if if lp, 1970

jazz-rock firecracker on pink island

year 1970. london. jazz meets rock and creates something that knocks your socks off. the debut album by if is an absolute classic of the genre. they often get thrown into the same bag as chicago or blood, sweat & tears, but the brits from if had more grit, a prog-rock edge, and less "sugar coating".

we've got brilliant solos here (terry smith on guitar and dick morrissey on sax are masters), complex rhythms, and j.w. hodgkinson's vocals, which have that raspiness a good rock record needs. this music lives, breathes, and pulses.

but for a collector, the most important thing is what you see in the center of the record. this is the legendary "pink island" label release (pink label with white "i"). a holy grail for fans of british prog and folk. additionally, this copy is a german pressing handled by deutsche grammophon gesellschaft. you know what that means – the sound quality is simply reference-class. solid german vinyl from 1970.

tracklist side a:

1. i'm reaching out on all sides

2. what did i say about the box, jack?

3. what can a friend say?

side b:

1. woman, can you see (what this big thing is all about)?

2. raise the level of your conscious mind

3. dockland

4. the promised land