Phantom Tollbooth - Beard Of Lightning mp3 download

Braned

I wanted to hear this version of Phantom Tollbooth's 'Power Toy' LP for some years and I accept the limitations of Dave Rick's vocals on all 3 Phantom Tollbooth LPs, but I suppose after listening to the original LP for the last 15 years, the reworkings are pretty disappointing. It's not just the vocals that present a problem; the entire feel of Beard of Lightning just doesn't sit right. The energy has been whittled out of the tracks in an attempt to make it more approachable. It's all seems so constrained and boxed-in. The great thing about the 3 PT LPs as they stood was the immediacy and liveness of the sound. Pollard's vocals just don't fit into Rick's slot effectively: the are far too pomp-rock, too tampered with, too gothic, too Led Zep and Jim Morrison and too. . . well, clear. I doubt I'll be listening to this version again. it just goes to show that you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, which appears to have been the intention. Thankfully 'Power Toy' never was a sow's ear. In fact the opposite is true. Beard of Lightning goes to prove that you can make a sow's ear out of a silk purse.