Rather than a story ended,
Dick Heckstall-Smith's debut album was in some ways a continuation of the stories written by his previous bands
Colosseum and
the Graham Bond Organisation, for the record was recorded with the assistance of several of his past associates from those two groundbreaking British blues-rock-jazz groups, including Mark Clarke,
Dave Greenslade,
Chris Farlowe, and Jon Hiseman (who both played drums and produced) of the just-disbanded
Colosseum, as well as
Graham Bond. Pete Brown, who'd worked with several of the musicians who sprang from
the Graham Bond Organisation crowd, co-wrote most of the songs with
Heckstall-Smith;
Chris Spedding and famed
Elton John sideman
Caleb Quaye contributed guitar. As often happens on solo projects stuffed with contributions by famous friends, however, the album was something of a disappointment in comparison to the leader's respectable track record. It sounds like a slightly heavier, slightly jazzier
Colosseum, with songs that strain and tumble over themselves where the best
Colosseum tracks had a powerful glide. Vocals were never
Colosseum's strong suit, but the singing here, particularly on those tracks paced by
Farlowe's blustery bellow, really drags the lyrically ambitious (and at times convoluted) material down. It might have been better to have had Pete Brown himself sing on those numbers he co-composed, as he was capable of projecting a real sense of his lyrics in spite of his vocal limitations. Instead, listeners are left with a confused-sounding (and at times grating) set that doesn't add up to the sum of the individual talents, though in the most melodic and laid-back number ("What the Morning Was After"), you get a hint of the kind of moody songs that Brown helped craft for
Jack Bruce's early solo recordings. [The 2004 U.K. expanded CD reissue on Castle adds three pretty well-recorded live tracks from the touring band
Heckstall-Smith assembled shortly after
A Story Ended was recorded, including versions of two of the songs from the album ("Moses in the Bullrushourses" and "The Pirate's Dream"), as well as a cover of a
Paul Butterfield song ("No Amount of Loving") not on the LP. The CD also adds a couple of previously unreleased studio recordings (credited to Manchild) laid down by the band in early 1973, although the album for which these were intended was never finished due to an injury to
Heckstall-Smith.] ~ Richie Unterberger