So, this was recorded with a different lineup. Rutledge and Pickens left for supposed greener pastures (they never got greener than the Bloodrock days) and were replaced by Warren Ham. The music was more like a Traffic or a similar art rock band but still retained a good amount of the heavier elements from the first four records. As with previous efforts, people hated this record but for a different reason - because it didn't sound like "D.O.A."! Well, it doesn't, but it's OK. "Lost Fame" is a really good track, for example. The follow-up Whirlwind Tongues was an even deeper dive into this kind of music, though.
Oooh…apparently, three tracks here were studio efforts with dubbed applause. But hey, overall, all of the major Bloodrock tracks are collected here and they are played competently. Can't complain.
It really was a carbon copy of the previous record, yet still has merit. "Breach of Lease" restates "D.O.A." from a socio-political standpoint but what makes it standout are jazz-rock flavored exercises like "You Gotta Roll" and the jam-heavy "Kool-Aid Kids", which resembles "Fancy Space Odyssey" from the previous record, too. But oh yeah, they cover "A Certain Kind" from the Soft Machine, so there's that!
Crazy that people say this is a lesser record because I think they really find their cheap thrills-inspired groove here, even though the sequencing is hard to follow. There are some wild mood swings on this record as well - it ranges the gamut from party rockers like "Children's Heritage" and "Lucky in the Morning" to mid-range darker stuff like "Dier Not a Lover" and "Fancy Space Odyssey" (which is a head trip by itself) to…well, "D.O.A." - a truly shocking and bizarre piece rarely heard on any album anywhere. It actually hit the Top 40 at the tail end of Vietnam. Taken together, this is the aural equivalent of an old horror B-movie, and a lot more interesting than people give it credit for.
Most people that dare come into contact with Bloodrock swear up and down this is the only record worth hearing, which isn't true. Rolling Stone Record Guide went as far as to award all Bloodrock records 0 stars out of 5 (is that possible?). I think Jann Wenner got up on the wrong side of the bed that day. Still, the monstrous Bloodrock sound is not quite there yet. The first side comes at you as blunt as the rock smashing that glass window to a bloody mess on the cover, thanks to a glut of thunderous riff-rockers like "Castle of Thoughts", "Gotta Find a Way", and "Double Cross". This was the only record throaty lead singer Jim Rutledge played drums on (and fairly well), and he's ably backed by Stevie Hill's ghoulish organ runs and Lee Pickens stinging lead guitar attacks. It bogs down towards the end of the record ("Fantastic Piece of Architecture" definitely doesn't meet that description), but overall, a credible debut.
