Halfway Dreaming - Anthology 1969-75: 5CD Clamshell Boxset

During their five years of existence in the early 1970s, British group Byzantium created an eclectic body of work that ranged from lush orchestral prog rock and gritty psychedelia to American-influenced pop with strains of country, jazz, and folk. A multi-headed beast of young singer/songwriters, they harmonized with the grace of Crosby, Stills, & Nash and rocked with the thump of Wishbone Ash, all the while layering in complex time signatures, tape loop effects, and the kind of scintillating guitar rivalries that should have made them stars, or at the very least a larger cult band than they were. Instead, after two stylistically diverse and commercially disappointing albums for A&M, they were dropped by both label and management and left to fend for themselves in the hinterlands of British independent music. As songwriters and instrumentalists, they certainly had the goods, but it was perhaps their inability to conform to a singular style that eventually did them in. Formed out of the nascent pop scene at University College School in Hampstead, Byzantiums lineup tended to shift from release to release, but at its core were Jamie Rubenstein (vocals, guitar), Robin Lamble (vocals, bass), and Steve Corduner (drums), with key members Nico Ramsden (vocals, guitar), Chaz Jankel (vocals, guitar), and Mick Barakan (vocals, guitar) each making significant marks on at least one or more of their three albums. Like other progressively minded groups of the time who utilized multiple frontmen, Byzantiums personality often changed from song to song, and while they lacked the overall cohesion of someone like the Moody Blues, they were extremely exciting to listen to and boasted a dynamic live show rippling with intricacy and edge. Dusted off and lovingly compiled here are the bands complete recordings beginning with Rubensteins charming pre-Byzantium group Ora on through their sterling last-ditch demos which they made for Atlantic shortly before calling it quits in 1975. Along with the two A&M records (Byzantium and Seasons Changing) is their privately pressed and extremely rare Live & Studio LP, and an odds-and-sods disc of excellent live recordings, demos, and singles. There is, of course, much to love about Grapefruit Records detailed packaging and exemplary liner notes, but in listening to gems like the gorgeous prog-pop ballad I Am a Stranger to My Life or the jangling country-rock of Halfway Dreaming, its truly a wonder this band isnt better known. Hopefully this lavish five-disc box set will go some way in adding some much-deserved lustre to their legacy. ~ Timothy Monger