Hey Joe, where you going with that gun in your hand?
Hey Joe, I said, where you going with that gun in your hand?
I’m going down to shoot my old lady
You know, I caught her messing around with a hair metal band
Back in the 1970s I found Colosseum a tad bombastic. But as I learned more about the transition from psychedelia to progressive rock and the rhythm and blues foundations of the early UK scene, my appreciation increased. Particularly regarding their second album, Valentyne Suite. Released in late 1969 it was the first LP to proudly bear the Vertigo ‘swirl’ label. When I heard on the vinyl grapevine that Joe, or Lord 1537 as he is known to his subjects, had not only acquired this excellent album on vinyl but was holding a Vertigo swirl copy, well my delight for him was almost equally balanced with raging envy.
In some ways Valentyne Suite is the most consistently entertaining work by the band formed by drummer Jon Hiseman in early 1968. Opening with the heavy psychedelia of ‘The Kettle’, it is an album bursting with punchy brass and soaring guitar. The aforementioned ‘Kettle’, for instance, is blues-based with a dash of Cream. It is clear that the guitar case belonging to James Litherland had a stencilled ‘EC was ‘ere’ emblazoned upon it. ‘Butty’s Blues’ is a straight-forward blues workout, with everyone getting a solo, including organ (keyboardist/vibes player) Dave Greenslade and energetic sax player Dick Heckstall-Smith. Greenslade swings on ‘The Machine Demands A Sacrifice’ effortlessly shifting between common time and triple time. There’s a freaky effects-laden coda, to boot.
But the centrepiece of Valentyne Suite, and an enduring progressive highlight, is the title suite occupying the second side.
Hey Joe, I heard you shot your woman down
Hey Joe, I heard you shot your old lady down
Yes I did, I shot her like a dog
I caught her messing ’round with prog
Well structured and full of invention, this suite is a scintillating highlight of ‘early prog’. Dave Greenslade, in particular, really stretches out, sending a message to vets like Keith Emerson and young guns such as Rick Wakeman. (I’ve always considered Dave Greenslade under-appreciated in prog circles, but that’s another story.)
The 2006 Sanctuary release in the VC collection certainly does not have the cache of a Vertigo original but it does offer one compensation. Two actually. A pair of live tracks giving a peek at how red hot Colosseum were in concert while stretching the 35 minute original out to a satisfying fifty minutes.
If that live primer whets your appetite, I can also thoroughly recommend Repertoire’s 2020 boxed set Colosseum: Transmissions Live At The BBC. The collection is a deep six CD package of radio shows and BBC concerts beginning in January 1969 and ending in September 1971.
Colosseum. What you get if a bunch of drug-crazed lions tore apart a cohort of blues, jazz, and psychedelic musicians and progressively reassembled them into a hot band powered by the best drummer who isn’t Bill Bruford. It’s prog, Joe, but not as we know it.
Hey Joe, where you going to run to now?
Hey Joe, I said, where you going to run to now?
I’m going way down south to Colosseum
From common time I’m gonna free ’em
Way down where Dick’s saxophone wails
Way down where Hiseman flails
Groovin’ on Greenslade’s scales
Floatin’ on psychedelic gales
Way down south in Litherland
Oh Lord what a band…
vinylconnection.com.au 
I assume that the lyrics are a VC pastiche? Intriguing.
~
I can’t recall having listened to Valentyne Suite. Maybe I’ll find it on YouTube to play when I go for a walk sometime this weekend.
Thanks
DD
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It’s got variety and some oomph. The more straight forward blues appealed to me most.
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Just a bit of fun, Shaun.
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A lovely bit of fun too.
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I grew up hearing the early Chicago albums, Chick Corea, lots of jazz-rock fusion from the ‘70’s, so when I just streamed this album for the first time it didn’t sound unfamiliar. but I guess these guys were ahead of the curve. I like the (tenor?) sax in “Elegy.” Great job with the alternative lyrics 😁
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Yep. The Chicago/Blood Sweat & Tears connection is a good one. I think we may have high-fived previously on the excellence of early Chicago.
Dick Heckstall-Smith was a hell of a horn player, for sure.
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Hey Bruce, where you goin’ with that post you did write?
Hey Bruce, I said, where you goin’ with that post you did write? 🙂
For a moment, you really got me thinking, wa-wa-wait a minute, wa-wa-wait a minute…But I’m glad you did!
With “Hey Joe”, the first Hendrix song I knew and loved (though in my youthful innocence I naively assumed he also had written it!), you certainly got my attention right away, which isn’t necessarily a given when it comes to prog-rock.
As I believe you know, I’ve always had a bit of a complicated relationship with that genre. All related bands I came to embrace like Yes or early Genesis were an acquired taste. At the core, I’ve always been a pop guy. Give 3 to 4 minutes of great hooks and singing (harmony is a bonus), and I’m generally a happy camper!
That said, spontaneously, I feel “Valentyne Suite” sounds like a dynamite album by a band I only knew by name. Sure, the psychedelic and blues vibes help. But even the mighty “The Valentyne Suite” sounds pretty intriguing. Could they have stuck to, say, 10 minutes instead of nearly 17? Maybe! 🙂
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Very glad to have both confounded and entertained, Christian!
Of course one of the problems with ‘getting’ prog, especially retrospectively, is how mightily diverse the zone is. Take Robert’s comment, for instance. Having a long term acquaintance with Chicago, he found Colosseum an easy step. They are, as you accurately observe, a dynamite band whose music is pretty intense, but in a way totally different from, say, Mahavishnu Orchestra. It’s quite a trip, this music stuff!
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Hey Bruce, where you goin’ with that pun on that band?
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What can I say Bruce? I am honoured and flattered, educated and entertained, enlightened and energised by this post. I only asked you if it was any good, in passing!
You are, of course, spot on and it is the drumming of Hiseman that is really hitting the mark for me at the moment; the man had chops.
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It was a real pleasure, Mr Story. And came at a nice time where there was a little window of time and a glimpse of creativity (Year 4 pastiche lyrics notwithstanding). Prog on, dude!
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*sigh*…yet another band with which I’m unfamiliar. Nice spin on the Hey Joe lyrics!
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You helped put these guys on my radar.
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