Tim Blake’s first three solo albums get a nice reissue in a well presented box set via Esoteric, a label which excels at stuff like this. Tim of course being an early pioneer of the emergence of synthesisers in the early 1970s.
The usual sturdy clamshell style box contains Crystal Machine (1977), Blake’s New Jerusalem (1978) and Magick (1991) together with an informative booklet with some of the history to the albums.
After leaving Gong after being a member during the classic trilogy of Gong albums Flying Teapot, Angel’s Egg and You, Tim embarked on a solo career starting with the Crystal Machine album, which has over the years become a classic of its time.
It has an experimental feel to it as Tim cajoles all sorts of interesting sounds from that huge bank of synths. Ambient, trippy, spacey, hypnotic and engrossing. The sort of album best listened to via headphones and allowing yourself to drift off with the music.
Bar for a few words in Lost Ride of the Boogie Child, Crystal Machine is entirely instrumental and a mixture of studio and live performances.
When you think that back around the time Crystal Machine was issued, Jean Michelle Jarre was doing similar stuff with Oxygene and selling units by the multi-millions, Crystal Machine went by comparison well under the radar instead developing something I suppose could be classified as a cult following.
Blake’s New Jerusalem appeared the following year. A much more varied and polished album. Arguably Tim’s best solo work.
Song for a New Age a laid back, catchy acoustically driven song starts it off. Next up is the classic Lighthouse. A marvellously memorable chunk of spacey synths and trippy lyrics which gets in to your head and stays there. Have a listen:
Generator (Laser Beam) continues the theme then comes the thumping instrumental of Passage Sur La Cite. Then the epic title track with brings in some wording from the poem by William Blake. An engrossing sixteen minutes of a synth-driven progressiveness tour de force.
If you’re of a “certain age” as I am, you may recall having to sing William Blake’s poem in those school morning assemblies we all hated. All together now……..and did those feet in ancient time…….
Tim then joined Hawkwind for a short while appearing on the Hawks’ Live ‘79 tour which included Lighthouse in the set. Still remember seeing that tour. Long time ago eh….
There’d be a long break until Tim’s next solo work as after leaving Hawkwind he stepped away from the music biz until reappearing in 1991 with Magick. Apparently recorded over the course of a single evening.
To me this is an album which does have an uneven feel to it. A Magick Circle and Tonight are OK. The Strange Secret of Ohm-Gliding stretches out in to a superb Gong/Hawkwind style hypnotic trippyness which is enjoyable and a highlight. Possibly the only real highlight on the album as after that it falls apart for me.
Waiting for Nati goes nowhere for far too long. A Dream More Magick and With You amble along in a quite dull, repetitive, unimaginative state. I can’t get on with them despite being a long-time admirer of Tim’s work since the Gong days.
Whilst Magick is far from that, Crystal Machine and Blake’s New Jerusalem are slam-dunk classics of the genre. Classy spacey synth-driven progressive rock standing up relevant and fresh after well over forty years since first release.
Worth having for Crystal Machine and Blake’s New Jerusalem. As the saying goes – two out of three ain’t bad.
At time of posting – a couple of days after release – you can pick it up on Amazon for a reasonable price. If the digital/MP3 thing is your format of choice that’s available on Amazon also.
>> TIM BLAKE CRYSTAL PRESENCE BOX SET ON AMAZON >>
And do check out the other Tim Blake box set which Esoteric released a couple of years or so ago as that has all sorts of previously unreleased stuff:
https://newwaveofbritishheavymetal.com/tim-blake-lighthouse-an-anthology-1973-2012-review
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