- Steve Bray -- drums, percussion (replaced Dave Holland)

  (1980-)

- Mel Galley -- lead guitar (1969-)

- Pete Goalby -- lead guitar (replaced Rob Kendrick)

  (1978-)
- Dave Holland -- drums, percussion (1969-)

- Glenn Hughes -- vocals, bass, keyboards (1969-73,

  76-78, 92-92)

- John Jones -- vocals (1969-70)

- Rob Kendrick -- lead guitar (1973-78)

- Terry Rowley -- lead guitar (1969-70)

- Pete Wright -- bass (replaced Glenn Hughes)

  (1974-)

- Black Sabbath (Mel Galley and Glenn Hughes)

- Deep Purple (Glenn Hughes)

- Finders Keepers (Glenn Hughes)

- Glenn Hughes (solo efforts)

- Judas Priest (Dave Holland)

- MGM (Mel Galley)

- The Montanas (John Jones and Terry Rowland)

- Phenomena (Mel Galley)

- Pinkerton's Assorted Colours (Dave Holland)

- Uriah Heep (Pete Goalby)

- Whitehead (Mel Galley)

Genre: progressive

Rating: 3 stars ***

Title:  The Final Swing

Company: Threshold

Catalog: THS 11

Year: 1974

Country/State: Wolverhampton, UK

Grade (cover/record): VG / VG

Comments: --

Available: 1

GEMM catalog ID: 5188

Price: $10.00

Knowing singer/bassist Glenn Hughes for his work with the likes of Black Sabbath and Deep Purple (MK III), I always get a laugh when playing something from his days with Trapeze.  For his part Hughes apparently didn't think too much about this part of his life since it gets little more than a brief mention on his  website:

http://www.glennhughes.com/

Released after Hughes had left the band to replace Roger Glover in Deep Purple, 1974's "The Final Swing" was an entertaining, if abbreviated career retrospective.  It was also somewhat ironic in that (in spite of liner notes that gave one the impression the band had called it quits), they'd regrouped and signed a deal with Warner Brothers.  Regardless, pulling nine tracks from the band's first three studio sets, the emphasis was on the criminally overlooked debut with three tracks coming from "Medusa", one selection from "Trapeze" and two from "You Are the Music ... We're Just the Band".  Elsewhere 'Good Love' and the instrumental 'Dat's it' reflected a pair of previously unissued selections.  For a band signed to The Moody Blues Threshold label, Hughes and company were surprisingly cool.  Lots of references labeled them as being progressive, but that really wasn't an apt description.  In that respect the compilation did a nice job of showcasing the band's enjoyable mix of commercial, hard rock and soulful moves ('You Are the Music').  Folks also tend to forget what a good singer Hughes was - particularly when he avoided stretching into higher ranges such as the fatal 'Medusa'.  Mind you, nothing here was particularly original, or inventive but by the same token tracks like 'Your Love Is Alright' and 'Black Cloud' easily gave Bad Company, Free and other mid-1970s English rockers a run for their money.  Adding to the irony, subsequently dropped by Threshold, the album provided the band with their first US chart entry.

"The Final Swing" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Send Me No More Letters    (Terry Rowley) - 4:51

2.) Your Love Is Alright    (Mel Galley - Glenn Hughes - Dave Holland) - 4:54

3.) Black Cloud   (Mel Galley - T Galley) - 6:13

4.) Medusa   (Glenn Hughes) - 5:40

(side 2)
1.) Coast To Coast   (Glenn Hughes) - 4:02

2.) Will Our Love End   (Glenn Hughes) - 5:07

3.) You Are the Music   (Mel Galley - T Galley) - 5:21

4.) Good Love   (Glenn Hughes) - 4:02

5.) Dats It (instrumental)  (Mel Galley) - 3:10

Mel Galley has a small website at:

http://www.myspace.com/melgalley

I'd love to tell you that Dave Holland also had a website, but in 2004 he was convicted of attempted rape against a child and handed an eight year prison sentence.  

Mel Galley - Glenn Hughes - Dave Holland