Meh; all that means is I have to revamp my grading scale some, which I'll go ahead and try out on this upcoming review.
1: Excrement
2: Trash, but there is the potential of promise in an area or two.
3: Average
4: One or two great tracks, but otherwise unexceptional.
5: Very good. Anything at this grade or higher is worthy of recommendation.
6: Classic status/exceptional. Not quite flawless, but milestones nevertheless.
7: Perfection. Transcends the genre to become something of potential universal meaning.
I'll be re-evaluating all my past reviews with this scale, and will also be posting this back on my first post.
Anyway....all that aside, I've got an album today that gives Leaf Hound's
Growers of Mushroom a run for its money. Sorry Comus!! xD
T2 - It'll All Work Out In Boomland (1970)
Track Listing
1. In Circles (8:34)
2. J.L.T. (5:44)
3. No More White Horses (8:35)
4. Morning (21:14)
5. Questions And Answers (5:17)
6. CD (7:01)
T2 was a hard-rock band trio with a remarkable, if rather brief, resume to go with before the recording of their one and only record
It'll All Work Out In Boomland back in 1970. Keith Cross, only 17 years old and fresh out of playing at the Isle of Wight Festival with Hendrix himself, had proven that despite his young age that he was a cunning wizard with the guitar, and together with bandmates vocalist Peter Dunton and bassist Bernard Jinks managed to land a recording session with the influential Decca Records (who, interestingly enough, own the recording studios where Wishbone Ash did most of their studio work).
The result of Keith Cross's efforts, an almagation of Cream, Hendrix and the sort of looseness you'd expect from some jazz outfit of the era, is an album that rings powerful and full of weight while still being remarkable in it's seamless ability to shift tone on a dime into acoustic psychedelia. Each track turns in on themselves a number of times, possessing the rare quality of smooth transition from one movement to the next. Take the 21 minute side-long 'Morning' for instance; it rises from an acousting dream over the first few minutes, gradually picking up the pace as the guitar's wailing shreds nicely, slows, shreds. But then, suddenly around the 10 minute mark, the drums and guitar have switched roles, with fantastic rythyms a'la Santana at the forefront of your mind while the guitar and bass morph spacily in the background. It's awesome!
An album like
Boomland is interesting for several reasons. It approaches things more experimentally at times than the usual hard rock album of the late 60's, but never forgets its roots while pursuing these tendencies. It remains fun, heavy and head-banging even with longer than 4-minute songs and a 21-minute suite. T2 were a band, that even if it was only for one album, knew exactly what they were doing and what they wanted to do; they wanted to take the kind of rock n' roll Cream, Hendrix and the rest had pioneered and make it a bit more interesting.
Whether or not they succeeded, Keith Cross and company, is up to those who hear this album to decide. Could this have been among the most promising debuts of all time or a one-hit wonder that deserves it status in obscurity?
Either way, the awesomeness of
Boomland is indisputable in my book, and hence I recommend it to lovers of all that is hard and rock in the years when it was done best. Thumbs up!
On a final note, here is Circles, the first track, for the curious on YouTube. Enjoy!
Album Verdict: 5.9/7