Last year saw Bigelf finally getting some of the attention they deserved with the release of the excellent ‘Cheat The Gallows’, one of the highlights of the musical year for me. Along with this well supported album came a whole host of tours, either their own club shows, theatre and arena shows with the likes of Dream Theatre and Opeth, and a fair share of festivals including 2010’s inaugural High Voltage Festival. The fact that the festival is created by Classic Rock magazine whose organisation has such close links to Powerage in no way detracts from how deserving Bigelf were of their slot on the bill.
With this higher international profile, having previously been a bit of a cult California act, Powerage have now released the band’s debut EP ‘Closer to Doom’ as well as the albums ‘Hex’ and ‘Money Machine’, all with a host of bonus features. I admit, Bigelf hadn’t surfaced on my radar before this site’s editor sent me ‘Cheat the Gallows’ to review, but enjoying a healthy slab of prog rock mixed with my metal, I was more then happy to give this band a listen, and am even more grateful now to listen to the band’s earlier work.
First up is 1995’s 6-track EP ‘Closer to Doom’, now expanded with no less them eight bonus tracks. Visually, it was strange to see the band beardless and top hat free, dressed like a young Pearl Jam as they glared from the back of the case; it’s amazing how much the Mad Hatter hippy image they now project has taken hold! The sound, however, is already developing, a mix of glam and psychedelia, influenced by the keyboard work of Jon Lord, and with a large dose of late Beatles work. ‘Crazy’ sounds like John Lennon with Deep Purple as a backing band, the guitars and keyboards swirling together with a twanging electric sitar and trippy lyrics, whilst ‘In the Void’ has the laid back sound of George Harrison’s solo work in his ‘Bangladesh’ era. All this may make the band sound like nothing more then a bunch of 70’s wannabes, but their skill and execution makes the tracks sound timeless rather then dated. Amongst the bonus tracks, for me ‘Fight’ stands out from the rest. Despite being in rough form it combines some of the band’s heaviest guitar riffs with pained vocals massively reminiscent of Lennon’s ‘Mother’ in their almost tearful, angry delivery. Compared to the other demos, mainly works in progress for the EP and the live ‘Baron Saturday’, it is one of the tracks I’ll be playing with the rest of the EP.
Next to get the bonus treatment is ‘Money Machine’, originally recorded in 1997, but not released until 2000 on Sweden’s Record Heaven label. Even with just two years between this and ‘Closer to Doom’, the development of the band is immediately apparent. The interplay between keyboards and guitar is more and more complex, simultaneously competing and complimenting each other, like the best work of Pink Floyd, an act whose influence is so apparent on album opener ‘Money Machine’. Whilst the in your face bombast of distorted vocals, Hammond organ and guitar is what is most obvious on the album, it is constantly playing off the foundation of a rock solid rhythm section, without which the tracks would not have the same depth of sound. Much of the album echoes of Floyd, especially with the inclusion of saxophones on ‘Sellout’ and ‘Neuropsychopathic Eye’, but with far more passion, reminiscent of the early Syd Barrett days. I suppose in the case of Pink Floyd’s later works, it is hard to sound hungry and angry when you have a fleet of limos at your command and more money then a small country, but Bigelf keep that fire and edge throughout ‘Money Machine’. As an album closer, ‘The Bitter End’, with mournful vocals and a predominance of acoustic guitars is a classic, a relaxing counterpoint to some of the earlier frenetic pieces. The bonus tracks give more of an indication of the band’s major influences, starting with a solid studio cover of Thin Lizzy’s ‘Bad Reputation’, the original’s stripped back rock layered with Damon Fox’s keyboards, giving this rock classic a new dimension. Bringing the bonuses to an end is a live version of what the band wrongly call a “Skynyrd song”, Black Sabbath’s ‘Sweet Leaf.’ Recorded in Stockholm, whilst they may have got the name of the originators wrong, Bigelf certainly play a good version of the song, faithfully recreating the stoner power of the original with enthusiasm, and no small skill.
The final part of this triumvirate is 2002’s ‘Hex’, released through Warner Music’s Swedish branch. Whilst still massively influenced by prog, on album opener ‘Madhatter’ the guitar dominates, with some solid, metallic riffing, before being reigned back to compliment the keyboards in ‘Bats in the Belfry II’ rather then batter them into the background. The prog/Floyd sound peaks with ‘Disappear’, the guitar solos easily comparable to the best work of Dave Gilmour, whilst the gently delivered, but impassioned hatred of the conveyor belt side of the music industry in ‘Rock and Roll Contract’ harkens to the bile and bitterness of Roger Water’s lyrics. Throughout the album the average track length increases over their earlier releases, as does the complexity of many such songs as ‘Falling Bombs’, with some of the pomp of ELP creeping in, but without the overindulgent arrogance that typified that band’s twenty minute plus solos. Instead, the band’s increasing skills enhance each number, never outstaying their welcome, even on the epic ‘Burning Bridges’ or the near 8 minutes of ‘Bats in the Belfry I’ with it’s dreamy Bond theme like riff that draws the album proper close to its end. With a cheeky nod to their prog influences, Part II does indeed precede Part I. All this is wrapped up with four extra rough cut rarities, although in the case of Bigelf, a rough demo is more complex and polished then the finished work of the vast majority of acts.
If like me, you only started listening to the band on the back of 2008’s ‘Cheat The Gallows’, these reissues are an excellent way to get hold of the back catalogue now it’s more widely distributed, allowing you to hear the evolution of the band over the years. If you’ve already got the releases from before, and insist on the most complete of collections, the inclusion of so many live rarities and demos is a worthy treat.
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