Leavin' The Hard Times Behind: The Best Of Trapeze Remastered Edition

this is a very nice two cd set that folds open into a very nice tri fold out package and comes with a great booklet with great interviews and a fold out mini poster on the other side, disc one covers great remastered tracks from all seven records trapeze released between 1970 and 1979, disc two for me is where it is at and what sold me on this set, of coarse it would have been nice to get a nice 4 cd box set of more studio trapeze recordings from the 70s but instead disc two has a very good live show from 1977 with the amazing PETE GOALBY on vocals, pete was a killer vocalist back in the 70s and 80s, of coarse i first heard pete with uriah heep but then years ago i found the fable record he did back in 1973 and i really liked that to and of coarse all of his work right here with trapeze, i always felt pete got robbed a bit as he was a killer vocalist and its to bad he did not go on to more fame then he did, anyway the live show is great to and you get a couple of interviews on disc two as well. trapeze when they where in there heyday never cracked it here in the us with the exception of the texas market wich seemed to be common for bands in the old days like budgie trapeze , ufo and saxon but outside of that once glenn joined purple in 1973 i think the rest of the 70s was a bit of a struggle for the band, anyway this is a great collection here with a very good live show from 1977 added on the bonus disc, most old school hard rock fans will really enjoy this collection i think.

When this was released, I emailed Tim Madgwick at Cherry Red with questions about the sound quality, as I read in an old interview with Glenn and Mel that Threshold Records had lost the original masters to the first 3 albums. He said they used the best available source masters and that I would enjoy the sound. He was right! This is the best these songs have sounded since I played the original albums. This release expands greatly upon "The Final Swing"/"High Flyers" releases, by adding 3 additional songs off the debut, 1 from "You Are The Music..." and 4 from the post-Glenn era. The additional concert is quite a revelation too! Mel sounds great, and the band is just killing it!On a side note, I was lucky enough to see them in Dallas in March 1994, and met them afterwards, and got them to autograph my "Medusa" cd that had recently been released. Mel was the nicest guy! Pete Wright was there too, he lived in Dallas at the time, and it was great to see him and Mel catch up after the gig.If you are a fan of this band, you need this. RIP Mel and Dave, and thank you for the music.

When I first read that yet another Trapeze compilation was being released with a very familiar track listing, I admit that I was not planning to purchase it. Then I saw that a bonus 2nd disc containing a previously unreleased live show from 1977 was included, I just had to pre-order. And that 2nd disc did not disappoint!! Great live heavy funk rock. This show was new vocalist Pete Goalby's 1st show with the band and the band preview 3 songs destined for their as-yet-unrecorded next album 'Running' (later released in UK and US as 'Hold On'). In fact, the 3 songs sound a lot better here than their studio counterparts! Mel Galley's performance is a revelation - musically and vocally. On other live Trapeze recordings I have, Mel's voice is rather ragged and hard to listen to. But here he sings very well - very similar to the style of former vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes in fact. As this was originally recorded and broadcast for UK radio, the sound quality is fantastic and there is also an interesting interview with drummer Dave Holland from the time. For this bonus live disc alone, this is an absolute essential addition to my collection.

I liked the variety and the inclusion of washers and nuts, but none of the combinations in the set fit my Thorens TD-160 headshell.

Good mix of good tunes

Great collection of Trapeze tunes. A must have for any fans!

Great collection and live disc for a seriously overlooked 70’s group. Trio material is the best but it all holds up well. When the core members individually moved up to Deep Purple, Judas Priest and Whitesnake, that says plenty.

En écoutant cette musique j'ai eu l'impression que le temps n'était pas si vite passé. Pour les nostalgiques des années 70 à ne pas rater !

Wasn’t particularly pleased with this album. Some decent songs.

TRAPEZE, excellent groupe'70 avec DAVE HOLLAND( batterie) Judas Priest (RIP) MEL GALLEY: guitare vocals, et GLENN HUGHES : basse et lead vocals, , ici exit G.HUGHES un nouveau bassiste et MEL GALLEY en lead vocals( avec des intonations à la HUGHES, un bon live sur le second cd (radio show) , le premier cd ets un BEST of avec 2 titres , qui ne se trouvent pas sur leurs albums , mais sur la compilation FINAL SWING 74, pas ùmal surtout pour le live ( dommage entre-coupé d'interviews), le premier cd permettra de découvrir ce super groupe, pour les novices

I hesitated about buying this as I already have almost everything on the first disc twice on vinyl or cd. I shouldn't have as the live disc is worth the price alone. Great quality and great to her Mel singing songs that Glenn sang on the studio versions. It took me back to the times I used to see various line ups of Trapeze play venues such as The Forum in Cannock, the Civic Hall and Lafayette Club in Wolverhampton and Top Of The World in Stafford - good times. On the interview and between song chat it's also great to hear Mel and Dave's totally unreconstructed West Midlands accents. The last song on the live disc is mistitled. It is actually "The Raid" but when Mel sings "There's a raid going on" I can understand how it was misheard as "Misery going on" even though that makes no sense!There are several other good reviews of this that make points I agree with, such as the interview would have been better at the end rather than spread out between songs, but that's a relatively minor consideration. If you already like Trapeze, you should buy it. If you have never heard them you should buy it as the first disc is a great introduction to a great band that never achieved their potential in terms of record sales or popularity, but produced at least two classic 70s albums in Medusa and You Are The Music.

Brilliant remastered compilation on disc one of classic Trapeze disappointed that Midnight Flyer wasn't on it i would have thought it would have been an automatic inclusion but you cant have everything Disc two live concert which is where Trapeze really belonged on the stage i seen them a few times back in the seventies with a few line ups and was never disappointed bit of an underrated band really living in the Cannock area of the West Midlands i was fortunate to meet Mel Galley a few times he was a lovely guy and one of the best guitarists i have seen i had this concert from Mansfield on a cassette tape a few years ago never though it would be released on CD small criticism is the interviews with Dave Holland should have been tagged on to the end of the concert as it spoils the flow but Trapeze live what more could you ask for all wrapped up in an excellent Digi- pack