Valentyne Suite is a 1969 album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 by Colosseum

Colosseum (band)

Colosseum is a pioneering British progressive jazz-rock band, mixing progressive rock and jazz-based improvisation.-History 1968 - 1971:The band was formed in September 1968 by drummer Jon Hiseman, tenor sax player Dick Heckstall-Smith and bass player Tony Reeves, who had previously worked together...

. It was Vertigo Records' very first album release, and reached number 15 in the UK Albums Chart

UK Albums Chart

The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

.

Though the song "The Kettle" is officially listed as having been written by Dick Heckstall-Smith

Dick Heckstall-Smith

Dick Heckstall-Smith was an English jazz and blues saxophonist. He played with some of the most important English blues-rock and jazz fusion bands of the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:...

 and Jon Hiseman

Jon Hiseman

Jon Hiseman is an English drummer, recording engineer, record producer and music publisher.-Career:...

, a credit which is confirmed by Hiseman's liner notes for the album, bassist/producer Tony Reeves

Tony Reeves

Anthony 'Tony' Reeves is an English bass guitarist/contrabassist, noted for his "extremely prominent and complex bass sound" and use of electronic effects...

 later claimed that it was written by guitarist/vocalist James Litherland

James Litherland

James Litherland is an English singer and guitarist. He was born in Salford, England. He is the father of singer/producer James Blake.-Discography:With Colosseum*Those Who Are About To Die Salute You – 1968*Valentyne Suite – 1969...

.

Reception

Allmusic derided the first three tracks, referring to "The Kettle" and "Butty's Blues" as "tarted-up 12-bar blues", and claiming that "Elegy" was beyond James Litherland's abilities as a vocalist. They were more approving of the rest of the album, and described Dave Greenslade's solo on "The Valentyne Suite" as "something to offer a challenge to vintage Keith Emerson, but with swing." They were critical of Litherland and Reeves's playing on the song, however, and concluded "In retrospect this might not quite the classic it seemed at the time, but it remains listenable..."

Track listing

1. "The Kettle" (Dick Heckstall-Smith, Jon Hiseman) – 4:28
2. "Elegy" (James Litherland) – 3:13
3. "Butty's Blues" (Litherland) – 6:45
4. "The Machine Demands a Sacrifice" (Litherland, Heckstall-Smith, Pete Brown
   Pete Brown
   Peter Ronald Brown is an English performance poet and lyricist.Best known for his collaborations with Jack Bruce, Brown also worked with The Battered Ornaments, formed his own group Pete Brown & Piblokto!, and worked with Graham Bond and Phil Ryan. Brown also writes film scores and formed a film...
   
   , Hiseman) – 3:54
5. "Valentyne Suite Theme One: January's Search" (Dave Greenslade) – 6:20
6. "Valentyne Suite Theme Two: February's Valentyne" (Greenslade) – 3:36
7. "Valentyne Suite Theme Three: The Grass is Always Greener" (Heckstall-Smith, Hiseman) – 6:57

The Valentyne Suite was originally written with "Beware the Ides of March" as the final movement, but since "Beware the Ides of March" had already been released in the UK on Those Who Are About to Die Salute You

Those Who Are About to Die Salute You

Allmusic's review was laudatory, saying the album "is a powerful one, unleashing each member's instrumental prowess at one point while consolidating each talent to form an explosive outpouring of progressive jazz/rock the next." They highly praised the variety and uniqueness of each song, the...

, "The Grass is Always Greener" was substituted for the final movement in the UK release. CD issues of the suite follow the track listing of the UK release.

Colosseum

• Dave Greenslade
  Dave Greenslade
  Dave Greenslade is a British keyboards player. He has played in his own eponymous band, Greenslade, and others including Colosseum, If and Chris Farlowe's Thunderbirds....
  
   - Hammond organ
  Hammond organ
  The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
  
  , vibraphone, piano, backing vocal on "The Machine Demands a Sacrifice"
• Dick Heckstall-Smith
  Dick Heckstall-Smith
  Dick Heckstall-Smith was an English jazz and blues saxophonist. He played with some of the most important English blues-rock and jazz fusion bands of the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:...
  
   - saxophones, flute on "The Machine Demands a Sacrifice"
• Jon Hiseman
  Jon Hiseman
  Jon Hiseman is an English drummer, recording engineer, record producer and music publisher.-Career:...
  
   - drums, machine on "The Machine Demands a Sacrifice"
• James Litherland
  James Litherland
  James Litherland is an English singer and guitarist. He was born in Salford, England. He is the father of singer/producer James Blake.-Discography:With Colosseum*Those Who Are About To Die Salute You – 1968*Valentyne Suite – 1969...
  
   - guitars, lead vocals
• Tony Reeves
  Tony Reeves
  Anthony 'Tony' Reeves is an English bass guitarist/contrabassist, noted for his "extremely prominent and complex bass sound" and use of electronic effects...
  
  - bass guitars