LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

180g Vinyl
Limited Edition

English rock guitarist Anthony "Top" Topham" was one of the founders of the Yardbirds. When the group went pro, he was a mere fifteen years of age and, facing parental disapproval, he had to relinquish his post with the group to none other than Eric Clapton.

Topham would later play with Winston G alongside the likes of Marc Bolan, early Yes and Captain Beefheart.

"The object was to try and do a British Stax 'thing'. I think that "Funks Elegy" is heading in the direction I want to go - although (for me) the most satisfying track is our arrangement of 'Tuxedo Junction'." - Top Topham (in interview regarding Ascension Heights with Jerry Gilbert of Melody Maker)

"(he) liked Topham's phrasing, which is down to earth melody, over a funky beat - far away from the progressive trait (of the day). I hope this name remains at the fore, as this album is easy to get into and nice to live with. " - Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 1970

"an ambitious and breathtakingly original project that 'married' blues, rock and jazz". - Mike Oldfield, 1992

"The sound is excellent late sixties stereo studio, which means instruments are heavily "box placed" left and right and phantomed dead center. Topham's electric guitar floats thick and holographically three dimensionally well in front of the other instruments. His acoustic is closely miked, ultra-vivid and rock solid. The horns sound great, the bass lines are deep and taut and that horse hoof will "clop" its way through your skull if you crank it up too high. " - Michael Fremer, www.musicangle.com, Music 8, Sound 9

"This LP's rarity value alone commands attention: Topham was the Yardbirds' founder guitarist, who had to leave the band because he was only 15. By 1969, at the age of 22, he delivered this solo LP, a long-forgotten take on the blues, far removed from the Yardbirds. Despite its Blue Horizon pedigree, it's not of the Brit Blues school per se and is a stylistic mish-mash, more akin to Andrew Loog Oldham's covers of the Stones' canon, but its worth to Yardbirds hard-core is unparalleled." - Ken Kessler, Hi-Fi News, Sound Quality Rating: 70%

Track listing:
1. Sawbuk
2. Mini-Minor-Mo
3. Hop House
4. Ridin' The Blinds]
5. Hot Ginger
6. Funks Elegy
7. Ascension Heights
8. Tuxedo Junction
9. Globetrottin'
10. Spider Drag
11. Mean Old Pullman
12. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)