Isotope “Isotope”

Isotope

“Isotope”
( LP Gull Records, UK, 1974 )
Catalog # GULP 1002

Tracklisting:
A1 – Then There Were Four
A2 – Do The Business
A3 – Oh Little Fat Man
A4 – Sunshine Park
A5 – Bite On This
B1 – Upward Curve
B2 – Retracing My Steps
B3 – Windmills And Waterfalls
B4 – Honkey Donkey

Personnel & Credits:
Bass – Jeff Clyne
Composed By – Brian Miller, Gary Boyle (tracks: B4)
Drums – Nigel Morris
Engineer – Gary Martin
Guitar – Gary Boyle
Keyboards, Synthesizer – Brian Miller
Producer – Isotope, Tim Sharman

Review:
Issued in 1974, Isotope’s debut album is very different from the other two that the band produced. For their first outing nearly the whole album was written by one person – keyboardist Brian Miller, with Gary Boyle contributing just the final track. Consequently Boyle’s guitar is not quite as evident as on their second album, and the funk of their third has yet to appear. This makes the music sound softer, although when the guitar kicks in that flies out the window – witness the superb solo on ‘Oh Little Fat Man’. ‘Sunshine Park’ is more or less a solo keyboards piece, but it is tracks like the Mahivishnu soundalike ‘Bite On This’ and the excellent ‘Upward Curve’ where the band excel. Miller has written some first-rate tunes for this album, and the playing is exemplary. Apparently Miller and bassist Jess Clyne had a jazz background, and after this album they returned to it, which was why ex-Soft Machine stalwart Hugh Hopper was drafted in for the second album. Miller and Clyne’s influence is certainly evident on some tracks where the music seems more jazz than jazz-rock on ‘Windmills And Waterfalls’ for example – but once Boyle’s guitar appears the fusion takes over.

By Celo