Get Your Dog off Me, the final real studio album of Scots prog band Beggars Opera, was a disappointment when it came out -- and it remains one decades later.
Indeed, they never captured the spirit of Act One in any of their further releases, and it's easy to see why they called this the end of the road (although guitarist Ricky Gardiner and mellotronist Virginia Scott kept the band name going with two German albums later in the decade).
The dramatics, which had been quite sly before, descend into melodrama here, and there's a dearth of songwriting ideas (which was also true on the previous record, where the standout was a cover of "MacArthur Park").
They can still slip in a good hook here and there, and there's no fault in the playing, with Gardiner in particular showing himself to be an excellent, thoughtful soloist.
But on the evidence of the material and arrangements here, this was a band past its sell-by date.
The newer harmony style -- influenced by bands like the Eagles, is quite at odds with any kind of grandeur.
This is really one just for the die-hard fans and obsessives.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Get Your Dog Off Me | Beggars Opera | Play | 03:42 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 2 | Freestyle LadiesVirginia Scott | Beggars Opera | Play | 04:19 | 9 MB | 30 MB |
| 3 | Open LetterRobert Smith | Beggars Opera | Play | 04:34 | 10 MB | 32 MB |
| 4 | Morning DayVirginia Scott | Beggars Opera | Play | 04:33 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 5 | RequiemRicky Gardiner | Beggars Opera | Play | 02:16 | 5 MB | 14 MB |
| 6 | Classical GasMason Williams | Beggars Opera | Play | 04:29 | 10 MB | 31 MB |
| 7 | Sweet Blossom WomanMick Grabham | Beggars Opera | Play | 04:08 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 8 | Turn Your Money Green | Beggars Opera | Play | 04:08 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 9 | La Di-DaMargaret Fairlie-Kennedy | Beggars Opera | Play | 02:53 | 6 MB | 19 MB |
| 10 | Working Man | Beggars Opera | Play | 04:34 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 11 | Two Timing Woman - Bonus | Beggars Opera | Play | 03:46 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 12 | Lady Of Hell Fire - Bonus | Beggars Opera | Play | 03:43 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 47 mins | 108 MB | |||||
| 47 mins | 319 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Adams | Original Concept |
| 2 | Beggars Opera | Primary Artist |
| 3 | Colin Fairley | Drums |
| 4 | Margaret Fairlie-Kennedy | Composer |
| 5 | Ricky Gardiner | Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Vocals |
| 6 | Mick Grabham | Composer |
| 7 | Alan Park | Harpsichord, Keyboards, Mellotron, Moog Synthesizer, Organ, Piano, Piano (Electric) |
| 8 | Linnie Paterson | Vocals |
| 9 | Virginia Scott | Composer |
| 10 | Gordon Sellar | Bass, Guitar, Vocals |
| 11 | Robert Smith | Composer |
| 12 | Roger Wake | Engineer, Executive Producer |
| 13 | Chris Welch | Liner Notes |
| 14 | Mason Williams | Composer |
| 15 | Raymond Wilson | Drums |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |