''Trapeze'' is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by British

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Trapeze A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or flying, an ...

. Recorded in 1969 at

Morgan Studios Morgan Studios (founded as Morgan Sound Studios) was an independent recording studio in Willesden in northwest London. Founded in 1967, the studio was the location for recordings by such notable artists as Jethro Tull, the Kinks, Paul McCartney, ...

and

Decca Studios Decca Studios was a recording facility at 165 Broadhurst Gardens, West Hampstead, North London, England, controlled by Decca Records from 1937 to 1980. The building was once West Hampstead Town Hall, and had been converted to a recording studio b ...

, it was produced by

the Moody Blues The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1964, initially consisting of keyboardist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist Ray Thomas, guitarist Denny Laine, drummer Graeme Edge and bassist Clint Warwick. The group came to ...

bassist John Lodge and released in May 1970 as the second album on

Threshold Records Threshold Records was a record label created by the rock music group the Moody Blues. The name of the label came from their 1969 album ''On the Threshold of a Dream''. The band formed this label to allow for artistically packaged gatefold covers ...

, a record label founded by Lodge's band. ''Trapeze'' is the band's only album to feature founding member John Jones (vocals, trumpet); both he and Terry Rowley (organ, piano, flute) left shortly after its release. (Rowley rejoined in 1974.) Contrary to the band's later material, which was primarily categorised as

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

, ''Trapeze'' has been described by commentators as a progressive or

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

album, owing partly to the presence of brass instruments and keyboards on the album. Songwriting was typically led by Jones, Galley and Hughes, with Rowley also co-writing two tracks. "Send Me No More Letters" was released as the only

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from the album in 1969, backed with fellow album track "Another Day".

Background and release

Trapeze was formed in March 1969 by former

The Montanas The Montanas were an English 1960s and 1970s pop rock musical ensemble, band from Wolverhampton, England. Though they never found significant success in their home country, they had one moderate hit in the United States. The group formed in 1964 ...

members John Jones (vocals, trumpet) and Terry Rowley (organ, guitar, piano, flute), along with former

Finders Keepers Finders, keepers, sometimes extended as the children's rhyme finders, keepers; losers, weepers, is an English language, English adage with the premise that when something is unowned or abandoned, whoever finds it first can claim it for themself pe ...

members

Mel Galley Melville John Galley (8 March 1948 – 1 July 2008) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known for his work with Whitesnake, Trapeze, Finders Keepers and Phenomena. Galley was born in Cannock, Staffordshire, England. While a ...

(guitar, vocals), Glenn Hughes (bass, piano, vocals) and

Dave Holland David “Dave” Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for over 40 years. His extensive discography r ...

(drums). The five-piece recorded their self-titled debut album later in the year at London's

and

. The recordings were produced by John Lodge, whose band

had earlier signed Trapeze as the first act to their new record label

. "Send Me No More Letters" was released as a

in 1969, and ''Trapeze'' was released in May 1970. The album was the band's only release to feature Jones and Rowley, both of whom left shortly after its release to return to The Montanas.

Composition and style

The material featured on ''Trapeze'' was primarily written by Galley, Hughes and Jones – Galley was credited on seven tracks, Hughes and Jones on five each, and Rowley on two. Despite being the band's primary vocalist, Jones was only credited with trumpet on the album, with Hughes being credited for all vocals on the release. The style of the album has been described by commentators as a mix between

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 ...

and

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

, with

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Bruce Eder claiming that "Those listeners who only know the subsequent albums by Trapeze may be surprised by this debut effort" due to their later

style. The album was compared stylistically to the work of other British rock acts of the period, including Lodge's band the Moody Blues and Hughes's future group

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

(particularly the first three albums). In the liner notes for a 2004 reissue of the album by Lemon Recordings, journalist

Nigel Williamson Nigel Williamson (born 1954) is a British journalist. Biography Educated at University College London, Williamson worked as a reporter on ''Tribune'' (1982–84) and was then briefly its literary editor (1984) before becoming editor (1984� ...

described ''Trapeze'' as "a classic period example of English prog, mixing pastoral whimsy, swirling psychedelia, rock guitars and pop harmonies". Similarly, Eder identified that the album featured an array of "lush choruses, psychedelic interludes, and hook-laden romantic ballads", amounting to "high-energy music within the context of psychedelic pop/rock".

Critical reception

Media response to ''Trapeze'' was generally positive. Eder praised the performances of the "core trio" of Galley, Hughes and Holland, who he claimed " ounda good compromise with Rowley and Jones' more lyrical, psychedelic pop sensibilities", but noted that "it's clear that three of these musicians are holding back to one degree or another in these surroundings". He also highlighted "Fairytale" and "Am I" as the album's standout songs, which he claimed " ointedthe way to

he band's He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

future sound" following their reduction to the aforementioned trio. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' hailed ''Trapeze'' as "a candidate for big chart action", praising the performance in particular of Hughes, highlighting "Send Me No More Letters" and "Fairytale", and praising the band's "strong rock personality" on the record.

Track listing

Personnel

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1970 debut albums Trapeze (band) albums Threshold Records albums Albums recorded at Morgan Sound Studios