‘Past Present And Future’ is one of many compilation CD’s by Paul Samson which contain a wide variety of material over 25 years worth of musical history.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Samson
ALBUM: Past Present And Future (2 CD)
LABEL: Zoom Club Records
SERIAL: CRCD 18
YEAR: 1999
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: England
LINEUP: Best known musicians associated with the band:
Paul Samson – vocals, guitars * Nicky Moore – vocals * Bruce Bruce – vocals * Chris Aylmer – bass * Thunderstick – drums * Pete Jupp – drums
TRACK LISTING:
Disc #1: 01 The Chosen Few * 02 Russians * 03 Tell Me * 04 That Aint’ All * 05 One Day Heroes * 06 I Must Be Crazy * 07 Foolin’ * 08 State Of Emergency * 09 Look To The Future * 10 Too Late * 11 Good To See You * 12 Hey You * 13 Dream * 14 Use It Before You Lose It * 15 The Edge * 16 Room 109
Disc #2: 01 Fire Away * 02 Reach For The Sky * 03 Heaven’s In Hell Again * 04 Wings Of Tomorrow * 05 Black Rain * 06 Driving Music * 07 Tomorrow Or Yesterday * 08 Mr Rock And Roll * 09 Don’t Get Mad Get Even * 10 Test Of Time * 11 Are You Ready * 12 Riding With The Angels * 13 Voodoo Chile * 14 Can You Imagine
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
The recent passing of UK guitarist Paul Samson has seen a surge of interest in his material. There’s a wealth of it, going back as far as 1978 right up through to current day. As is the case with any long-standing band, there are many phases which it passes through. So it is with Samson: the early years featuring Bruce Bruce (aka Dickinson), the mid 80’s phase with Nicky Moore, the late 80’s phase which saw a raft of personnel drift in and out of the band, plus the 90’s blues phase which Paul ventured into.
Timely then was the 2CD release from Zoom Club Records during 1999 called ‘Past Present And Future’. We get a cross-selection of 30 songs. This includes 5 unreleased tracks from 1990, 6 live tracks, all featuring Nicky Moore, plus a smattering of studio tracks from the 1986-1993 period. The music itself moves between the pure HM adrenalin that they’re renowned for, plus some mid-80’s AOR/melodic rock.
The Songs
The Songs – CD1
The first four tracks (The Chosen Few, Russians, Tell Me, That Ain’t All) all feature Nicky Moore, and are from Paul’s Joint Forces era from 1986. These are gritty guitar based efforts. The next five (One Day Heroes, I Must Be Crazy, Foolin’, Too Late, Good To See You) are from the 1988 album, and is an excursion into AOR-melodic rock a la Adrian Smith’s ASAP, particularly with the inclusion of Toby Sadler, the ex Airrace keyboardist.
There are two tracks featured from 1989 with ex Moritz vocalist Pete Scallan (State Of Emergency, Look To The Future) singing. Again, these are more melodic rock inclined, rather than HM. The last five tracks (Hey You, Dream, Use It Before You Lose It, Edge, Room 109) are featured from his 1993 album, a period when Paul dropped back to a power trio (Aylmer – bass, Tony Tuohy – drums). The sound by then had reverted to the tried and true HM guitar based riffola.
The Songs – CD2
The first five tracks (Fire Away, Reach For The Sky, Heaven’s In Hell Again, Wings Of Tomorrow, Black Rain) are previously unreleased, from the 1990 period with Rik Anthony on vocals. ‘Driving Music’ is a track which features drummer Clive Burr (Iron Maiden, Stratus, Trust) while tracks 7-12 are all live.
Some of their best remembered moments such as ‘Don’t Get Mad Get Even’ plus crowd favourite ‘Riding With The Angels’ are featured here. The last two tracks are a cover of ‘Voodoo Chile’ (live from 1997) and the guitar instrumental ‘Can You Imagine’, again from their 1993 power-trio period.
In Summary
‘Past Present And Future’ is one of many compilation CD’s you can purchase, which contain a wide variety of material over 25 years worth of musical history. HM fans will enjoy a majority of the material from the earlier years, while those with a leaning towards melodic rock-AOR should investigate the 1988/89 era in particular. A rich smorgasbord awaits you, in remembrance of a prolific recording artist.
