I've written about Finch extensively in the past as they were one of the earliest obscure European prog bands for me to discover in the early 80s (via the ATCO (USA) issue of Glory of the Inner Force), so I won't cover that again here. Suffice to say when this archival discovery was released in 1999 it was a huge boon to fans like myself. Though oddly enough, after dutifully buying the set immediately and hearing it to great satisfaction, it has sat patiently another 23 years for its second visit (there's that number again...). As such I didn't remember anything about it.
The first disc is The Making Of... Galleons of Passion, and is essentially an earlier version of what was to be released. All five tracks are represented here, and to my ears the rougher mix is more pleasurable. Galleons of Passions was a bit too slick for a band like Finch. So I find this to be the definitive version. Even better is there are three unreleased tracks from the same session, any one of them could have - or should have - been on the original album. It's a short album and there was room for all of them. The best of these three IMO is 'Phases'.
Disc 2 is the Stage '76 portion. Here you have 71 minutes of live Finch in their prime. There are two tracks from Glory of the Inner Force and two from Beyond Expression. All of them energetic recreations, though they don't deviate much from the original material. Best of all is the unreleased 17 minute 'Necronomicon', sounding all the world like a missing track from Glory. Instrumental progressive rock like only Finch could do. Overall a must pickup for fans of the group.
Ownership: CD: 1999 Pseudonym. Fatbox 2xCD set with superb liner notes detailing the full history of the band (and the only place I have this).
1999 (first listen); 6/27/22 (review/new entry)
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