BEDLAM - Demos Anthology 1968-70 (The Cozy Powell Beginnings)

Bedlam and its earlier incarnations (Ideal Milk, Big Bertha, etc.) were a hotbed for launching the career of superstar drummer Cozy Powell (RIP), who later played with such major Hard Rock acts as Whitesnake, Rainbow, and Black Sabbath. In this earlier stage, we can hear the fantastic guitar playing of Dave Ball very influenced by Cream/Clapton, his brother Denny on bass and Cozy on drums. In fact this early incarnation of Bedlam called Ideal Milk was almost a tribute to Cream. Moving on later, singer Ace Kefford enters the picture for a short stint with the band where they change the band name to Ace Kefford Stand. Ace was the ex-bass player of the Move. The B-side of the record has the Big Bertha demos which had different singers including Denny Ball which also sang on Ideal Milk. The style is still similar to Cream/Jeff Beck Group, sometimes with an heavier edge predicting what was going to come after 2 years (meanwhile Cozy was with The Jeff Beck Group and Dave Ball joined Procol Harum). Reissue limited to 400 copies with insert that includes detailed song liner notes written by Denny Ball and rare pics. Remastered from the master tapes for best sound quality possible. -Acid Nightmare.