Search - Ozric Tentacles :: Afterwish

A must-have for fans of this most excellent band

Worgelm | United States | 08/07/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A snazzy compilation of the first six legendary cassette-only releases from the esteemed English crusty lads. The only thing I hate about the newer slimline release on Snapper is that they don't include the three-letter codes for the albums that the original had, so you can map the songs to the early CDs. Its an unfortunate oversight that only slightly blemishes and otherwise brilliant selection of tunes. Unlike some of the other Snapper Ozric re-releases, these selections aren't remastered either, so the sound clarity is not up to total audiophile standards with some of the earliest tracks.That having been said, this stuff is much more light and airy, not as heavy, [sometimes] ponderous and guitar-laden as some of the later OT stuff (see _Jurassic_Shift_). The textures are infinitely varied and range from straight out Hawkwind-like driving guitar and keyboard epics ("Velmwend", the first song the Ozrics ever recorded together) to odd, mystical ambient interludes ("The Code For Chickendon") to space dub ("Thyroid") to jazzy space-prog ("Omnidirectional Bhadra"). If you can hunt down the actual CDs themselves, its worth your time to get the stuff that wasn't included on here (especially since the live album _Live_Ethereal_Cereal_ isn't contained here). Note: Also includes two non-album tracks, "Abul Hagag" and "Chinatype"."

A Great Taste

Listener | BayArea, CA | 05/22/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The best thing about this compilation is that it's not a "Best of.." ..that is to say, while these two discs are chock full of gems from the tape days of the Ozrics, there are still an abundance of amazing tracks left to discover on those hard-to-find albums: Erpsongs through The Bits Between The Bits. The fifth tape, Sliding Gliding Worlds, is out of print and a real bear to find, which is another reason to pick up Afterswish, as SGW is the tape represented most, boasting nine tracks.Afterswish actually has three original tunes: Chinatype, Zaii!, and Abul Hagag...which make 'Swish worth buying even if you already have the tapes.This album has a different sound than the later albums, so be prepared for that---it's a raw, thinner sound, appropriately less polished. The synths play a bigger role, too, used for a lot of the themes rather than just background fills, blips, and/or splooshes.. and reggae gets more representation in these earlier albums as well, offered here in some way, shape, or form in Thyroid, The Dusty Pouch, and Kola B'Pep. The rest of the tunes offer all the floating and ripping you could expect from an Ozric album.."