Some time ago, this album appeared in the UK via many best-known pstch / prog / beat music outlets. The label hails from Bremen, Germany, and it it was immediately obvious that FJ didn't know much about the band they had 'scooped' for this release. Apart from track listings that made up this album, all that we are told by FJ is that 'tracks 1 - 3 performed by The Shivering Span' (sic), 'tracks 4 - 12 performed by Leviathan' (the compilers of this platter must have seen the 'Psychedelic Dungeon' boxed 7" set which features two songs by the Mike Stuart Span : the booklet which accompanies the package reproduces an old music paper article on the band's appearance in the film "Better A Widow". It describes the how the four musicians were performing a number in Hyde Park for the benefit of the cameras - in mid-December, wearing nothing warmer than their paisley shirts! The heading for it was simply 'Shivering Span' which gives you some idea how much research was done for this LP!). What the LP doesn't tell you is that these tracks were culled from the band's singles, a Radio One session and also some unreleased acetates. This album is a pretty shoddy affair and with a little bit of care and effort they could have turned into a very nice release, but whoever did the cover (and pointless insert) should stick to painting by numbers.

All that aside, the music is excellent; the Span / Leviathan wrote and performed some of the most distinctive progressive / psych sounds of the era and anyone who has a copy will no doubt play it again and again. So, what better way of talking us through the contents of the album can there be other than hearing it from someone who was there at the time? Gary 'Roscoe' Murphy, the drummer with Mike Stuart Span / Leviathan, will now give us a guided tour :

Time (John Peel session version) : Not as strong as the single version, technically not so well engineered. Note : complete with Simon & Garfunkel ending! Simple, pleasant and melodic

Children of Tomorrow (John Peel version) : Far superior to the ultra-rare 45 version on the Jewel label, however, perhaps lacks the raw excitment of the original

My White Bicycle (again from the Peel session) : Pleasant, strong melody and a possible commercial re-release. Stands up wellby modern standards, and one of my favourites from the LP

Remember The Times : Our first single as Leviathan, comercial, driving music, well engineered with good vocals. This is one that I enjoyed playing live immensely

Second Production : One of the strongest songs - very '60's lyrics and strange percussive rhythm. Almost ethereal quality solo - far too short! The unreleased Decca version is far superior - the solo is out of this world, and could be earmarked for private release

World In My Head : Fairly simple melody and lyrics which builds up to a good solo. This was good to play live, but doesn't transfer to vinyl 100% succesfully

Flames : My own personal favourite of all time (from our own material that is) - well engineered and played : one of the most 'theatrical' numbers. Brian is at his best and shows excellent guitar skills. The faded ending, however is not for effect and, sadly, shortened purely to fit on the album. There are several other versions of this and they're all good

Shades of Autumn (Peel version) : The correct title of this should be "Through The Looking Glass". More instrumental than vocal; some excellent guitar passages by Brian, with many rhythm and mood changes. Very enjoyable to play and listen to

Blue Day : As the title suggests, very blues-orientated. Whilst it features Roger on a brilliant bass solo, this is not overall the best version around. Musically somewhat mediocre - the alternate version has more drive and harder wah-wah guitar throughout which strengthens the whole performance, and, while the bass solo is omitted, it reaches a much more professional climax

Time (Alternate version) : Much nicer; better recorded and an altogether fuller sound. Still lacks, in my opinion, either brass or string accompaniment. Moving, sincere lyrics. Somewhat disappointing ending though

The War Machine : Now we're really talking; a very strong number. Very pleasing effect, drums superbly recorded (and played I might add), star vocal appearance by yours truly! A very satisfying production; unusually contrasting guitar solo which works admirably well. Probably the best-recorded and most original song on the whole album

Evil Woman : This was an attempt on at putting down a 'live' track, which doesn't fully come off; what might work in a club or a concert venue loses something during the recording - probably atmosphere and a lack of an audience. Musically quite rewarding but just lacks that magic spark.

So there you have Gary's feelings on each of the tracks on this bootleg, but what does Gary think of it as a whole?

Gary : Overall, the album is a good representation of Leviathan's collective talents at songwriting and musical ability : where it fails is in presentation and poor quality recordings. By bootleg standards however, the cover is not too bad, but the insert is less pleasing and does nothing to enhance the finished product. I'd liked to have seen some more information and photos of the band included....the track listing hasn't been well thought out either, and could have been divided almost equally into the singles and non-singles on sides A and B. Rather than repeat "Time" a more obvious choice would have been "Concerto of Thoughts" (B-side of the Jewel 45) or perhaps "Just Forget Tomorrow", B-side of the last Leviathan single on Elektra, which is one of the best suited to Stuart's vocals. Summing up, the LP is not all bad, but could've been greatly improved using better quality recordings and other versions of the same tracks which were positively superior. However, if nothing else, it has made people aware of the band and that if enough interest is shown there are still some gems to be found locked in the 'jewel' casket....!

This article originally appeared in 117 magazine issue two, I'd like to thank Kev Biscoe for letting us re-produce the article.

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