Search - Bedlam :: Anthology

+1/2 -- Little known '70s UK rock supergroup

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 05/07/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Bedlam's short, two-year tenure made them one of the UK's least-known rock supergroups. After only one LP, the members drawn from Truth (vocalist Frank Aiello), Procol Harum (guitarist Dave Ball), Long John Baldry (bassist Dennis Ball), and the Jeff Beck Group (drummer Cozy Powell), spread back out across the rock scene. Their one studio effort, 1972's "Bedlam," showed the band to be a talented, bluesy hard-rock outfit in the vein of the Jeff Beck group and Rory Gallagher's band, but without the new twist of originality that might have sustained interest.



This 2-CD anthology collects additional studio tracks (the band's debut studio LP is available separately on CD), as well as a helping of live tracks from a 1973 concert that was belatedly released in 2003 (and is also available separately). Bedlam displays a similar sensibility to other UK blues groups like Cream and the Yardbirds, but with '70s boogie and heavy-rock vibes (ala Johnny Winter and Grand Funk) replacing the psychedelia of the '60s. Perhaps that change can be credited to producer Felix Pappalardi, who'd continue in the same vein as a member of Mountain.



The studio tracks collected here offer a large helping of covers, including a Beck-like turn on Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture," Cream's "Swalbr," the Yardbirds' "For Your Love," and Freddie King's (via John Mayall's) "Hideaway." The live set includes a few titles from the debut LP and a sprawling 21-minute hard-rock jam on Sanford Clark's '50s rockabilly chestnut "The Fool." The latter is Spinal Tap-esque in its extended guitar solos.



The dearth of tracks from the band's debut is a mixed-blessing. It makes this less than representative as an anthology of the group's originally released recordings, but it also provides less overlap for fans who want to pick up both the original LP and this anthology's previously unreleased works. Even with the light representation of the original album's studio works, the live renditions make this a fair overview. There were better UK blues-boogie-hard-rock bands at the turn of the '70s, both before and after Bedlam, but for those who love the genre, this is worth hearing. 3-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2007 hyperbolium dot com]"