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Sunday, January 2, 2022

Beggars Opera - Get Your Dog Off Me! (1973 uk, excellent prog mainstream rock, 2003 digipak remaster)



Beggar's Opera had turned into a much more mainstream pop/rock band on this album, with the excellent instrumental "Classical Gas" as the only real progressive track here. Ricky Gardiner's distinctive and atmospheric playing style can still be heard.  

"Get Your Dog Off Me!" was the last Beggars Opera album to have any Mellotronic input and then, again, on only one track. The most notable tracks are probably Requiem, a Brian-May-(just)-before-Brian-May multi-guitar extravaganza and their excellent multiple-keyboard take on Mason Williams' Classical Gas, including some innovative Moog work and a few Mellotron string chords here and there, which would certainly have worked well elsewhere on the album, not least on the slow-burn of Open Letter, although it clearly wasn't to be.
Tracks
1. Get Your Dog Off Me (Alan Park, Barry Ainsworth) - 3:40
2. Freestyle Ladies (Virginia Scott) - 4:20
3. Open Letter (Robert Smith) - 4:32
4. Morning Day (Virginia Scott) - 4:32
5. Requiem (Ricky Gardiner) - 2:18
6. Classical Gas (Mason Williams) - 4:28
7. Sweet Blossom Woman (Mick Grabham) - 4:08
8. Turn Your Money Green (Alan Park, Barry Ainsworth) - 4:08
9. La Di-Da (Alan Park, Colin Fairlie, Gordon Sellar, Linnie Paterson, Ricky Gardiner) - 2:53
10.Working Man (Barry Ainsworth, Gordon Sellar) - 4:33
11.Two Timing Woman (Colin Fairlie) - 3:44
12.Lady Of Hell Fire (Martin Griffiths, Alan Park, Ricky Gardiner, Gordon Sellar, Raymond Wilson) - 3:43
Bonus Tracks 11-12

Beggars Opera
*Linnie Paterson - Lead Vocals
*Ricky Gardiner - Electric, Acoustic Guitars, Vocals
*Alan Park - Organ, Piano, Harpsichord, Mellotron, Moog
*Gordon Sellar - Bass, Vocals
*Colin Fairley - Drums, Percussion, Vocals
With
*Raymond Wilson - Drums (1,2,4,7,8,10)