Tyburn Tall is one of the true legends of the European LP collector's underground. Fetching obscene amounts of cash, the album by default could only be met with derision when finally heard. A fresh spin does demonstrate, however, an excellent album when compared to its peers - that of the amateur private release. Organ is the dominate instrument and there's plenty of electric guitar followup. Deep Purple is the blueprint here (including classical rips), and if the idea of an unpolished raw MK. II captures the imagination, then certainly Tyburn Tall will satisfy. Much is made of Klaus Fresenius' impassioned vocals, generally panned across the board. Personally I think they're great - perhaps not technically of course - but from the human perspective. To me he sounds like a proto thrash singer, screaming in a high pitch, perfect for any self-respecting 80s metal band. Clearly Ian Gillan is his role model here, and he doesn't have the pipes, but he goes for it anyway. It's just this kind of X factor that makes albums like Tyburn Tall endearing.
Ownership: CD: 1994 Penner. Jewel case with full liner notes and plenty of photos. No one does CD reissues better. Includes two bonus tracks, both renditions of Colosseum tracks and are excellent as well. Though the CD doesn't sound great, the liner notes point out that the original isn't any better. Not that I've heard one - who has? It's as rare as they come. So I'll trust them on that assessment. This was part of a collection buy I picked up in the late 90s. It seems to be perpetually on the weedout stack, but it has now found its way to a permanent place in the collection.
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