1st/Somebody’s Watching
June 15, 2008
Remastered Reissue of their 1970 Debut Full Length and 1973 Second Release.
Customer Review: EXCELLENT SET!!!!!!
I was lucky enough to find a seller who had the 2CD set of this…which contained RARE BIRD 1969…AS YOUR MIND FLIES BY 1970..SOMEBODY’S WATCHING 1973…and BORN AGAIN 1974…all tracks are present and remastered (very consistent sound thoughout) by the Italian company VHRCD…
If you can find this version….GET IT!!! I paid the same price as the 2on1 cd.
I waited a very long time for these to finally be remastered….and was worth the wait
Customer Review: solid debut from largely forgotten progressive rock band
i haven’t heard the somebody’s watching album, and know relatively little music from the latter incarnation of rare bird. rare bird were a talented outfit that emerged at the end of the 1960′s. stylistically, they are an early progressive rock band somewhat reminiscent of yes or early genesis, and unlike most bands in that they lacked a guitar player…most fans seem to believe that their greatest moment was their 2nd lp, as your mind flies by. steve gould’s vocals can occasionally be heavy handed, but at the same time, he does possess a powerful voice… the outstanding tracks on this good but not outstanding debut are sympathy and beautiful scarlet. sympathy was a minor hit in the u.k., but apparently a big hit in continental europe, and the song did receive some airplay here in the u.s.a., where the rare bird album reached a modestly successful 117 on the billboard charts. sympathy is a rather simple, brief, and haunting ballad that is essentially a plea for peace and compassion with pertinent and relevant lyrics, it is surprising that it wasn’t an even bigger hit. beautiful scarlet is a minor masterpiece that belongs in a progressive rock canon of sorts, with nice tempo changes, thrilling (if to some listeners somewhat pompous/ cliched keyboard runs that kind of sounds like the type of music where the silent movie villain is tying the hero’s girlfriend to the train tracks!) and fine vocals. god of war is another fine track, and while there are some other decent tunes, there is indeed some filler that precludes this album from being a true classic of the genre. however, the album should appeal to prog fans and enthusiasts of 60′s rock, as the two cuts i’ve mentioned are superb. Buy from here…
