Titanic: Titanic - 1970

Something unusual here - a fantastic little unearthed (but slightly flawed) gem from Norwegian rock band Titanic. Never mind A-Ha.

This was their debut offering and it featured Norwegian musicians and (I think) UK vocalist Roy Robinson. It sort of gets filed under prog rock but it definitely veers on the rock side, being loaded with massive guitar riffs, Deep Purple-esque organ and some surprisingly rhythmic, almost funky percussion at times. 

The opener to the album, Searchin', is a great way to start any appreciation of Titanic as it seriously rocks for all of its seven glorious minutes. I absolutely love it and am so glad I came across it via a streaming service recommendation. The sound on the album is great too - proper, defined seventies stereo and this is perfectly exemplified on the killer semi-funky rock groove of Love Is Love. 

Mary Jane slows things down and has a great line and some fetching string orchestration, but overall is is a tad sombre and underwhelming. 

I guess they get pigeonholed as "prog" due to the fact that some the tracks are lengthy-ish and there are plenty of keyboards swirling around, but there is more of Black Sabbath-early Wishbone Ash and Elf vibe going on, for me. The powerful riffing and soloing on the muscular Something On My Mind is outstanding but I can leave the derivative schmaltz of Cry For A Beatle. 

Firewater is a strangely jazzy number with a lengthy intro. It is pretty impossible to categorise. I prefer the group when they properly rock as opposed to playing around with different styles, something that is exemplified again on the next couple of tracks. Schizmatic Mind has a very mid-late sixties feel about it. 

I See No Reason seems to be trying to replicate the iconic organ melody of Procol Harum's Whiter Shade Of Pale (perhaps unwisely) and again, it sounds far more sixties than seventies. Those organ breaks, albeit highly derivative, are good ones, however, but the track goes on way too long. It is a piece of indulgence typical of its time.

Half Breed is somewhat murky, sort of getting nowhere fast, while Santa Fé is an odd piece of rhythmic drumming with strange vocal interjections over it. It is catchy enough but pretty inessential. 

There are a few dodgy moments to be found here - quite a few actually - but on the whole it is a refreshingly solid early seventies rock album and quite inventive in places. Stick to the first two tracks for the best ones, though. I have to conclude that Searchin' is far and away the best one on offer, by a mile.