River

Artist: Terry Reid
Label: Water
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Original recording remastered
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 646315710724
EAN: 0646315710724
ASIN: B00006LSMD

Release Date: 2006-03-16

River

Related Categories:

General

| Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General

| Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock

| Pop | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Dean
Avenue
Things to Try
Live Life
River
Dream
Milestones

Similar Items:

Seed of Memory
Rogue Waves
Superlungs
Bang, Bang You're Terry Reid
Terry Reid

Album Description

2002 reissue of 1973 album by this British blues/ soul/ rock singer who turned down what eventually turned out to be Robert Plant's position in Led Zeppelin. 'River' was Reid's fourth record overall & the only LP he cut for Atlantic. Seven tracks. Water Records.

Customer Reviews:

Not Just A Great Rock Album But A Work Of Art .......2006-03-12

No list of the greatest '70s rock albums can ever be complete without Terry Reid's "The River" & "Seeds Of Memory." I don't care how little they sold, these 2 albums are stone-cold classics, the best of their kind. "The River" is as good if not better than "Seeds." In the production department (by Eddie Offord of Yes & ELP fame) it sounds significantly crisper & warmer than "Seeds." The song "Dean" sounds absolutely incredible blasted out of even a stock 2005 Volvo S40 T5 sound system (keep the surround sound very low, put some mapleshade micro-smooth polish on the disc and you'll get even more LP-style warmth out of it). Reid's vocals are so powerful and soulful over that perfect bluesy groove and understated slide guitar, it will almost convince you that you're in an alternate universe listening to one of the biggest rock stars ever because the power of the music is so undeniable that it just floors everyone who hears it. It truly is an incredible testament to "the power of rock," whatever that was at its best, in the original model, taken to heights never dreamed of, following the famous example of "The Beatles" in the 1960s & early 70s. It destroys everything mediocre in its path & raises all who listen, with much love, mind you, to its own rarified stratosphere. It is mind-blowing without being arrogant, it is masculine without macho posturing, it achieves that balance perfectly. Lack of airplay and promotion is the only reason these albums didn't sell because they have rock-legend written all over them. Led Zeppelin with Reid would have been amazing. Very different for sure and maybe not as flamboyant and popular as Zep with Plant but the quality of the music would not have suffered (don't picture the famous LZ songs with Reid & try to compare it to Plant but imagine a completely different beast with legendary songs not yet written that were never to be). I have no problem whatsoever in comparing "The River" & "Seeds of Memory" to all the classic Led Zep albums. Just because Zep songs have been played a zillion times on the radio and Terry Reid songs from these 2 albums practially never, does not automatically mean Reid's songs have less staying power. For the perfect demonstration, listen to the track "Dream" which Reid sings in a mellow, quiet vocal over a spare samba-style acoustic guitar backing, giving new meaning to how deep & sensitive a perfect union of lyrics, music and performance skill can get without sounding overly soft or spiritually out of the rock aura in some James-Taylor-La-La-Land. Play that song ten times in a row and see if doesn't just keep getting better and better and better the more you play it. It is just pop-rock and yet even so, it is inexhaustibly, unfathomably deep, it is real emotion not some weak, lightweight counterfeit. Like "Fooling You" on "Seeds Of Memory," you literally cannot get sick of such perfect expressions of emotional complexity if you tried.

For the groove and Terry's voice , not the 'songs' .......2005-09-04

I was lucky to pick this up cheap - I say that because I already had Terry's LP called SEED OF MEMORY , which has a lot more form to it and which I had enjoyed .
RIVER sounded formless and very much like it was being made up on the spot . I couldn't really make out what the lyrics were , which is important for me .

I suppose some rock music made in LA in the 70's was the product of over indulgence - in a number of different things .

I would recommend buying SEED OF MEMORY instead of this album as it is ( or seems to me ) more structured .
Listen to it first , as your tastes may be different .
I will be trading my copy of RIVER .

"A true, timeless master-piece"!!!!.......2005-08-30

Well, i must say, i've been a most ardent Terry Reid afficianado, ooh, since first i heard this (on vinyl, then) masterwork!!Both this album, & "Seed of Memory", must be 2 of my most favourite albums ..EVER!!!Made in 1973, (a grreat year for music!!!), &featuring the amazing slide-guitar of David Lindley, no less, & Alan White's drumkit(YES), ..THIS , ESPECIALLY NOW, ON C.D. ,at last, is surely one of the most unusual & talented set of songs/tunes of the whole 70's music-scene!What an amazing voice Terry had, still has!!Great, great lyrics, altho' it takes some time to work out what Terry's singing !Doesn't matter , ofcourse, ..in the end , just his absolutely unique voice carries everything to an amazing crescendo!!Even now , some 30 odd years on, ..i STILL adore this album!!!!BUY!!!

groovy reid.......2004-05-18

Meandering at times, but very funky... and of course his voice is superb... mellow soul ... a must for fans.

Terry Reid - River (retrospective review by Dave Horn, Newc).......2004-02-10

This album is simply the bast that Terry Reid has made, even though some tracks were salvaged from an earlier abandoned session. Bearing in mind how good his other albums are, it deserves five stars in the book of anyone who likes his music. New or potential fans should start with this one. All his trademarks are there - scratchy guitar and vocals to match. One side electric and powerful whilst the other side is more acoustic and gentle.

I saw him live at Newcastle Upon Tyne Polytechnic (1973 I think when he was touring the then-new album - a superb performance - I'm now looking forward to the live DVD on Castle) and rushed out to buy it the following day. A VHS tape of him live at Gladstonbury Festival around 1970/1 from TV was recorded over in error and regretted ever since.

A couple of "River" tracks sneaked out on CD on the CD singles from "The Driver". I'd looked for the album on CD for years and bought the Japenese release as soon as it came out. The cover artwork is excellent too - one of the best uses of a gate-fold cover of all time.

Music Album:

Music Album

Music Album

Music CD

Under a Woodstock Moon ~ David %22Fathead%22 Newman

Julian ~ Pepper Adams

Why Not Now ~ Ray Russell

Now ~ Astrud Gilberto

Pillar of Fire

Quartets ~ Stan Getz

Veloz Hacia Su Sino ~ Jorge Pardo

Tonight I Celebrate My Love ~ Peabo Bryson

Suddance ~ Osanna

Digital Moon & Nazo No Mugenokai ~ Hideki Matsutake