Trapeze (1970 album)

Trapeze was formed in March 1969 by former The Montanas members John Jones (vocals, trumpet) and Terry Rowley (organ, guitar, piano, flute), along with former Finders Keepers members Mel Galley (guitar, vocals), Glenn Hughes (bass, piano, vocals) and Dave Holland (drums).[1] The five-piece recorded their self-titled debut album later in the year at London's Morgan Studios and Decca Studios.[2] The recordings were produced by John Lodge, whose band the Moody Blues had earlier signed Trapeze as the first act to their new record label Threshold Records.[3] "Send Me No More Letters" was released as a single in 1969,[4] and Trapeze was released in May 1970.[5] The album was the band's only release to feature Jones and Rowley, both of whom left shortly after its release to return to The Montanas.[6]

The material featured on Trapeze was primarily written by Galley, Hughes and Jones – Galley was credited on seven tracks, Hughes and Jones on five each, and Rowley on two.[4] Despite being the band's primary vocalist, Jones was only credited with trumpet on the album, with Hughes being credited for all vocals on the release.[4] The style of the album has been described by commentators as a mix between progressive rock, psychedelic rock and pop rock,[4] with AllMusic's Bruce Eder claiming that "Those listeners who only know the subsequent albums by Trapeze may be surprised by this debut effort" due to their later hard rock style.[2] The album was compared stylistically to the work of other British rock acts of the period, including Lodge's band the Moody Blues and Hughes's future group Deep Purple (particularly the first three albums).[2][7] In the liner notes for a 2004 reissue of the album by Lemon Recordings, journalist Nigel Williamson described Trapeze as "a classic period example of English prog, mixing pastoral whimsy, swirling psychedelia, rock guitars and pop harmonies".[4] Similarly, Eder identified that the album featured an array of "lush choruses, psychedelic interludes, and hook-laden romantic ballads", amounting to "high-energy music within the context of psychedelic pop/rock".[2]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]

Media response to Trapeze was generally positive. Eder praised the performances of the "core trio" of Galley, Hughes and Holland, who he claimed "[found] a good compromise with Rowley and Jones' more lyrical, psychedelic pop sensibilities", but noted that "it's clear that three of these musicians are holding back to one degree or another in these surroundings".[2] He also highlighted "Fairytale" and "Am I" as the album's standout songs, which he claimed "[pointed] the way to [the band's] future sound" following their reduction to the aforementioned trio.[2] Billboard hailed Trapeze as "a candidate for big chart action", praising the performance in particular of Hughes, highlighting "Send Me No More Letters" and "Fairytale", and praising the band's "strong rock personality" on the record.[7]

• Trapeze at Discogs (list of releases)