Walrus (4) ‎– Walrus

Only album by British Jazz-Rock octet Walrus, which was one of the first full-blown British Jazz-Rock ensembles modeled after the American counterparts like Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago. Although not as sophisticated as If, the other British ensemble following the same path, Walrus was nevertheless quite excellent as well and it is a great pity they didn't manage to record more albums. Formed by bassist Steve Hawthorn, who also wrote the bulk of their material, the band was fronted by vocalist Noel Greenaway and included guitarist John Scates, keyboardist Barry Parfitt and drummer Nick Gabb (or Roger Harrison) as well as a brass section with trumpeter Don Richards (who was also in charge of the brass arrangements), and two saxophonists Roy Voce and Bill Hoad. The music is all original except one track, which is a great cover of a Traffic song, and is all very interesting. In retrospect this is a true gem, which should have done much better than it did at the time and it's a great pleasure to have it back in circulation. Considering the fact that Brass-Rock was relatively rare, this album is a must to every fan of early Jazz-Rock Fusion!