Overkill packaging as usual with tracking via USPS media for $4.00 and yes, I do combine. Since I have had a series of questions concerning shipping charges on combined orders I will try to be more explicit. Generally up to three lps ship as one, but shipping charges are based on weight not records. So gatefolds or double LPs or 180 gram vinyl all have an affect differently. Suffice to say, I don't try to make money on shipping charges and I am fair, so enjoy the auctions. Open records are cleaned with Ultrasonic cleaning system and in new 3 mil inner and outer plastic sleeve.


In 1971, British band Web abruptly changed its name to Samurai and released this self-titled set, its sole contribution to the prog rock canon. Adding a second brass player and somewhat lightening its sound, the band still continued down many of the same jazzy pathways as its predecessor. However, across seven tracks Samurai meanders down rather diverse byways. "Saving It Up for So Long," for instance, bundles along like Caravan, its bluesy guitar inflections offset by the brass' improv jazz stylings. Even more R&B-inflected is "Give a Little Love," boasting wah wah guitar, a stomping riff, and some quite sassy sax. In contrast, "More Rain" is as soft, warm, and shimmering as a summer drizzle, and gives credence to the group's inclusion in the Canterbury scene. Its polar opposite is the bustling "Holy Padlock," which trundles down a rural road with the farmland flying by, until the song's shifting time signatures shake up the ride. But it's the eight-plus-minute "As I Dried the Tears Away" that's Samurai's centerpiece, a constantly mood-altering and style-twisting extravaganza that brings to mind King Crimson on acid making a regal procession around a breathtaking musical realm. Thoroughly unique, Samurai apparently committed hari-kari after this album was released. Singer/keyboardist Dave Lawson would eventually rise again with Greenslade, his restrained vocals on this set barely hinting at what was to come.

Samurai (6) ?– Samurai

Label: Greenwich Gramophone Company ?– GSLP 1003 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: Germany Released: 1971 Genre: Rock Style: Prog Rock

Tracklist

A1 Saving It Up For So Long
A2 More Rain
A3 Maudie James
A4 Holy Padlock
B1 Give A Little Love
B2 Face In The Mirror
B3 As I Dried The Tears Away

Companies, etc.

• Printed By – TELDEC »Telefunken-Decca« Schallplatten GmbH
• Recorded At – Wessex Sound Studios

Credits

• Bass Guitar – John Eaton (5)
• Drums – Kenny Beveridge
• Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Tony Edwards (7)
• Engineer – Robin Thompson
• Painting [Cover Painting] – Victor Meara
• Photography By [Inside] – Robin Clifford (2)
• Tenor Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Flute [Concert] – Don Fay
• Tenor Saxophone, Flute [Concert & Alto], Bass Clarinet – Tony Roberts
• Vibraphone [Vibes], Drums, Percussion, Producer – Lennie Wright
• Vocals, Keyboards, Written-By, Arranged By – Dave Lawson

Notes

Released in a gatefold cover.

Barcode and Other Identifiers

• Matrix / Runout (Side 1): XZAL - 10755-I Manufactured in Germany
• Matrix / Runout (Side 2): XZAL - 10756-I Manufactured in Germany
• Rights Society: GEMA