Cavaliers: Anthology 1973 - 1974

The first two Cockney Rebel albums put Steve Harley on the map of the rock world. Glam was alive and well and his sound was new, raw, and very exciting. Beautifully costumed in satin lapels and velvet, the band featured Harley's outrageous vocals, very unique instrumentation, and some really well crafted songs. This 4 cd set is worth it for the additional cuts which are lacking on the second reissue remastering of the original cds. "THe Human Menagerie" was an explosion of extreme glam, slippery, cool, over the top and extremely accessible. The follow-up "Psychomodo" a maniacal masterwork with several superb peaks of songwriting. The live cuts are from various popular BBC shows at the tie and feature a tight but together band. The B-sides "Rock and Roll Parade" and "Big Big Deal" and single "Judy Teen" are fantastic. Some cool liner notes round out the package, but the music still sparkles 40 years later, Although many people believe that Harley never quite rose to the level of these first two fantastic albums, the next two albums "Best Years of our Lives", "Timeless Flight" are superb records in their own right, with a serious Dylan side emerging from the lead singer and some really amazing pop material that deserves more fans.

Great band on its own and the early promo cuts show that. This was one allen parsons early productions and one of his best! It is a 4 cd set so their is a lot of material. So if you do not know the bands work get the steve harley & cockney rebel "a closer look" cd. "a closer look" it was the band first released in the states an is really a great hit cd of the bands work with parsons, it is stunning and holds ups todat as it did in 75. After you hear "a closer look" the " caveliers: anthology 1973- 1974" will show you how the band evolved.

Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel perfectly capture the zeitgeist of early 70s Brit glam rock on this compilation - attitude, melody, creativity, poetry. One of my favorite artists from that era for sure. The alternate and live versions on disc 3 and 4 are worth the price of admission alone for completists. Highly recommended. Buyer beware - the cheap packaging of the CD literally self destructs in your hands as you open it causing the case to detach, the discs to come tumbling down (pun intended!), and bits of broken pastic spindle to fly everywhere.

Even with this long delayed release, Cockney Rebel remains a forgotten band -- in the shadow of Steve Harley's one great solo single (but a very mediocre career). Lots of extra tracks, but unfortunately probably nothing you haven't heard before (unless you haven't heard the b sides, which were already available on CD).

Harley and this band are barely known in the USA. were it not for "Make me Smile" he would be unknown. But in Glam days he was big in the UK. The band played a big part in his success. lord knows why he gave them up. Once they were gone he disappeared too. This collection covers the two first, and best albums. No guitars.

Great music from a brief period. I love this type; Sparks, Deaf School, Jet, Be Bop Deluxe, Sailor. Fun stuff!

great

古き良き時代をもう一度堪能しています。この人の世界に入り込むような体験が出来る。

Un cofre éste muy bueno. Posee un sonido ejemplar. Los dos primeros discos son una joya de la primera mitad de los setenta. Sus singles. Tomas alternativas, conciertos y sesión con John Peel completan esta maravilla. Poco que ver con el glam, salvo que Harley se apuntó a la estética de la época. Art rock con pinceladas folk. Haceos con él, os encantará.

I'm in total agreement with the first two reviewers of this set! As both previous reviewers have said, most fans will buy this for CD3, the demos album. The funny thing is I thought it was strange that EMI had not previously decided to release expanded CDs of both albums and then they go and release a 4 CD set which is then made available at the cost of one full price CD! As I type this review up I am listening to the live album (CD4) and it is brilliant. I got the CD set yesterday and have played CD3 over and over. If you are already familiar with the Menagerie and Psychomodo albums then hearing the demos and early versions are a real treat. If you have not already heard Menagerie and Psychomodo (where have you been for the last 38 years?) then this is an unbelievable bargain! I bought Psychomodo in '74 and it has remained one of my all time favourite albums throughout. It is a great album from beginning to end with no 'fillers'. Personally I think this album shows Harley at his most creative and slightly avant-garde and it is for that reason that the album does not appear 'dated' in the way that many 70's albums do. The Human Managerie was a very strong first album with a number of great songs however, at the risk of alienating Rebel fans, I always found Sebastian vastly over-rated. If I had to pick a favourite song from Menagerie it would have to be Crazy Raver. The inclusion of Rock and Roll Parade (b side to Sebastian) is very welcome. This set is obviously some sort of tie-in with the Symphony Hall gig coming up on the 24th November 2012. I already have my ticket for the gig and very much looking forward to it. Hopefully the gig will be recorded for either a live CD release and/or a DVD release. Time will tell. On the negative side, the booklet would have benefited from having the lyrics. However, my main criticism is that the cover is awful! Sadly the cover looks like an afterthought and more akin to some shoddy CD sold at motorway service stations. Both albums originally had great front covers and, as both albums have the same band members, I'm sure a suitable photo could have been found of the group. I remember the Fame compilation album from the 1990's(?) had a great band photo. Please don't be put off by the cover as the contents are first class! Cockney Rebel were a truly original band that in 1973/74 were slightly outside of mainstream pop but close enough to have commercial success and still retain a large degree of credibility.

First two great albums of a fantastic band. I read some reviews about this box set and decided to buy it. I am glad I did it. Absolutely perfect! In addition to those two albums we got two more cds of live material and some b-sides, unrealised outtakes, and all of that for the price of a single cd. So, go for it. Can't go wrong with buying it.

Can't improve on the top two reviews, I just wanted to add my five stars and my own thoughts. This is a great way of buying the first two Cockney Rebel albums, if you don't have them plus the early singles & b-sides, a whole disc of demos and alternative versions (mainly of the first album) plus BBC recordings from the same period, all for a bargain price. I've been a fan of Cockney Rebel since 1973; I fell in love with "Judy Teen" when I saw them do it on TOTP. I had also heard "Sebastian" of course, and thought it weird and interesting if over-produced. I bought "Psychomodo" as soon as it came out and fell in love with it. What I particularly liked about Cockney Rebel was the amazingly beautiful melodies and the slightly off-beat avant-garde character of the songs and the beautiful production. "Judy Teen" still sounds as great as when I first heard it - the violin solo is just beautiful, I also loved the b-side "Spaced Out" and it's great to have it on CD. "Psychomodo" is full of beautiful songs, I especially love "Bed in the Corner" and "Tumbling Down". I never liked "Human Menagerie" quite as much, though it's still excellent, I still find "Sebastian" overblown, but it does have some great songs, eg "Hideaway", "Muriel the Actor" and "Loretta's Tale", which is a really really beautiful song. It's great to hear the demos CD, and I much prefer the simpler version of "Sebastian" on the third CD, great to have the BBC recordings as well, which are all good. All in all an excellent buy.