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Tales Untold
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Tales Untold
Current price: $16.99
Barnes and Noble
Tales Untold
Current price: $16.99
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In many ways,
contains a fairly typical mid-'70s amalgam of
and
, but it would be a mistake to suggest it is a mark against the album's merit or a detriment to its enjoyment. In fact, while typical of many of the genre's conventions during the period -- heavily keyboard dominant, weaving guitar lines, an over-the-top
holler -- it is also a fairly interesting example of said formula, full of nifty band interplay and mostly fine (or at least fine enough) songwriting. From an instrumental standpoint, there is a lot to appreciate about
. They were excellent players, especially drummer
and the dual keyboards of
, which occasionally investigate creepy
-like territory. The guitar playing, too, is consistently pretty hot. And there are fits and flashes of true songwriting talent. The
reissue nearly doubles the length of the original album. The first 11 tracks of the reissue offer the
album in its entirety. It ranges from lean,
that recalls
to the lovely anomaly of the title track, which combines
acoustic textures and harmony leads with psychedelically inclined and
keyboard motifs. Songs like
also show the blistering influence of
, although it is far closer in most respects to
than it is to
. In addition there are six tracks from the band's 1972 "basement tapes," and they are, indeed, more roughhewn and unpolished, but in many ways as intriguing as the official ones, at times sounding something like a more
. The final three tracks, including the live
were tentatively slated for the band's unfinished but promising second album, and are very different from anything in
's previous set list.
particularly, is futuristically
, almost like
.
is not an essential reissue by any means, even by
standards, and at nearly 80 minutes it's difficult to take in one sitting. But it certainly has enough strong music to satisfy the average
fan, and perhaps any '70s
fan in general. ~ Stanton Swihart