Since their inception in 1997 Angel Air Records has come to be known as the premiere heritage label. By re-releasing much sought after and often long out of print original recordings from a multitude of various different artists, some more obscure than others, they've managed to amass quite an impressive catalogue in the process. This packed to the hilt release entitled Do You Dream? is an intriguing collection that brings together twenty one rare & classic pop and psychedelic nuggets recorded between the years of 1965 to 1970.
While the average music fan might not recognize some of the more obscure acts on this collection such as Outer Limits, Favourite Sons, Ice or Ancient Grease, the fact is quite a few of these bands featured members who would eventually go on to bigger things later on their careers. For example the first cut here "Walkin Walkn" by Favourite Sons is reputed to feature the bass talents of a young John Glascock who later went on to play with Jethro Tull before his untimely death in 1979. Likewise cuts from The Treacle, a cover of Gladys Knight & The Pips' "Stop Get A Hold Of Yourself" and "The Rise And Fall of Bernie Gripplestone" by The Rats both contain early appearances from guitarist Mick Ronson, with the later track in particular featuring some splendid backwards guitar effects.
As the collection progresses some true stars begin to emerge out of the mists of time such as Freedom, a band consisting of two ex-members of Procol Harum who make an appearance on this disc with a couple of songs from their soundtrack to the Italian film Nero Su Bianco (Black On White), while The Alan Bown turn in a solid, horn laden, arrangement of Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower that was produced by Mike Hurst back in 1968. Fans of the progressive rock band Family will surely recognize the distinct vocal talents of Roger Chapman as the group shows up with the first cut off of their Family Entertainment album "The Weaver's Answer". The two tracks from Andromeda "The Day Of The Change" and "Let's All Watch The Sky Fall Down" as well as the demo version of "Devils Answer" from Atomic Rooster are all punctuated by the unique talents of guitarist / vocalist John DuCann. Andromeda was a short lived, but often explosive power trio that served as the perfect vehicle for DuCann's extended solos, so it's great to see two of their tracks represented here. The collection concludes with the second and certainly more notable power trio from DuCann's career as the crunchy sounds of Atomic Rooster come through on "The Devil's Answer". In addition to featuring DuCann Atomic Rooster also boasted the talents of keyboardist Vincent Crane and drummer Carl Palmer before he left to join ELP.
All in all Do You Dream? is a very solid overview of a particular period of music from the Angel Air archives. If you've ever picked up one of their releases then there's a pretty good chance you may already be familiar with a few of the artists featured here. If on the other hand you're a relative newbie to what the label has been up to for the past thirteen years then this collection should serve as excellent introduction to what the folks over at Angel Air are all about. After sampling some of the artists on this collection I'd be surprised if it didn't prompt you to want to seek out a couple of the individual releases that these tracks were originally culled from.
Track Listing
1) Favourite Sons – Walkin Walkin
2) Phillip Goodhand- Tait & The Stormsville Shakers – Number One
3) The Treacle – Stop Get A Hold Of Yourself
4) Outer Limits – Any Day Now
5) Ice – Ice Man (radio session)
6) Outer Limits – Epitaph For A Non Entity
7) Double Feature – Come On Babe
8) Freedom - Where Will You Be Tonight
9) The Rats - The Rise And Fall Of Bernie Gripplestone
10) Circus – Do You Dream
11) Freedom – Trying To Get A Glimpse Of You
12) Ice – Walk On The Water
13) The Alan Bown – All Along The Watchtower
14) Affinity – Night Flight
15) Andromeda – The Day Of The Change
16) Affinity – I Am The Walrus
17) Phil Cordell – Red Lady
18) Family – Weavers Answer
19) Ancient Grease – Time To Die
20) Andromeda – Let's All Watch The Sky Fall Down
21) Atomic Rooster – Devil's Answer (original demo)
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