Trapeze (1970 Album)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Trapeze'' is the debut
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by British
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band
Trapeze A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes, metal straps, or chains, from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or ...
. Recorded in 1969 at
Morgan Studios Morgan Studios (founded as Morgan Sound Studios) was an independent recording studio in Willesden in northwest London. Founded in 1967, the studio was the location for recordings by notable artists and bands such as The Cure, Jethro Tull, the Ki ...
and
Decca Studios Decca Studios was a recording facility at 165 Broadhurst Gardens, West Hampstead, North London, England, controlled by Decca Records from 1937 to 1980. History The building that housed Decca Studios at 165 Broadhurst Gardens in London was bu ...
, it was produced by
the Moody Blues The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in May 1964. The band initially consisted of Graeme Edge (drums), Denny Laine (guitar/vocals), Mike Pinder (keyboards/vocals), Ray Thomas (multi-instrumentalist/vocals) and Clint W ...
bassist John Lodge and released in May 1970 as the second album on
Threshold Records Threshold Records was a record label created by the rock music group Moody Blues. The name of the label came from their 1969 album ''On the Threshold of a Dream''. The band formed this label to allow for artistically packaged gatefold covers for ...
, a record label founded by Lodge's band. ''Trapeze'' is the band's only album to feature founding member John Jones (vocals, trumpet); both he and Terry Rowley (organ, piano, flute) left shortly after its release. (Rowley rejoined in 1974.) Contrary to the band's later material, which was primarily categorised as
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
and
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
, ''Trapeze'' has been described by commentators as a progressive or
psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
album, owing partly to the presence of brass instruments and keyboards on the album. Songwriting was typically led by Jones, Galley and Hughes, with Rowley also co-writing two tracks. "Send Me No More Letters" was released as the only single from the album in 1969, backed with fellow album track "Another Day".


Background and release

Trapeze was formed in March 1969 by former The Montanas members John Jones (vocals, trumpet) and Terry Rowley (organ, guitar, piano, flute), along with former
Finders Keepers Finders keepers, sometimes extended as the children's rhyme finders keepers, losers weepers, is an English adage with the premise that when something is unowned or abandoned, whoever finds it first may claim it for themselves to own, by the “f ...
members
Mel Galley Melville John Galley (8 March 1948 – 1 July 2008) was an English guitarist, best known for his work with Whitesnake, Trapeze, Finders Keepers and Phenomena. Biography Galley was born in Cannock, Staffordshire on 8 March 1948. While a membe ...
(guitar, vocals), Glenn Hughes (bass, piano, vocals) and
Dave Holland Dave Holland or David Holland may refer to: *Dave Holland (bassist) David Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English double bassist, bass guitarist, cellist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has ...
(drums). The five-piece recorded their self-titled debut album later in the year at London's
Morgan Studios Morgan Studios (founded as Morgan Sound Studios) was an independent recording studio in Willesden in northwest London. Founded in 1967, the studio was the location for recordings by notable artists and bands such as The Cure, Jethro Tull, the Ki ...
and
Decca Studios Decca Studios was a recording facility at 165 Broadhurst Gardens, West Hampstead, North London, England, controlled by Decca Records from 1937 to 1980. History The building that housed Decca Studios at 165 Broadhurst Gardens in London was bu ...
. The recordings were produced by John Lodge, whose band
the Moody Blues The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in May 1964. The band initially consisted of Graeme Edge (drums), Denny Laine (guitar/vocals), Mike Pinder (keyboards/vocals), Ray Thomas (multi-instrumentalist/vocals) and Clint W ...
had earlier signed Trapeze as the first act to their new record label
Threshold Records Threshold Records was a record label created by the rock music group Moody Blues. The name of the label came from their 1969 album ''On the Threshold of a Dream''. The band formed this label to allow for artistically packaged gatefold covers for ...
. "Send Me No More Letters" was released as a single in 1969, and ''Trapeze'' was released in May 1970. The album was the band's only release to feature Jones and Rowley, both of whom left shortly after its release to return to The Montanas.


Composition and style

The material featured on ''Trapeze'' was primarily written by Galley, Hughes and Jones – Galley was credited on seven tracks, Hughes and Jones on five each, and Rowley on two. Despite being the band's primary vocalist, Jones was only credited with trumpet on the album, with Hughes being credited for all vocals on the release. The style of the album has been described by commentators as a mix between
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...
,
psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
and
pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
, with
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
's Bruce Eder claiming that "Those listeners who only know the subsequent albums by Trapeze may be surprised by this debut effort" due to their later
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
style. The album was compared stylistically to the work of other British rock acts of the period, including Lodge's band the Moody Blues and Hughes's future group
Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...
(particularly the first three albums). In the liner notes for a 2004 reissue of the album by Lemon Recordings, journalist Nigel Williamson described ''Trapeze'' as "a classic period example of English prog, mixing pastoral whimsy, swirling psychedelia, rock guitars and pop harmonies". Similarly, Eder identified that the album featured an array of "lush choruses, psychedelic interludes, and hook-laden romantic ballads", amounting to "high-energy music within the context of psychedelic pop/rock".


Critical reception

Media response to ''Trapeze'' was generally positive. Eder praised the performances of the "core trio" of Galley, Hughes and Holland, who he claimed " ounda good compromise with Rowley and Jones' more lyrical, psychedelic pop sensibilities", but noted that "it's clear that three of these musicians are holding back to one degree or another in these surroundings". He also highlighted "Fairytale" and "Am I" as the album's standout songs, which he claimed " ointedthe way to he band'sfuture sound" following their reduction to the aforementioned trio. ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' hailed ''Trapeze'' as "a candidate for big chart action", praising the performance in particular of Hughes, highlighting "Send Me No More Letters" and "Fairytale", and praising the band's "strong rock personality" on the record.


Track listing


Personnel


References


External links

* {{Authority control 1970 debut albums Trapeze (band) albums Threshold Records albums Albums recorded at Morgan Sound Studios