Act One (Beggars Opera album)

This article is about the 1970 Beggars Opera album. For other uses, see Act One (disambiguation).
Act One
Studio album by Beggars Opera
Released 1970
Recorded De Lane Lea Studios, Holborn, London
Genre Progressive rock
Length 41:57
Label Vertigo
Producer Bill Martin, Phil Coulter
Beggars Opera chronology
Act One
(1970)		 Waters of Change
(1971)

Act One is the debut album of the Scottish progressive band Beggars Opera.

Overview

Variously classified as symphonic rock, progressive rock or proto-progressive rock, Beggars Opera's debut album has been compared to (and sometimes described as "derivative of") works by The Nice and Deep Purple MK I.[1][2] It was published by Vertigo (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's first three albums).[2] 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 references to classical music (e.g.,Poet and Peasant and Light Cavalry by Franz von Suppé and Grieg's Peer Gynt), an Emerson-esque keyboard section featuring organ and Hammond, complex arrangements, and long suites (most notably "Raymond's Road").[1][2]

Track listing

  1. "Poet and Peasant" (Franz von Suppé; arranged by Beggars Opera) (7:10)
  2. "Passacaglia" (Marshall Erskine, Virginia Scott) (7:04)
  3. "Memory" (Marshall Erskine, Virginia Scott) (3:57)
  4. "Raymond's Road" (Beggars Opera) (11:49)
  5. "Light Cavalry" (Franz von Suppé; arranged by Beggars Opera) (11:57)
  6. "Sarabande" (bonus track on the CD edition) (3:32)
  7. "Think" (bonus track on the CD edition) (4:25)

Personnel

References

  1. 1 2 Album review at AllMusic
  2. 1 2 3 Album review at Storia della Musica
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