The Gods - To Samuel A Son

Overview - This is a concept album telling the life story of Sammy. Despite production that is light years beyond Genesis, it suffers from boring songwriting. This album is for Hensley/Heep completists only. Grade: C

1. To Samuel A Son - A mysterious church organ intro leads into a song that has a nice hook on the chorus but not much else. Grade: C+

2. Eight O'Clock In The Morning - Another pleasant piece but definitely not a standout. Grade: C+

3. He's Growing - With its Beatlesque feel, this is a little more exciting than the first two songs but I'm still yawning (the tempo has yet to change since the first song!). Grade: B-

4. Sticking Wings On Flies - Silly lyrics but much more inventive in structure and sound. Grade: B-

5. Lady Lady - Finally, an uptempo piece with some excitement, especially from Lee. Still, there's something lacking here. Grade: B

6. Penny Dear - John Konas sings this dance hall-style song. Again, nothing to get excited about. Grade: C+

7. Long Time, Sad Time, Bad Time - Some straight-ahead 50's style rock that'll get your toes tapping! Grade: B

8. Five To Three - Another track that drags. My head's dropping on the table now. Grade: D+

9. Autumn - A pretty acoustic precursor to The Wizard. Best song of the bunch. Grade: B+

10. Yes I Cry - Another nice acoustic piece, although not as good as Autumn. Grade: B

11. Groozy - A cover song, this is the most interesting arrangement on the album, especially Lee's drumming. This may be John Konas' best solo while Ken tries to do some David Byron-style singing. Still, it's a bit weird for my tastes. Grade: B-

12. Momma I Need - Another mid-tempo song with nothing of note. Grade: C+

13. Candlelight - A good uptempo rocker and finally some decent harmonies. This song reflects some of the promise of Genesis. Too bad there weren't more songs like this. Grade: B+

14. Lovley Anita - A song by Lee, this shows some nice promise from him. It sounds like Lee even sings lead on this! Grade: B

Maria - (Bonus track - 'A' side not on the album) This is a cover song from West Side Story. Very nice arrangement that sounds inspired by Yes' cover of Something's Coming from the same opera. Better harmonies than on any other song from the album. Grade: A-

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