Titanic - 1971 - Sea Wolf

Titanic

1971

Sea Wolf

01. Sea Wolf

02. Underbird

03. Confusion

04. Sultana

05. Hanging Over

06. Covered in Dust

07. A Stone's Throw

08. Scarlet

09. Exiled

Bonus Track

10.- Sing Fool Sing

- Kenny Aas / Organ

- Kjell Asperud / Drums

- John Lorck / Drums

- Janne Loseth / Guitar

- Roy Robinson / Vocals

After the surprising self titled debut (surprising because Norway's Rock was practically unknown), TITANIC managed to maintain the same lineup and went for a more mature release which was named "Sea Wolf".

This album came after the success of the Santana oriented single "Sultana" which was the B side of a less famous track named "Sing Fool Sing" that has been added to "Sea Wolf only as bonus track, a song that was well received in Spain, Holland, Germany and other European counties and allowed TITANIC to be known outside Norway.

The album starts with "Sea Wolf", which marked a constant in the band of opening albums with one of the best tracks and hiding nothing for the end, from the beginning TITANIC attacks us with a blend of Hard Rock and Psyche oriented keyboards, radical changes and a coherent structure, frantic from start to end with not a second to rest, as if the band had panic to silent moments.

"Underbird" begins with a frenetic organ intro and a Latin oriented percussion that takes us to some sort of British Invasion music with SANTANA influence, but of course the difference is made when the band starts to change from one mood to another repeatedly and Janne Loseth adds his peculiar guitar to the mix, a fantastic track with strong percussions probably congas.

Just when I believed I had found a pattern in "Sea Wolf" this guys break my mental structure with "Confusion" and the mid 70's Country oriented sound with a touch of BOB DYLAN, even the voice of "Roy Robinson sounds pretty close to good old bob. The use of harmonica enhances the effect but the chorus make the difference.

I don't know if "Sultana" is a tribute to SANTANA or is just that the band members loved Carlos' style so much that they wanted to play like his bad. The use of the Hammond takes us to the late 60's in the Psyche peak, plus the excellent percussion. The main difference with SANTANA relies in the lack of guitar solos, something absolutely honest by TITANIC who wanted to keep their individuality.

I don't know if "Hanging Over" is played with public or it's simply an effect, but the short piano intro misleads us to believe they are going for something closer to Symphonic, but in a fraction of second the song morphs into classic Rock & Roll of the 50's, with a style reminiscent of "Jerry lee Lewis", but only for a few minutes, because the piano interruptions and guitar solos reminds we're before a Rock band of the 70's with solid influences of the late 60's.

"Covered in Dust" is a major change in the style, they perform some sort of Blues Oriented Rock in the vein of GRAND FUNK RAILROAD, but even when they go for a mainstream structure, Kenny Aas with his keyboards present an approach towards Progressive Rock, not as clear as in "Eagle Rock" but obvious for anybody. The drums and percussion combo deserves a special mention, because John Lorck and Kjell Asperud play as if there was no tomorrow.

"A Stone's Throw" is a strange song for TITANIC, sounds clearly like a Psyche track with piano instead of Hammond and a pretty simple structure, nice but not great, on the other hand "Scarlet" is an excellent track with a bit of everything, starting with the soft vocals, accurate percussion, fantastic keyboards and spacey atmosphere, this album keeps getting better

"Exiled" is something special, from the start the sober organ intro leads us to a martial drum section as if we were before an anthem, but again they change into a fluid Power Ballad where the chorus are simply outstanding (something not so unusual in a band where almost all the musicians sing), as a fact they remind me of early QUEEN in some moments but leaving clear that this music is previous to any QUEEN's release,

This time I will comment the bonus track "Sing Fool Sing" because it fits perfectly in the atmosphere of the album, being that it was released as A side of their single hit "Sultana", in this blues oriented song that reminds of WAR, the band shows another face, they can rock and still have a funky touch while keeping intact the Psyche atmosphere, good addition for an already very good album.