Antiquities — Exposé, Issue #31, March 2005 (USA)

subtitle “Demos, Drafts & Unfinished Thingies” pretty much says it: This is a collection of loose ends that the band (or subsets of band members) recorded in their first incarnation, before, surrounding and after their only vinyl LP “Live at the Cleveland Agora” (1980, since reissued and expanded as Splitting Ions In The Ether). The production and recording quality varies on the thirteen tracks herein, but the set does offer some insight into the band’s roots, some great material that was never finished, as well as where the band might have gone had they stayed together after ‘81 (two cuts from a brief 1983 partial reunion are here as well as a track written in ‘82 but recorded in 2001 around the time of the “Artifacts Of Passion” release). Crimson is their king, although the band usually manages to pull it off without ever sounding derivative, due to a range of other influences from folk and classical to minimalism and straight-ahead rock. The first four cuts are quite strong, from a 1979 demo, leading into a couple unfinished pieces from 1980, then a couple looping solo tracks by bassist Paul Kollar. “Robinwood” from 1981 is unique, with its double tracked drums underpinning repeating guitar figures and bass pedals, while rocker “Conventional War” is one of the disc’s few tracks featuring vocals. Overall, there’s plenty of cool supplemental material here, although for the uninitiated listener I’d still recommend going with “Splitting Ions In The Ether” and “Artifacts Of Passion” first.

Peter Thelen