[1] Three Score And Ten, Amen (Clempson/Greenslade/Hiseman) - 5:36
[2] Time Lament (Greenslade/Hiseman) - 6:04
[3] Take Me Back To Doomsday (Clempson/Greenslade/Hiseman/Heckstall-Smith) - 4:26
[4] Daughter Of Time (Dennan/Greenslade/Heckstall-Smith) - 3:30
[5] Theme For An Imaginary Western (Brown/Bruce) - 4:05
[6] Bring out your dead (Clempson/Greenslade) - 3:21
[7] Downhill And Shadows (Clempson/Hiseman/Reeves) - 6:11
[8] The Time Machine [Live] (Hiseman) - 8:12
A serious disappointment following the previous two strong releases.
Chris Farlowe blares away annoyingly, connecting to the material only
sporadically. A heady infusion of jazz elements led by veteran reedman
Dick Heckstall-Smith and drummer Jon Hiseman redeems this frustrating
live performance, but only in stretches.
Mark Allan, All-Music Guide
Although the cover of this CD reissue announces that this is an
"expanded edition" in fairly large type in the lower right corner, the
actual extras on this disc are mild. The single bonus track is a
version of "Jumping Off the Sun" which, unlike the original version
from their 1970 U.S.-only LP The Grass Is Greener, has a Chris Farlowe
vocal from early 1971. It does, like several other Sanctuary reissues
of Colosseum albums, benefit from excellent, lengthy historical liner
notes by David Wells. So all things considered, if you're buying
Daughter of Time for the first time, this is the edition to get, even
if the bonuses aren't anything to send you over the moon. As for the
album -- Colosseum's third (or fourth if you count The Grass Is
Greener) -- it was a bit of a new direction, largely due to the
presence of Chris Farlowe, who gave the group's commendable but uneven
progressive rock-jazz-blues a more bombastic flavor. As their
songwriting grew more ambitious, so too did it get somewhat more morose
and ominous, and a little further away from (though hardly abandoning)
their jazz-blues roots. Songwriting wasn't their big strength, though,
as evidenced by how the cover of Jack Bruce and Pete Brown's "Theme for
an Imaginary Western" is the record's best song -- and even this had
been done better by Bruce himself. It's certainly worthwhile for
Colosseum fans, but not quite as good as their previous output, and
dampened by the inclusion of "The Time Machine," which is nothing more
than a live Jon Hiseman drum solo.
Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
A concept album loosely based on man's fascination and allure for war
throughout the ages, Daughter of Time contains all the elements
required to create a pure progressive rock album. Joining David
Greenslade and Chris Farlowe is Louis Cennamo from Renaissance, who
plucks away at the bass guitar with a heavy hand. A multitude of
instruments combine to create a brilliant melange of music on every one
of the eight songs. Vibrant spurts of trombone, trumpet, and flute are
driven to the height of each song, which gives way to some implements
of jazz fusion. Rich organ and vibraphone can be heard in behind "Three
Score and Ten Amen" and "Take Me Back to Doomsday" adding to the
melancholy theme. Countering this are beautiful string arrangements
made up of violin, viola, and cello used effectively to conjure up
mood, and doing an excellent job. Even a flügelhorn is blared from
time to time on top of the accentuated drums. A spoken word passage
from Dick Heckstall-Smith creates an eerie aura, as his voice echoes on
about the coming of the apocalypse. Colosseum's music works extremely
well in that it builds suspense and reels the listener into the songs.
As far as the lyrics go, they're stark and foreboding and have a
mediaeval taste to them, coinciding with the music perfectly. Each
song, all around six minutes in length, should have been longer to let
the instruments play out with their illustriousness. Except for the
fact that it is a short album, Daughter of Time is a sturdy example of
progressive rock.