Ozric Tentacles – Strangeitude

I bought this exact CD Matrix = "Made in U.K. DOVECD3 10158171 &", ripped and didn't get any error messages.
This disc is simply great.

Sadly, these discs must have been rather poorly manufactured as - uniquely among my large collection of CDs, dating back to around 1987 - both Strangeitude and Pungent Effulgent have been pretty much destroyed by disc-rot.

The "Pungent Effulgent" disc (original 1989 UK CD) looked OK, visually, but on ripping it for ease of listening, it was badly messed-up with a constant rhythmic rasping sound throughout.

"Strangeitude" (DOVECD3, UK 1991) did actually rip successfully but I was very surprised that it did, because it's quite literally eaten away at the centre and edges. You can see daylight through a speckled mass of "holes" around the centre, and sections of the outer edge of the metallic part of the disc are just missing.

Needless to say, both discs were stored properly, alongside many other discs that aren't similarly affected.

So, it might be a good idea to check your copies and to be careful if you're looking to buy copies of the original CD releases.

Strangeitude ‎(CD, Album, RE, Dig) Madfish SMACDX1152 UK 2019

One of my most beloved albums of all time. This is as close to perfection as the Ozrics have ever got. Everything about it is just flawless: artwork that manages to squeeze in trees, space AND hallucinations; a sound that does justice to the music; ALL the styles of the band; the classic Ozrics lineup for the last time on a full record; and some of their best tunes ever, with not a single moment of filler.

As far as the sound is concerned it was the last time that Ed chose to muffle the sound of his guitar a few times. The rest of the production stands up to modern standards and could easily be recorded even tomorrow. The nuances and little intricate details have reached stratospheric proportions. The sound is rich in texture, full of ideas that blend immaculately with each other at just the right volume and distinction, not to mention the right time.

We finally get the full spectrum of influences: space rock (all the tunes have space rock sections, except Sploosh!), techno (Sploosh!), ethnic (the first part of Saucers and Bizarre Bazaar), dub (the first part of Space Between Your Ears) and, as the title suggests, their patented brand of Strangeitude. All the tunes are brilliant but my favourite are the re-do of White Rhino Tea from the Sliding Gliding Worlds tape in a stunning version which never gets old to my ears, Saucers (I it it: I couldn’t help laughing when I first heard the bubbles explode on this one a couple of times and it’s happened a few more times since) and Space Between Your Ears – that metal riff at the end makes me do the horns and bang my head when I hear it.

Allow me an aside here, if I may: having only heard the two previous albums before I bought this, I didn’t get Strangeitude for a long time and therefore it was my least favourite Ozrics recording, probably up to the beginning of the 00s! I simply hated the title track and the fact that it only had six new tunes annoyed me like hell. It sounded very little like Erpland and so I couldn’t enjoy it. So much for those who say the Ozrics have recorded the same album thirty times. Thank god I came to my senses and managed to get it.

I think that the only version of the album nowadays is the Snapper one. Great sound, liner notes by Richard Allen again (apparently it’s his favourite Ozrics album) and both the live version of The Throbbe first featured on the Sploosh! vinyl single and original Dovetail CD version and the rare Weirditude, previously only available on ‘the Christmas tape’ of 1993, which was just given away to the audience at a gig! Aaah, those were the days… The Throbbe, though as always different from the studio version on Erpland, is probably the closest ever to that version, only better and without the Muezzin prayer. Weirditude is basically a live jam, good, but wisely kept from the official releases.

In conclusion, buy this album if you have heard anything by the Ozrics before and liked it, whether you own anything or not. Maybe it should have been called Superbitude.
10/10