Trapeze - Leavin' The Hard Times Behind: The Best Of Trapeze (2019)

Sown from the seeds of two midlands bands, Finders Keepers, featuring Mel Galley (guitar/vocals), Dave Holland (drums) and Glenn Hughes (bass/vocals), plus the Montanas John Jones (vocals/trumpet) and Terry Rowley (keyboards/guitar/flute), Trapeze were discovered by 60s beat supremos The Moody Blues, and snapped up for their own label, Threshold Records.

Trapeze would record three albums for Threshold. Produced by The Moody Blues' John Lodge at Morgan Studios and Decca Studios in London, their debut LP was released in May 1970, from which ''Send Me No More Letters'', ''Suicide'', ''Nancy Gray'' and ''Another Day'' are taken.

Scaling down to the classic power trio of Hughes/Galley/Holland, Trapeze released ''Medusa'' in November 1970. A true classic, ''Medusa'' featured ''Your Love Is Alright'', ''Black Cloud'', ''Medusa'' and ''Way Back To The Bone''. The Moody Blues took Trapeze to the States as their opening act, where they built a large and loyal following, particularly in Texas.

Released in 1972, and featuring ''Coast To Coast'', ''Will Our Love End'' and ''You Are The Music'', their 3rd LP, ''You Are The Music... We're Just The Band'', cemented their reputation for classic but soulful hard rock. So much so that bass guitarist and lead singer Glenn Hughes was invited to replace Roger Glover in Deep Purple the following year, making his debut with the band on Deep Purple's 1974 classic ''Burn''.

That could have been the end of Trapeze, but Galley and Holland had worked too hard to give up now, recruiting Rob Kendrick as second guitarist, and Pete Wright on bass for 1974's ''Hot Wire'', which kicked off with ''Back Street Love''. Joining Deep Purple on Warner Bros records (USA, Canada & Japan), Trapeze released their second eponymously titled album in 1975, which featured a cover of ''Sunny Side Of The Street''.

Mel Galley had taken on the lead vocal duties for the previous two LPs, but by 1977, they were joined by Pete Goalby on lead vocals and rhythm guitar. His very first gig with the band was at the Civic Theatre in Mansfield in the UK on 4th April 1977, the recording of which is featured here for the first time as a bonus on CD2, recorded by Radio Trent. The Mansfield 1977 show is an electric performance in front of a very appreciative audience. Featuring Trapeze classics ''You Are The Music'', ''Black Cloud'' and ''Way Back To The Bone'', the concert also includes the at the time unreleased Mel Galley tracks ''Take Good Care Of Me'' and ''Running'' as well as Pete Goalby's ''Living On Love'', all three of which would feature on 1978's ''Running''. Initially only released in Germany, the album would be reissued with a less ''saucy'' cover in 1979 and 1980 as ''Hold On''.

Although Glenn Hughes, Dave Holland and Mel Galley would periodically reform the classic power trio line-up for reunion shows and live albums, the ''Running'' / ''Hold On'' album would be Trapeze's final studio release. Dave Holland would go onto greater success with Judas Priest drumming on their ''British Steel'' record, and Mel Galley would join Whitesnake for the ''Slide It In'' album. Sadly, neither musician is still with us, but their music is kept alive by Glenn Hughes, who often revisits Trapeze in his live shows.

As well as the previously unreleased concert recording from 1977, this set also includes liner notes from Classic Rock's Malcolm Dome, based on new interviews with Glenn Hughes and Pete Goalby.