home

The Vinyl Press

  • Features
  • Records
  • Cleaning – Care
  • Editorials
  • Compendia
  • Ephemera
  • Phono
  • About
You are here: Home / Records / Still Life- s/t (Vertigo Swirl)

Still Life- s/t (Vertigo Swirl)

October 11, 2016 by Bill Hart

 

img_0151Still Life- s/t (Vertigo Swirl)

The scarcity of this record and mystery surrounding the band seem to overshadow its merits, which are considerable. It is a “one and done,” not unusual for the period, when bands were constantly morphing through different members, band names and styles. The band consisted of Graham Amos and Martin Cure, who had played together in a group called The Sabres. Terry Howells, the keyboard player, was recruited. The band, called Rainbows,[1] became Still Life. They seemed to have difficulty keeping drummers (a problem not confined to fictional bands);[2] UK drummer Alan Savage was pulled in shortly before the recording sessions for this album. Although reputed to have signed a long- term contract, Still Life did not endure for long after the making of this record.[3]

img_0158

This is a keyboard-centric prog album with great vocal harmonies. It seems to have polarized hard-core prog fans- some who claim it cuts no new ground, while others urge mortgaging the house to secure an original copy.

What seems to be missing in all of this is just how enjoyable a listen the record is—whether it is worth the price for an original copy is a separate (though obviously relevant) question.

 

img_0152

When I first dove deep into the Vertigo Swirl catalog several years ago, I missed this album completely. I had some of the better-known rarities—Cressida, Gracious! and Affinity (along with such other oddities as Dr. Strangely Strange’s Heavy Petting and Catapilla’s self-titled album), all in the form of original UK Swirls. This one had somehow eluded me. It was only in the course of a phone call with Ken Golden, savant of all things “prog,” that the subject came up.

Chasing the album these days is a rich man’s game. Like some of the other most desirable Swirls, the price of original pressings can be staggering; reissues on vinyl are often from questionable source material or simply non-existent.

I have occasionally had luck buying ex-UK copies that were released contemporaneously with the more recherché UK Swirl pressings.[4] (My go-to copy of Affinity is a relatively scarce New Zealand pressing, which compares very favorably with my UK copy and is in better playing condition).

img_0154I did manage to find a close to mint copy of this album, as originally issued in Canada, for a fraction of the cost of a UK pressing. Though I cannot provide a direct comparison of sonics to a UK copy (yet), the Canadian pressing sounds great—it is immediate, full of life and does not have that “at a remove” quality or weird EQ anomalies that often plague the non-“country of origin” issues. It also has the same, elaborate gatefold cover art that makes the UK Vertigos a collector’s treat. Even the Canadian copy won’t be an easy find, but it will be far less pricey than the UK.

This record seems to be elusive, even within the rarefied circle of Vertigo Swirls. Seek it out, not because of its collector value, but because it is a great listen.

 

img_0155

For readers interested in the Vertigo Swirl label, an overview of its history, including an interview with Olav Wyper, the man at Philips responsible for creation of the label and select reviews of specific albums, see VERTIGO SWIRL-Summary of Articles on TheVinylPress.

 

________________________________________________________

[1] I did find a snippet on this band under the rubric of “Coventry” musicians: https://sites.google.com/site/bandsfromcoventry/coventry-bands-a-to-z/coventry-bands-r/rainbows

And, drawing from the same site, various pieces on the history of Martin Cure, which mentions Still Life in passing: http://coventrygigs.blogspot.com/2013/01/martin-cure-from-sabres-peeps-cupids.html

 

[2] See, e.g. “Exploding Drummer Syndrome” from “This List Goes to 11,” Rolling Stone, Mar. 6, 2014.

[3] The most complete source of information I was able to find for the album comes from a Polish Internet site, the “Pearls of Rock” which has two pages dedicated to Still Life dating back to 2002. The author sought out surviving members of the band over the next several years and secured some interesting snippets of information that do not seem to be available elsewhere. See http://pearlsofrock.republika.pl/stilllifeE.html

[4] This is not always the case. In a number of instances, where I own the UK and a contemporaneous copy from another country, the UK sounds demonstrably better.

Filed Under: Records

In Brief:

There Is No “Magic Bullet” in Hi-Fi

There Is No “Magic Bullet” in Hi-Fi No Magic Solutions I’ve spent some time on the audio chat fora over the years. Many popular threads these days are devoted to cheap improvements that can be made using audiophile “tweaks” or repurposed non-audiophile products. These can be applied to isolate gear, enhance the signals or connections or otherwise address some perceived problem that, once solved, offers to raise the level of music reproduction. It’s like a cheap solution to upgrade your system: from audiophile fuses, special wires (beyond simply having a high-quality interconnect, speaker wire or power cable) and other tweaks, to contact fluids and other things that you can attach to power sources, equipment, or place in the room (bowls, various harmonizers or active resonators, noise harvesters, etc.) This is apart from room treatment, which is sui generis; that is, every situation is … [Read More...]

Milt Ward Reissue-release date May 6, 2022

Milt Ward Reissue-release date May 6, 2022  Andreas Vingaard, of Frederiksberg Records, dropped me a note that the Milt Ward & Virgo Spectrum record about which much has been written here will be available on vinyl beginning on May 9, 2022. However, several promo emails today, Friday, May 6, 2022 say the record is available NOW via Bandcamp (see link below). The reissue was done with the participation of Milt Ward’s family and includes comprehensive notes in a booklet. Given the price of original pressings, this should be worthwhile even if not taken from the master tape. I plan to get a copy and we’ll do a shoot-out with my “OG” pressing. I’m sure some of you are willing to brook a little sonic compromise to get access to an otherwise very hard to find, expensive spiritual jazz rarity. At the time of this writing there is one copy on Discogs in NM condition for media for over … [Read More...]

Milt Ward Virgo Reissue Coming from Frederiksberg

Although I don't have all the details yet, I have learned that Frederiksberg Records, a small, eclectic label from New York, is in the process of reissuing the hard to find (and even harder to pay for) jazz obscurity, Milt Ward and Virgo Spectrum. You can find out more by keeping tabs on Frederiksberg's Bandcamp page, https://frederiksbergrecords.bandcamp.com   I'm told there is a bootleg out there so be careful. Frederiksberg is doing this project with the participation of the family of Milt Ward, which is to be applauded. Hopefully, this will give more access to a great jazz record at a reasonable price. The Roots album reissue from Frederiksberg (which is sold out on vinyl on the Frederiksberg Records bandcamp site) still appears to be available through some online retailers as a pre-order, so that's another one to jump on now if you can find it-- the original is extremely pricey and … [Read More...]

Clem Snide- Forever Just Beyond

Clem Snide- Forever Just Beyond With a name derived from a character in the same literary work as the band name so famously identified with the Walter Becker-Donald Fagen duo, Clem Snide has an extensive discography, typically cataloged as “alt country.” This latest release is the work of one of its founding members, Eef Barzelay, who was responsible for much of the songwriting and singing. According to his bio, Barzelay suffered some serious bumps in the road during the last decade, including a failing marriage and financial ruin. At the same time, he learned that Scott Avett was a fan and they found inspiration in each other, leading to this album- a collaboration of artistry where Avett and Barzelay share some writing credits and Avett produces. The result is a fresh, upbeat set of tunes that are appealing in their simplicity and refreshing in their sincerity. The band is first tier … [Read More...]

Muriel Grossmann- Reverence

Muriel Grossmann- Reverence Muriel Grossmann continues her quest for musical ascension on Reverence, which was released on vinyl in early December, 2019 on the RR Gems label as a 2 LP set. The compositions are Grossmann’s, and the band is much the same as the group of seasoned musicians with whom she has worked for some time (and detailed in the review of her Golden Rule), but for one notable exception: the addition of a keyboard player who brings that rich, woody Hammond B-3 sound to a series of compositions devoted to Africa. In some ways, Ms. Grossmann’s exploration of the roots of jazz deliberately eschews any superficial attempt to make African music. Instead, she draws inspiration from its influences, which are wide ranging and deep—you can hear rhythm and blues sounds mixed with more traditional African instrumentation and polyrhythms and come away with something that is both … [Read More...]

Terms of Use ·  Copyright © 2023 The Vinyl Press.com ·  Privacy Policy
A service of Flying Reptile Media Group ·  Contact


Register | Login to Comment | Comments FAQ

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in