Minotauro records have developed a reputation for being the champions of forgotten bands and the latest of these to get the Minotauro treatment is 80’s Boston prog rockers Seth. A quick search of the internet for Seth and the imprint they left on rock history proves to be telling, with the only results coming from the record label and from another band featuring the son of one of the members. So why does a band with a very limited appeal outside of their local area suddenly get an opportunity like this? A full career retrospective over 2 CD’s that covers absolutely everything they have ever written from the mid 70’s to the present day. Someone at Minotauro clearly thought that these guys deserved a second chance, and with the retro sound being fashionable at the moment the timing couldn’t be better.
Seth started in 1974 as a covers band, developed their own material over time and, by their own admission, proved to be a square peg in a round hole in the eyes of the music industry. Refusing to be pigeon holed into any particular style they played a mixture of progressive and commercial rock, folk and blues, depending whatever was floating their creative boat at the time. The result was a band that veered between the prog pretentions of Rush and the NWOBHM stylings of Diamond Head. Disc 1 begins with a complete run through of their 1980 self-titled album, and this would be the primary reason for getting this compilation. While Seth may not be the best band you’ve never heard of, they are more than competent and certainly knew how to write a decent tune. After the limp start of ‘Directly in Love’, the excellent ‘Murder 1’ shows off their songwriting chops to great effect with a simple but haunting chorus that sticks in your head. The other track of particular note is ‘Rock of Gibraltar’ which is heavily influenced by Rush, only Gerry Stafford’s vocals are nowhere near as annoying as Geddy Lee’s. The remainder of the 1st disc is taken up with a collection of 1979 studio takes, the majority of which never made it to the album although there is an early version of ‘Murder 1’ here. These tracks are of variable quality with one or two seeming to be in a very basic demo form, although the Priest/Lizzy influence in the instrumental ‘Gotta Get Home’ and the reflective ballad ‘Let’s Be Close Again’ are the highpoints here.
Disc 2 is where things get a bit haphazard as we cover the band’s progression from 1982 through to the present day. Starting with an unreleased single ‘Race to Olympus’, it sounds like a strong progression from the first album, but why exactly they put a 2nd version on here is anyone’s guess. Next up is the 1983 Live Jumbo, which consists of a couple of bootleg recordings of a guitar solo and a jam. Whilst the sound quality may be particularly sub-par, it really does show off just how good they were as musicians. A little more of that flair in the songs would not have gone amiss. The 1986 unreleased album ‘Cryer’ is next and is a real mix of styles from the classic metal of ‘In The Beginning’ to the insufferably dull ‘Dreams of Waiting’ through to ‘Bad News’, which is not a cover version much to my disappointment. There is a 12 year jump before the next material and a massive jump in style as well as we switch to euphemism laden blues rock with ‘Let Me Check Under Your Hood’. The material between here and the present day is particularly unfocussed, switching between blues, prog and instrumental noodling; that being said the version of ‘The Blues Are Killing Me’ may well be the very best thing on here. To finish things where you would expect there is a brand new recording for 2014 titled ‘The Abbey of Thelema’, a 6 min prog rock instrumental that shows that they are as focussed now as the day they started, this collection being the ultimate proof of that.
Seth are talented musicians and good songwriters and for one reason or another things never quite came together back in the day to fire them to stardom. Did the world of rock and metal miss a trick with these guys? If truth be told, no, and I think that the guys in Seth would be the first to admit that. They definitely deserved more recognition than they got however, and this collection will win them a few fans for sure. This is a real slog to listen to though, the 2nd disc especially and it could have benefited from some thinning out. For Seth completists this collection is essential. Trouble is that I suspect all the Seth completists are already in the band.
(6.5/10 Lee Kimber)
30/01/2015 at 1:15 am
“Dreams of Waiting” is awesome as is “Falling”… And the rest… Great Music.
GERRY is a great writer/guitarist and people missed something special. I didn’t… I’m lucky. I have the original 45 Pressing of “Rock of Gibraltar”. I’m proud to have played and recorded with him.