All songs are great on this album
jdrmusiclover | Switzerland | 10/16/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I totally agree with the other reviewer; (by now there is only one).
I don't have very much to add, except that this album is enjoyable from start to end.
It is not one of these albums where there is only one or two great songs and you can throw away ther rest.
It has something very distinctive and original.
This kind of music does not loose it's quality over time.
Somme jazzy influences, but the album can really be classified into pop, or progressive music, or progressive rock.
Sounds like an English band. (I don't know where they come from)
Anyway, full of swing(ing) energy
Feels really good to me.
(I own an old vinyl)
And have a nice day, by the way"
Simply one of the great lost gems of British prog rock
BENJAMIN MILER | Veneta, Oregon | 08/08/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Samurai was essentially a continuation of Web, who in 1970 released the album I Spider on Polydor. That album marked Dave Lawson's first recordings. Web did release two albums prior to I Spider with an American vocalist John L. Watson with Fully Interlocking (1968) and Theraphosa Blondi (1970), which are said to be pop/psychedelic offerings. After I Spider, sax player Tom Harris left, and for some reason the band was now called Samurai (I suspect Tom Harris had the rights to the Web name, but I can't be certain). They brought in two new wind players with Tony Roberts and Fay. Aside from these two new guys, the lineup was the same with vocalist/keyboardist Dave Lawson, guitarist Tony Edwards, bassist Tony Eaton, drummer Kenny Beveridge, and drummer/percussionist Lennie Wright. The band was now recording for a far more obscure label, Greenwich. Original LPs are extremely difficult to come by, but luckily its been reissued on CD. I have the Italian reissue on the Akarma label, which comes in a digipak, but does not include those live bonus cuts like earlier reissues did.
Really, I have to say Samurai is by far the finest album Dave Lawson ever played on. His singing doesn't seem so strained or high-pitched as on those Greenslade albums. The album is mellower, overall than I Spider, and there's a stronger King Crimson feel. "More Rain" is a nice, pleasant number that brings to mind Jade Warrior, especially the flutes. "Maudie James" continues in that nice, early '70s jazzy prog manner, while "Give a Little Love" tends to be more rocking. "As I Dried My Tears Away" is a great closer with lots of creative passages. This is really one of the great lost gems of British prog rock. This was the last we heard from Web/Samurai. Most of the guys had simply disappeared (likely to their day jobs), with one big exception, Dave Lawson, of course, who found his fame and fortune with Greenslade.
This album comes highly recommended!"
Great album
Gary Bourke | Geelong, Australia | 06/12/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"A great album. If one was looking for a musical label, I would call it jazz prog. Only Dave Lawson seems to have gone on to greater heights but his band mates are more than competent.
Look out for the release 2001 Made in Australia release on the Progressive Line label. It has 5 bonus "live" tracks from 1971 (complete with corny intro's):
Give A Little Love
Holy Padlock
More Rain
Concerto For Bedsprings
Love You
The latter two originally recorded by "Web""
Track Listings (7) - Disc #1
