:13
8. "The Time Machine" (Hiseman) – 8:11 (live)
*bonus
9. "Jumping Off The Sun" (Taylor, Tomlin) - 3:25

Personnel
* Mark Clarke - Bass Guitar (on 1,5,7)
* Dave "Clem" Clempson - Guitar, Vocal on 3
* Chris Farlowe - Vocals (on 1,2,4,5,7)
* Louis Cennamo - Bass Guitar (on 2,3,4,6)
* Dave Greenslade - Organ, Piano, Vibes, Vocals
* Dick Heckstall-Smith - Saxophones, Spoken word on 1
* Jon Hiseman - Drums, Percussion
* Barbara Thompson - Flute, Saxophones, Vocals (on 1,2,3,4)


thx to the original uploader

More "Colosseum" on my blog