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Roger Glover: The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper’s Feast
Daybreak
Get Prepared
Saffron Dormouse And Lizzy Bee
Harlequin Hare
Previous Blind Mole
Magician Moth
No Resolution
Behind The Smile
Fly Away
Aranea
Sitting In A Dream
Ready
Sir Maximus Mouse
Goals Of Sir Bedivere
Collectively Once more
Watch Out For The Bat
Little Chalk Blue
The Feast
Love is All
Homeward
A touchstone that will likely be a part of any halfway-comprehensive 70s vinyl assortment, Roger Glover’s pastoral rock opera/idea album The Butterfly Ball And The Grasshopper’s Feast has a comparatively convoluted again story.
William Roscoe’s early-Nineteenth-century kids’s poem of the identical title piqued the creativeness of the British psychedelic artist de jour Alan Aldridge, nonetheless using excessive in each profile and recognition with the success of his two-volume The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics. Aldridge and author William Plover then collaborated on a full-length e book of the poem (1973) which gained kids’s e book of the yr, and offered a shitload.
Eschewing any ethical steerage and that includes an anthropomorphised forged of bugs and animals in a setting not fully dissimilar to The Wind In The Willows, its enchantment to the psychedelically inclined was writ giant, and was an apparent contender for the rock idea remedy. After each Pink Floyd and Jon Lord handed, a newly unemployed Roger Glover took up the problem, and the ensuing album confirmed a breadth of songwriting beforehand buried inside Deep Purple’s parameters.
Veering from dramatic whimsy to chamber pop and prog, all shot by way of with a stage musical sensibility, notes of Peter Hammill, Hair the musical, Elton John, Camel and Caravan can all be detected. Glover was aided and abetted by a forged of well-known pals together with David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, and a pre-Rainbow Ronnie James Dio.
Each week, Album of the Week Membership listens to and discusses the album in query, votes on how good it’s, and publishes our findings, with the purpose of giving individuals dependable critiques and the broader rock neighborhood the possibility to contribute.
Different albums launched in October 1975
- Frank Zappa & The Moms of Invention with Captain Beefheart – Bongo FuryÂ
- The Who – The Who Ny NumbersÂ
- Mike Oldfield – OmmadawnÂ
- Elton John – Rock Of The WestiesÂ
- John Lennon – Shaved FishÂ
- Roxy Music – SirenÂ
- Rory Gallagher – In opposition to The GrainÂ
- Van de Graaf Generator – Godbluff
- Sparks – IndiscreetÂ
- Dr Feelgood – MalpracticeÂ
- Focus – Mom FocusÂ
- Tom Waits – Nighthawks At The DinerÂ
- Iron Butterfly – Solar And Metal
- Deep Purple – Come Style The Band
- Kingdom Come – Kingdom Come
What they mentioned…
“Highlights leap out from throughout the platter, with the macabre Previous Blind Mole and the positively buoyant Love Is All the dual extremes round which the motion revolves. Gustafson’s exhausting rock Watch Out For The Bat, in the meantime, should certainly have induced nightmares throughout the album’s youthful followers, whereas Dio’s closing Homeward all however predicts the course of area rock in the course of the ’80s. (AllMusic)
“It’s very a lot a toddler of its time, similtaneously positively refusing to acknowledge its creator’s status. Certainly, one nonetheless remembers the wails of dismay from giant segments of the Deep Purple fan membership as Glenn Hughes declared Get Prepared, David Coverdale peeked Behind The Smile, and Dio… who would quickly be forming Rainbow with Ritchie Blackmore… took the function of a singing frog.” (Goldmine)
“With many of the twenty tracks that includes a singer taking over the function of one of many animals from the e book (the place British countryside beasts put their variations apart to attend The Butterfly Ball), there is no denying that all of it sounds prefer it ought to have been a recipe for embarrassing catastrophe. Nonetheless, Glover masterfully straddled the territory between child’s e book and rock star cool by writing songs that really fell into neither bracket.” (Sea Of Tranquility)
What you mentioned…
Greg Schwepe: So, this one was fascinating. And I did take heed to the entire thing! Wasn’t even a chore to take action actually. Whimsical vibe to it at instances. Form of an odd little album venture for this group of rock stars.
The humorous factor is that the songs stored me engaged. Completely had this vibe that it was a part of a narrative and also you sort of felt such as you have been going by way of every chapter with the varied characters. Go determine!
Had I ever even heard of this earlier than this week? Nope. Did I believe I wasted my time listening and reviewing this. Nope. Will I pay attention once more? Nicely, in all probability not!
7 out of 10 on this one for me. That Roger Glover, a person of many hats, or head scarves.
Henry Martinez: This has the texture of a aspect venture with a lot of optimistic intent however missing true cohesion. Having so many various vocalists is kind of tough, though it is fascinating to listen to Dio, Coverdale and Hughes sing exterior of their regular lanes. Simply not one I would revisit usually, if in any respect. (3.0)
Gary Claydon: Ah, the bizarre, wacky and typically woeful world of ’70s idea/theme albums. There at all times gave the impression to be a brand new one simply not far away and there have been some fairly stellar names concerned in a few of them. What number of made any lasting impressions, although?
Struggle Of The Worlds has stood the take a look at of time, however other than that?
Robert Calvert’s ode to a jinxed jet-fighter, Captain Lockheed And The Starfighters was a private favorite, with contributions from numerous Hawkwind alumni (together with Lemmy), Eno and Arthur Brown, amongst others. How about Flash Fearless vs.The Zorg Ladies Components 5&6 that includes the likes of Alice Cooper, Jim Dandy, Elkie Brooks, half of The Who and lots of extra. Or the (fairly first rate) prog rock tackle Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf which included Gary Moore, Alvin Lee, Cozy Powell, Eno (once more) among the many forged of dozens?
There are a lot of extra, however the place does Roger Glover’s The Butterfly Ball And The Grasshopper’s Feast match on this splendidly bonkers world?
Good-natured pop-rock is the kindest description I can give you. As with many of the others of its ilk, it’s totally a lot of its time. Coverdale’s activate Behind The Smile is mildly diverting, as are the RJD autos Sitting In A Dream and the Beatles-influenced Love Is All, which was a giant hit in mainland Europe, particularly The Netherlands. The remaining is pretty forgettable. There was a remastered field set from a couple of years in the past, which, for some purpose, was loaned to me. It did not change my opinion however did include some rarities and an fascinating booklet penned by Malcolm Dome.
All-in-all, a unusual curiosity, however very removed from important.
Chris Elliott: A historic curiosity, and it actually ought to keep there. It flopped universally for a purpose. The one good factor I can say is that it made me nostalgic for Captain Beaky.
Mike Canoe: Roger Glover is one proficient dude. Certain, by 1974 he had already confirmed himself as one in all exhausting rock’s nice bass gamers by way of his work with Deep Purple and he already had a number of manufacturing and songwriter credit beneath his belt, however The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper’s Feast ably demonstrated that he may do all that after which some.
A kind of many abilities was scouting nice expertise. Whereas Ronnie James Dio, Glenn Hughes, and David Coverdale are well-known now, they have been all far much less so when this album got here out. Both approach, these three are only a fraction of the various nice singers on this album, to not point out the proficient musicians within the band.
I as soon as learn a overview of the musical Cats that mentioned the plot was basically cats introducing themselves to one another. I get the same vibe from Butterfly Ball. You want a fairly excessive tolerance for whimsy and stage musicals to make it by way of these many songs and, thankfully, I do and the pageantry would not take away from the enjoyment of the album. Virtually each track guarantees a brand new singer, cool instrumentation, and new musical fashion, or all the above.
As satisfying as it’s, this album appears to be a footnote within the careers of everybody concerned, together with Roger Glover. I am glad I acquired to spend the week with it.
Philip Qvist: I can solely think about how the dialog went when Roger Glover reached out to his connections – “Hello, it is Roger right here, do you fancy showing on an idea album primarily based on a kids’s poem from the early 1800s – it is known as the The Butterfly’s Ball and the Grasshopper’s Feast?” “Good strive, however significantly who is that this on the road, it may well’t be the Roger I do know.”
Jokes apart, I really loved this idea file, even when my solely publicity to it was the Love Is All single from this file. It will not be on my must-listen-to-again checklist, but it surely was entertaining listening to the singers placing their very own character on the characters, albeit if their appearances have been (too) transient.
For certain, it’s Roger Glover’s venture, however I need to additionally give credit score to Ronnie James Dio, who co-wrote and sang on three tracks, and Eddie Hardin, who co-wrote three tracks, sang lead on one track and in addition performed keyboards on the album.
Not a vital file, however entertaining and enjoyable – someplace between a 6 and a 7 from me.
John Burton: I keep in mind getting this – and loving it – in 1976!
Adam Ranger: I noticed this was an idea album primarily based on a kids’s poem and my coronary heart sank a bit, if I am sincere. However I went in with an open thoughts.
General impression is that it is a bit fragmented. All of the “characters” get their very own bit, and that’s the concern for me. It is a “bit” earlier than the subsequent character is available in with a very completely different fashion. And, as most of the characters solely have round 1.5 minutes, it jars a bit to my ears.
It is like the college music venture the place the music instructor demonstrates completely different types for various issues. All nicely completed, I assume, it is simply not straightforward to take heed to on an album.
There are a few good longer tunes. Love Is All, Sitting In A Dream and my favorite Little Chalk Blue.
Humorous listening to Coverdale’s bluesy voice and magnificence overlaid by completely (to my ears) mismatched backing on Behind the Smile.
An incredible bit of canopy artwork, too. However, all in all, I will not be listening to this once more.
Graham Tarry: It is a pure delight from starting to finish! Not what you’d anticipate given the musicians concerned, however filled with high melodies, and daft lyrics! Acquired it when it got here out in 74, and nonetheless cherish it, particularly the gatefold sleeve.
Andy Walker: It is a nice album. I additionally like the opposite all-star album that Roger Glover put collectively, Wizard’s Conference.
John Davidson: Within the late 70s early 80s the UK journal Sounds used to do household timber of main artists, together with the bands and aspect tasks. It was a great way (pre-internet) of discovering out about belongings you’d by no means have heard of.
Additionally, our native library had a fairly good LP part, in order a Deep Purple fan on the age of 16, I made a degree of looking for out as a lot as I may. Among the many apparent Gillan, Blackmore and Coverdale choices there was Paice Ashton Lord and this oddity.
Butterfly Ball was too unusual for my teenage mind. It wasn’t like Tales from Topographic Oceans, however extra harking back to Struggle Of The Worlds with its first singers and odd characters.
However the oddness of the story /poem is matched by the eclectic songwriting and instrumentation. For all of the expertise on board, it would not actually rock and there is not a tune I may get behind, sadly. A 3 for me.
Closing rating: 7.08 (49 votes forged, complete rating 437)
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