Aside from a few minor differences, 1973's
Bedside Manners Are Extra
is equivalent to
Greenslade
's debut album, inundated with the same dazzling synthesizer work and atmospheric guitar implementations from
Tony Reeves
.
Andrew McCulloch
's drumming is a little more effective the whole album through, balancing out
Dave Greenslade
's keyboards and
Dave Lawson
's singing. The songs alternate from vocal to instrumental, beginning with the beautifully lush title track that exploits the ease in which
applies his techniques.
"Pilgrims Progress"
picks up the pace, with
McCulloch
and
wonderfully playing off one another. The eight and a half minutes of
"Drum Folk"
really opens things up, with the synthesizer switching to different tempos and brilliancies while
gets some well-deserved solo time.
"Sunkissed You're Not"
is the best display of
's vocals of the three, taking on a jazzy feel during the more fervent portions of the song. While the three lyrical tracks might not be as fantastical as
Roger Dean
's album cover may lead one to believe, the music that surrounds them certainly is, while the instrumentals exhibit a wide range of genres, from
jazz fusion
to hints of
blues
to
progressive rock
Bedside Manners
has
showing off their musical range to a greater extent than on their first album, but the band's
progressive
mien is just as sound. ~ Mike DeGagne