OZRIC TENTACLES — Erpsongs (review)

Album · 1985 · Jazz Related Rock

4/5 · 2025-04-25
FunkFreak75

The very first release from Ed Wynne and the Ozrics. The band wasn't even signed to a label yet! These homemade songs were collected and distributed as self-made cassette tapes by the band members themselves. A very obvious intention to copy/carry forward the torch of GONG with a little Tangerine Dream).

1. "Velmwend" (4:38) a blues-rock based space jam that not even poor sound recording can hinder or hold back. (8.75/10)

2. "Fast Dots" (3:48) a little funk bass propels this one into Egypt's era of ancient astronauts. (8.5/10)

3. "Thyroid" (5:05) now using a slow, spacious reggae rhythm foundation to space out over. (8.5/10)

4. "Spiral Mind" (3:33) opens like a 1960s heavy blues-rock classic before the synths and two guitars take us from classic rock into alien space communiqués. A cool, cool song despite not really preview things to come for this band. (8.75/10)

5. "Synth On a Plinth" (1:59) solo synth play for the first 40 seconds until second keyboard joins in with a single repeated arpeggiated chord progression. (4.25/5)

6. "Dharma Reggae" (4:56) feels like a late 1970s/1980s TANGERINE DREAM opening--even with the big, thick bass notes thrown intermittently into the mix. In the second minute drums start throwing their own hits and flourishes into the mix over the synth track until bass and drums finally emerge and sync up at 1:40 to provide a cool rhythm track beneath the still-streaming synth. At 2:39 more instruments start being thrown into the mix: first a wailing synth, some sample hits, rising synth chords, and, eventually, guitar strums and notes. Very cool experimental song construct. A top three song for me. (9/10)

7. "Tidal Otherness" (5:41) nice weave of multiple space synths and searing background guitar find congealment with the arrival of bass and regular synth arpeggio around 1:15. Guitar continues to screech away back there as the rest of the weavers continue to remain fairly steadfast. Keyboard arpeggio comes forward a bit as guitar frenetics peak and then disappear. They return with a friend--a Richard Wright synth (VCS3?) soloing up front. More synths come and go as the sonic field fills and then fades. Pretty cool soundscape. (8.75/10)

8. "Erp Riff" (1:36) driving rock rhythm track with wah-guitar(s) and, later, synths. (4.25/5)

9. "Descension" (5:01) pensive JAN AKKERMAN-like guitar sound and chord sequence builds into spacey, distorted fullness before settling back and repeating itself. At 1:28 the guitar backs up to perform rhythm duties (with another guitar or two) while VCS3 takes the lead--but only for a short time before giving way to the AKKERMAN-like guitar again. Structured in an A-B-A-C-A-B format, the song proceeds as predicted--but there are some nice blues guitar solos. (8.75/10)

10. "Misty Gliss" (4:33) floating synth notes offer a kind of "Star Trek Theme" motif when, mixed with Steve Hillage GONG floating guitar and then Tangerine Dream percussive synth sequencing, establishes a foundation over which a VANGELIS-like synth solos. Later, the TD sequence becomes the lone foundation for the Gong-floating guitars and space synths to solo simultaneously. (8.75/10)

11. "Dots Thots" (2:49) a precursor to some of the stuff on Jurassic Shift. (4.25/5)

12. "Clock Drops" (2:49) true to its title, this Gamelan-imitational song establishes a minimalist weave that sounds like a clock (or room of clocks). The second half adds another TD-familiar sound and guitar style that will become integral to the entire Ozrics future. (4.25/5)

13. "Five Jam" (6:53) starts out with over a minute of solo heavily effected guitar strumming chords and notes away. Synthetic drums, two basses, and "distant" synth soloing provide backdrop for continued guitar soloing and experimentation. Halfway through, one of the guitarists gets serious: stepping up for some more front-and-center soloing. Nice bass behind. (13/15)

14. "Oddhamshaw" (6:18) from a live recording (cuz of the drum sound)? More raw Ozrics sound. (8.5/10)

Total Time: 59:39

Using some very fundamental song styles to build upon and experiment over, the band displays its own signatory sounds--many of which continue even to today. Just like the Ozrics of today (now operating under Ed Wynne's name) the band likes to make music. 14 songs; 60 minutes was a lot back in the cassette era.

B/four stars; an excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection. The Ozrics at their beginning are very much as they are now, only more raw and less polished.