During their five years of existence in the early 1970s, British group
Byzantium
created an eclectic body of work that ranged from lush orchestral prog rock and gritty psychedelia to American-influenced pop with strains of country, jazz, and folk. A multi-headed beast of young singer/songwriters, they harmonized with the grace of
Crosby, Stills, & Nash
and rocked with the thump of
Wishbone Ash
, all the while layering in complex time signatures, tape loop effects, and the kind of scintillating guitar rivalries that should have made them stars, or at the very least a larger cult band than they were. Instead, after two stylistically diverse and commercially disappointing albums for
A&M
, they were dropped by both label and management and left to fend for themselves in the hinterlands of British independent music. As songwriters and instrumentalists, they certainly had the goods, but it was perhaps their inability to conform to a singular style that eventually did them in. Formed out of the nascent pop scene at University College School in Hampstead,
's lineup tended to shift from release to release, but at its core were
Jamie Rubenstein
(vocals, guitar),
Robin Lamble
(vocals, bass), and
Steve Corduner
(drums), with key members
Nico Ramsden
Chaz Jankel
(vocals, guitar), and
Mick Barakan
(vocals, guitar) each making significant marks on at least one or more of their three albums. Like other progressively minded groups of the time who utilized multiple frontmen,
's personality often changed from song to song, and while they lacked the overall cohesion of someone like
the Moody Blues
, they were extremely exciting to listen to and boasted a dynamic live show rippling with intricacy and edge. Dusted off and lovingly compiled here are the band's complete recordings beginning with
Rubenstein
's charming pre-
group
Ora
on through their sterling last-ditch demos which they made for
Atlantic
shortly before calling it quits in 1975. Along with the two
records (
and
Seasons Changing
) is their privately pressed and extremely rare
Live & Studio
LP, and an odds-and-sods disc of excellent live recordings, demos, and singles. There is, of course, much to love about
Grapefruit Records
' detailed packaging and exemplary liner notes, but in listening to gems like the gorgeous prog-pop ballad "I Am a Stranger to My Life" or the jangling country-rock of "Halfway Dreaming," it's truly a wonder this band isn't better known. Hopefully this lavish five-disc box set will go some way in adding some much-deserved lustre to their legacy. ~ Timothy Monger