''Act One'' is the debut album of the Scottish

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

band Beggars Opera.

Overview

Variously classified as

symphonic rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Initi ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

or proto-

, Beggars Opera's debut album has been compared to (and sometimes described as "derivative of") works by

The Nice The Nice were an English progressive rock band active in the late 1960s. They blended rock, jazz and classical music and were keyboardist Keith Emerson's first commercially successful band. The group was formed in 1967 by Emerson, Lee Jack ...

and Deep Purple MK I.Album review at AllMusic
/ref>
/ref> It was published by

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...

(which had at the time introduced its legendary "swirl" label) in 1970 and features cover art by the renowned surrealist photographer and artist Marcus Keef (the same that created the covers for

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

's first three albums). In the same year the band also released a somewhat successful single, "Sarabande", which was not included in the album in its original LP edition, but appears in the CD reissue. The album includes many elements of symphonic progressive rock, including a number of references to classical music (e.g.,''Poet and Peasant'' and ''Light Cavalry'' by

Franz von Suppé Franz von Suppé (né Francesco Ezechiele Ermenegildo de Suppe) (18 April 181921 May 1895) was an Austrian composer of light operas and other theatre music. He came from the Kingdom of Dalmatia, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now part of Croatia). A c ...

and Grieg's ''

Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five- act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen published in 1876. Written in Norwegian, it is one of the most widely performed Norwegian plays. Ibsen believed ''Per Gynt'', the Norwegian fairy tale on wh ...

''), an Emerson-esque keyboard section featuring organ and Hammond, complex arrangements, and long ''suites'' (most notably "Raymond's Road").

Track listing

Personnel

;Beggars Opera * Martin Griffiths - vocals * Alan Park - organ * Raymond Wilson - drums *

Ricky Gardiner Ricky Gardiner (31 August 1948 – 13 May 2022) was a Scottish guitarist and composer. Biography Gardiner joined his first band, the Vostoks, at school in 1962. Next there were the Kingbees and the System, with whom he formed Beggars Oper ...

- lead guitar * Marshall Erskine - bass guitar

References

{{Authority control Beggars Opera albums 1970 debut albums Albums produced by Phil Coulter Albums produced by Bill Martin (musician) Vertigo Records albums