Colosseum ‚Live '71 Canterbury, Brighton & Manchester‘ – 3x 180g Vinyl/LP in a Gatefold-Sleeve, 120 minutes of music, plus an insert with liner notes by Chris Welch and interview excerpts with Dave Greenslade

Colosseum Live ‘71’ is one of five (!) Colosseum live albums that Repertoire Records has just released – the others being a ‘best of the bootlegs’, from quality amateur recordings made between 1969–71 at Boston, Montreux, Turku and Rome, and newly mastered (also by Eroc). The first three of these are probably of most interest to fans, in featuring vocalist Chris Farlowe’s predecessors James Litherland and Dave Clempson along with a diversity of material. The Rome 1971 set, with Chris, comprises four numbers familiar from the pro-recorded Canterbury set. Seventies ‘Melody Maker’ personality and uber Colosseum fan Chris Welch contributes notes to all of these releases.

 

“Great! This grabs you by the hair”, “Another salute from Colosseum!”, Colosseum ʼ71 recorded live in Britain. Features previously unissued recordings from Canterbury plus in-concert tracks from Manchester and Brighton, Stereo recordings restored and remastered by Eroc and Dave ‘Clem’ Clempson, First official vinyl release.

Colosseum was one of the most exciting British rock bands of the 70s and while they made fine studio albums, notably the classic Those Who Are About To Die (1969), it was on the road, playing night after night to devoted fans, that the group led by master drummer Jon Hiseman really came – alive! Mercifully, thanks to skilled recording engineers, many of their best shows were captured on tape. This superb collection of live performances reveals Colosseum blasting at full strength and with extraordinary power and passion. This 3LP set is packed with alternative versions of many of their most iconic songs and arrangements. Keyboard player Dave Greenslade and other past members of the band explain how Colosseum developed its sound and style in extensive liner notes by Repertoire’s Chris Welch, a rock journalist who saw the band from their earliest days onwards. Colosseum was truly great live in 1971. Thanks to this treasure house of high-quality recordings, professionally restored by digital craftsman Eroc, the band comes alive and kicking for us to enjoy 50 years later.

Tracklist

Record One
Side 1 Live At Canterbury University of Kent, 1971
01 Tanglewood ’63
02 Rope Ladder To The Moon
Recorded live at the University of Kent, 12 February 1971 with the Granada mobile

Side 2 Live At Canterbury University of Kent, 1971
01 Walking In The Park
02 Skellington
Recorded live at the University of Kent, 12 February 1971 with the Granada mobile

Record Two
Side 1 Live At Canterbury University of Kent, 1971
01 Lost Angeles
Recorded live at the University of Kent, 12 February 1971 with the Granada mobile

Side 2 Live In Manchester, 1971
01 The Valentyne Suite
Recorded live at Manchester University, 18 March 1971 with the Granada mobile

Record Three
Side 1 Live In Manchester, 1971
01 I Can’t Live Without You/The Time Machine/The Machine Demands A Sacrifice
Recorded live at Manchester University, 13 March 1971 with the Granada mobile

Side 2
Live In Brighton, 1971
01 Skellington
Live In Manchester, 1971
02 Stormy Monday Blues
Track 1 recorded live at The Big Apple, Brighton, 27 March 1971; track 2 recorded live at Manchester University, 13 March 1971 with the Granada mobile