Skin Alley: Skin Alley (remaster)

Here it is, the debut from London's Skin Alley, originally recorded in 1969 and seeing a welcome remaster treatment from Electic Discs. Never heard of Skin Alley? Don't worry, I'm sure you're not alone. The band formed in the late 60's amidst the psychedelic/proto-prog/jazz rock scene, and were quickly scooped up and signed to CBS, and the rest as we say is history. Their debut is a pretty adventurous affair, littered with plenty of extended jazzy passages, psychedelia, and the early sounds of the progressive rock era, often labeled as "proto-prog". The band was comprised of Krzysztof-Henryk Juskiewicz (organ, piano, harpsichord, Mellotron, vocals), Bob James (guitar, alto sax, flute, vocals), Thomas Crimble (bass, Mellotron, vocals), and Alvin Pope (drums, congas, timpani). These four musicians used a variety of instruments to create a sound that was a bit folky, often jazzy, occasionally rocked out, yet with elements of blues and classical thrown in as well.

Comparisons to Jethro Tull will of course happen after hearing the neat instrumental "Country Aire", with its whispy flute and medieval sounding harpsichord, and "Living in Sin", a catchy rocker with driving guitar riffs, organ, and lead flute. The organ really is what drives the music on most songs here, rather than guitar, which might force some to lump the band in with other groups of the era like The Doors, Cressida, Atomic Rooster, Vanilla Fudge, Iron Butterfly, Raw Material, and Beggar's Opera. Use of the Mellotron also adds a nice dramatic effect in spots, especially on the haunting mix of acoustic and electric prog on "Tell Me", a song that will appeal to fans of The Moody Blues and Barclay James Harvest. Organ once again takes center stage alongside flute on the chilling "Mother Please Help Your Child", a track that also features some ominous chanting vocals. The upbeat romp "Marsha" is a jazz-rock lovers delight, over 7-minutes of savage organ solos and beefy sax explorations. "All Alone" is a laid back and dark piece with yearning sax strains in the distance hovering over the lazy organ and vocal melodies, while "Night Time" is a gorgeous prog-rock piece with gentle flute passages and waves of Mellotron, as well as a happenin' piano solo from Juskiewicz. The band rocks hard on the bluesy "Goin Down The Highway", with muscular guitar and sax riffs as well as a searing organ solo. Two bonus tracks are included on this reissue, the single version of "Tell Me" and the B-Side track "Better Be Blind", both engineered by none other than Martin Birch, alongside producer Fritz Fryer.

Although the music here sounds very dated, it holds up well and is very enjoyable. Fans of the early late 60's/early 70's jazz-rock & proto-prog scenes would be well advised to check this forgotten treasure out.

Track Listing
1. Living in Sin
2. Tell Me
3. Mother Please Help Your Child
4. Marsha
5. Country Aire
6. All Alone
7. Night Time
8. Concerto Grosso
9. Highway
10. Tell Me [Single Version]
11. Better Be Blind

Added: November 30th 2006
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Eclectic Discs
Hits: 3017
Language: english

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