BEGGARS OPERA Act One LP VERVE 1970 USA orig+foc+stereo V6-5080 PROGRESSIVE
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Description
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BEGGARS OPERA
Glasgow, Scotland, progressive rock band Beggars Opera was formed in the late 60s by
Marshall Erskine (bass/flute), Ricky Gardener (guitar/vocals), Martin Griffiths (vocals/percussion),
Alan Park (keyboards) and Raymond Wilson (drums).
The group’s grandiose ambition was to fuse classical and progressive rock elements,
an accommodation they achieved but only to moderate critical and commercial interest.
The dominant Hammond organ sound drew comparison with the Nice, who were the leading organ-led prog
band at that time. Signed to Vertigo Records, they made their debut in 1970 with Act One,
released concurrently with ‘Sarabande’. The single was the most successful of the two releases,
charting in several mainland European countries. The album included a preposterous rendition of ‘Classical Gas’,
which was eventually released as a single in its own right four years later
"ACT ONE"Produced by Bill Martin - Phil Coulter
Recorded at De Lane Lee Studios
1970 LP VERVE RECORDS V6-5080 STEREO
PRINTED IN U.S.A. ORIGINAL PRESSING
GATEFOLD SLEEVE
THICK CARDBOARD COVER (AMERICAN STYLE)
Barcode and Other IdentifiersBarcode: none
LABEL: VERVE - BLUE LABEL - SILVER LOGO & TEXT
Catalog on cover: V6-5080
Catalog on labels: V6 5080 (MGS 2592 / MGS 2592)
Matrix / Runout (Side A, Etched): V6 5080 MGS 2592-1
Matrix / Runout (Side B, Etched): V6 5080 MGS 2593-1 Re.1
On labels: rim text reads "MGM Records-A Division Of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.-Made in U.S.A."
*Musical Arrangements by Alan Park
Production Coordinator: John Drummond
Engineer: Martin Birch
Recorded at DeLane Lee Studios, England
Produced by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter
Rights Society / Publishing: Mews Music Ltd.
On Inside Sleeve: Album designed and photographed by Keef
Manufactured by MGM Record Corporation,
7165 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, California 90046
tracklistingSide A: POET AND PEASANT - PASSACAGLIA - MEMORY
Side B: RAYMOND'S ROAD - LIGHT CAVALRY
grading
RECORD NEAR EX but (please, read above description)
SLEEVE VG(+) but (please, see pictures and read above description)
Defiantly cast in the shadow of the then-recently defunct Nice,
but brimming with their own ideas and imagination,
Beggars Opera emerged in 1970 with a debut album that still stands as one of the crown jewels of prog.
Five tracks long in its original (Vertigo/Verve label) form, Act One is an audacious blending of hard riffs,
Heep-esque vocals, and crazed organ and Mellotron, and it's those latter elements that most distinctly
flavor the album. The opening "Poet and Peasant," based on Franz Von Suppe's overture
of the same name, sets the scene with its multiple shifts in tone and tempo;
the same composer's "Light Cavalry" then closes the disc in similarly dramatic style.
"Raymond's Road" is the climax, however. An 11-minute orgy of sound that rides a "Rondo" rhythm,
then sets a slew of classical snatches dancing above it. It's a breathtaking effort, a cross between
a mad medley and a free festival freakout that so firmly establishes Beggars Opera's credentials
that it seems impossible to believe that things never got any better for them...(AllMusic)
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