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Chris 'Judge' Smith - Democrazy

Artist: Chris 'Judge' Smith
Title: Democrazy
Label: Oedipus Recs
Length(s): minutes
Year(s) of release: 1991
Month of review: 03/1993

Line up

Chris Judge Smith - songwriting, vocals, tambourine, bongos, drums, euphonium, chinese shawm, autoharp, whitsling
Peter Hammill - songwriting, guitar, bass, backing vocals, harmonium
Steve Robshaw - guitar, piano
Ian Wolstenholme - bass
Martin Pottinger - drums
Max Hutchinson - sax, piano, guitars, bass
Ivan Watson - piano
Malcolm Watson - violin
Dave Mitchell - sax, cello, tenor sax
Dave Jackson - sax, flute
Hugh Banton - piano and double-speed piano, guitar
Steve Hicklin - guitar, bass
Ben Burrow - drums
Raymond Falconer - electric piano
Tony Harris - guitar
Richard Manwaring - drums
Robert Pettigrew - piano
Kef McCullock - guitar, backing vocals
Ian Fordham - bass, backing vocals
John Hogdeson - drums
Tony Britten - electric piano, piano, backing vocals

Tracks

1) Viking 4.08
2) Imperial Zeppelin 3.59
3) The Institute Of Mental Health 4.07
4) A Letter To The Lady 3.38
5) The Last Airship Of The World 2.39
6) Last Night I Dreamt I Played With Alfie Nokes 3.55
7) There's No Time Like The Present (unless Perhaps It's Yesterday) 4.22
8) Garibaldi Biscuits 3.53
9) Almost Twenty-three 3.24
10) Nineteen-nineteen 3.35
11) Time For A Change 3.22
12) Sic Itur Ad Astra 3.53
13) Been Alone So Long 4.01
14) Our Lady Of The Losers 3.35
15) Alderfield 5.01
16) Cairo Cairo 3.06
17) The Concert 3.33
18) The Hotel Belvue Metropol Beach Excelsior 3.41
19) Dies Irae 7.47

Summary

A founding member of Van Der Graaf Generator and also the collaborator of Peter Hammill on his opera The Fall Of The House OF Usher.

The music

These are demo tracks from the period 1967-1977 and the sound quality is not high, but not disturbingly bad. There are nineteen songs and a length of 75 minutes. Most of the music is acoustic and soft and has but a few heavy passages. Most likable tracks are Sic Itur Astra and Dies Irae, and least likable track is Cairo Cairo. In addition this record contains five Smith songs that can be heard in superior versions on Hammill's solo records. If you want to obtain this disc I wish you lots of luck.

Conclusion

The parallels with VDGG are meagre so that is no reason to want this disc. The music is not progressive.
© Jurriaan Hage