Hear The Track Here
Talk about being single-minded, know what I've been doing while slogging through this months reviews? When I finally put down the review pen I have been frequently resting my ears by feasting my eyes on the final edit of the Avalanche video of The Road Less Travelled - which btw is absolutely glorious and really puts the power and emotion of the track across, and that's just the music. I know a fair bit about the band's activities this year and knew that something like this was in the offing but - to be honest - this has kinda taken my breath away. I know I am a confirmed Avalanche fan of long standing and therefore show enormous bias but hey, I've always been a shameless type. The video is just one part of what is on the way in the near future and I've been glued to the HD version played awfully loud. This also accounts for my slightly dazed expression but of course you can't see that.
Can you?
A long and involved story behind this track of which the upshot is, this is an original track from 1979 featuring Avalanche back then, with the notable exception of bass player Charles Calmese (of which more in a minute). Mike Foster held onto the two inch stereo master of a rough mix though all these years before laying it gently into the hands of David Pendragon to bring to some sort of life - and if anyone can, David can. Charles Calmese unfortunately died tragically in 1988 but not before notching up Platinum awards for his playing on Steve Miller's Fly Like An Eagle album, one of my all time favourites. This is, I think, the first time I have heard any of Charles's Avalanche work, although if it's not I'm certain Mike Foster will put me right in short order. It's what he does ;) So you with me so far???
Well maybe you won't be when I tell you that The Golden Sun is a whisker under fourteen minutes long. If that doesn't deter you, cast you eyes over what I've just said. This is a track set in the time-concrete of tape and obviously reeking of the era itself. Late 1970's, remember it? On this side of the Atlantic people were starting to spit at each other but on the American side it was still all big hair, big shows, big ideas and ******* massive egos. Putting myself back in time, I personally would have welcomed this into my home with an immense pleasure because it (just) predates the whole West Coast thing (think Eagles etc) and yet here are Avalanche doing it some time before it got massive and with considerable style. The real shame is that it has taken until now for it to finally be publically heard. So is it worth the fourteen minutes of your time? Well, that depends on your views on what constitutes classic rock, and whether the history of Avalanche interests you. Short of this, awesome to hear a young Mike, Mark and Barry in action.
A peice of history but still a rock MUST HAVE for all that.
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