Master: The Early 70s Sessions

The Tremeloes apparently regard Master as their best album. It marked the point where they tried to redefine themselves in a much heavier guise. In place of covers of Four Seasons material and rousing singalong-type numbers, the group delivered a dozen originals that were close in spirit to Crosby, Stills & Nash, steeped in singer/songwriter-style personal lyrics and self-consciously heavy playing, and a very serious attitude. The result is something akin to the kind of music that Badfinger was starting to do at the time, though perhaps still lacking the identifiable personalities that Pete Ham and Tom Evans brought to their work. The playing, especially by guitarists Alan Blakley and Rick West, is often quite beautiful, and as are many of the melodies -- the major exception to the latter statement is the most self-consciously pretentious track on the album, "Boola Boola," a protracted Jimi Hendrix-style guitar jam. Both that track and the Elvis Presley-inspired "Baby" fail to mesh with the rest of what's here, but most of Master is above average melodic hard rock. ~ Bruce Eder|