Odin - SWF Session 1973

Year of Release: 2007
Label: Long Hair Music
Catalog Number: LHC0056
Format: CD
Total Time: 45:50:00

Odin, long a favorite of mine, has aroused some new interest in their adopted homeland Germany, and the band's glory days are revisited in this fine new release from Manfred Steinheuer's Long Hair label. This is the first of three Odin discs planned for release this year. Later releases will include a remixed version of the band's sole album, originally issued on the Vertigo label in 1972 and a live concert album recorded at the Maxim Club in Schweinfurt, Germany.

The bulk of this disc is made up of four tracks performed live for the German radio network SWF at their studios in February 1973. Odin gave the radio listeners two cuts from their self titled debut, "Turnpike Lane," their masterpiece "Life Is Only" and a pair of Frank Zappa compositions, "King Kong" and "Oh No." The disc is completed with a lengthy live concert performance of the band's previously unreleased version of "Make Up Your Mind," which serves as a testament to Odin's remarkable power and instrumental virtuosity.

The two cuts that also appeared on Odin's debut disc both seem better to me in performance and sound quality than those on the Vertigo disc, and they definitively demonstrate the high level of the ascending group's compositional skills. "Turnpike Lane" features a slightly slower tempo than the studio version and it is delivered with much more flair. "Life Is Only," brilliantly written and arranged, is given even more impact with its longer, cleaner performance. Organist Jeff Beer's angry, Bartok-esque dissonance and his blistering improvisations contrast beautifully with breezy jazz and bluesy fills by guitarist Rob Terstall, while bassist/vocalist Ray Brown and drummer Stuart Fordham labor in lockstep, their ever shifting and developing foundation egging the guitar and keys onward to ever more inspired flights of fancy.

The rest of the disc is made up of three lengthy covers which reveal Odin's widely differing areas of inspiration. The first two, Zappa's often covered "King Kong" and "Oh No" both from Zappa's early gem Grand Wazoo, are excellently performed, full of exciting dynamic development and highlighted with Beer's brilliant Hammond organ work and Rob Terstall's sweet rhythms and leads.

The final track is a concert performance of the Quatermass tune "Make Up Your Mind," which Odin stretches out to over thirteen minutes. "Make Up Your Mind" begins as melodic English style proto-prog and morphs into a long, almost Black Sabbath like, ultra heavy and sinister instrumental section that allows Beer to draw torturous passages and lightening speed licks from the organ. Stuart Fordham creates a thunderous sound from his kit when called for and rounds out the quieter passages with jazzy snare and cymbal fills.

This is a first class production from start to finish with great music, excellent graphics and packaging and a beautiful insert booklet with a complete band biography. Anyone who likes the sound and style of early, heavy keyboard bands of the 70's like Colloseum, Greenslade, Warhorse, Argent and the like will want to have this disc in their collection. And anyone who loves the wild Hammond organ playing of Emerson, Wakeman, and the other deities of the keyboard will definitely want to become familiar with the playing of Jeff Beer.

I've had this disc for a week now and I haven't been able to stop listening to it. Highly infectious and highly recommended.

Tracklisting:
Turnpike Lane (3:34) / Life Is Only (11:22) / King Kong (10:38) / Oh No (6:30) / Make Up Your Mind (13:30)

Musicians:
Jeff Beer - organ, vocals
Rob Terstall - guitar, vocals
Stuart Fordham - drums
Ray Brown - bass, vocals

Discography:
Odin (1972)
- live album - (?)
SWF Session 1973 (2007)

Genre: Psychedelic/Space Rock

Origin UK

Added: March 17th 2007
Reviewer: Tom Karr
Score:
Hits: 4534
Language: english