Essential Atomic Rooster: The Dawn Recordings CD

"The Dawn Recordings"? Sure -- this 16-track compilation has material from both of the albums Atomic Rooster recorded for Dawn (1972's Made in England and 1973's Nice 'n' Greasy), before the label dropped the act from its roster and the band disbanded in the mid-'70s. "Essential"? Hardly. Virtually every Atomic Rooster fan would agree that the band's artistic peak was earlier in the 1970s, when they had a more progressive rock-oriented sound and landed their two British hit singles, "Tomorrow Night" and "Devil's Answer" (neither of which is included here). Less problematic than the misleading title of this anthology, however, is the reality that the music it contains found the band wandering down an erratic, unsatisfying path mixing prog rock, soul, funk, and pop. The elements sit uneasily with each other, the songs aren't too good, and the whole thing, frankly, sounds like the ashes of the British R&B and psychedelic scene meeting a dispiriting end. Chris Farlowe's blustery vocal style doesn't sit well with the rest of the group, and while some of Vincent Crane's keyboard work reminds listeners of how skilled and versatile an instrumentalist he was, it sounds similarly misplaced within the material. Some promising passages --- the quasi-classical groove of "Breathless," the eerie electronic effects at the end of "All in Satan's Name," and the haunting orchestra-keyboard interplay of "Time Take My Life," for instance -- can't carry the largely burned-out music. It's telling that the best track, "Moods," is a stark, sad piano-dominated instrumental that exhibits far more emotional poignancy than the proper songs. ~ Richie Unterberger

Atomic Rooster's recordings for the Dawn label are some of the most colourful, varied and underrated of their entire career. This 16 track anthology presents a body of work that is ripe for reappraisal.

Liner Note Author: Charles Waring.