Released By : Angel Air Records
Genre : Progressive Rock
Links : http://www.myspace.com/theoriginalrococo
Tracklist:
1. Hoodlum Fun
2. The Hollywood Brats
3. Quicksilver Mail
4. Hometown Girls
5. Out In The World
6. Midsummer Hill
7. Bellatrix
8. Street Boy
9. The Living Rock
10. Space Tone
11. Wildfire
12. Ultrastar
Sometimes you will listen to an old band for the first time and wonder why the hell you have never heard of them before. U.K progressive rock outfit ROCOCO are one such band that I had the pleasure of discovering only recently even though they disbanded well over twenty years ago. The album RUN FROM THE WILDFIRE is a collection of songs that the band recorded in the seventies and have been digitally upgraded for this release via ANGEL AIR MUSIC.
ROCOCO traces its roots back to the early seventies, when music journalist ROY SHIPSTON quit his day job writing for MELODY MAKER and decided he would rather play his own music than just write about other peoples. It didn’t take long for him to get a group of guys together. SHIPSTON already had musical ties with another journalist GEOFF WARD and it didn’t take the two of them long to gather up some more members, including bass guitarist JOHN ‘RHINO’ EDWARDS, who would later find fame and fortune as a member of STATUS QUO.
It’s quite difficult to really compare ROCOCO to any other bands as they really did have a sound that was unique. If anything I would say add one part RUSH, one part PINK FLOYD, a sprinkle of early day JOURNEY and spread some QUEEN across the top for flavor. I personally don’t think these guys in the same league as the three previously mentioned groups, but they are certainly one of the better seventies prog rock bands I have ever heard and it truly is a mystery as to why they didn’t hit the big time.
As per usual ANGEL AIR have provided a great booklet with some rare photos and an essay on the back story of the band, and the aural quality is as good as anything else the label has released in recent history.
If you are a fan of the older style progressive rock and are yet to discover ROCOCO you are truly in for a pleasant surprise and I urge you to give this album some of your time. For anyone that actually does know of this band, RUN FROM THE WILDFIRE is the quintessential release from them that you simply need in your collection.
Written By ZeeZee
Rating : 9/10
About Author
