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> Login to your account > RegisterVARIOUS Strangely Strange But Oddly Normal – An Island Anthology 1967-1972
From page 76 of Classic Rock Magazine January 2006
Cover of January 2006 issue.
Island Desert Island discs.
What do Traffic, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Free, Cat Stevens, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Fairport Convention and Nick Drake all have in common? Answer: they are all rock statesmen, and they were all signed to Island Records during the label’s early years in the 60s. Stylistically, however they’re at all points of the compass, and the collective identity they brought to Island as a label of guaranteed quality, regardless of style, has got lost over the years. And it’s difficult to see who would want John Martyn and Blodwyn Pig on the same CD.
This compilation is better at reviving Island’s lesser-known gems from Spooky Tooth, Vinegar Joe, Amazing Blondel, Quintessence, Clouds and head-banging pioneers Heavy Jelly. Not forgetting Dr Strangely Strange.
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Hugh Fielder
