9. Return Of The Giant Hogweed (Nursery Crime, 1971)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgWtlls6Cno One of the band's great early epic narratives, this track tells the whimsical yet terrifying tale of a life and death struggle. It seems that a Victorian gentleman has smuggled a Royal Hogweed out of Russia and has gifted it to the royal gardens at Kew. Unbeknownst to him said botanical is sentient and not at all happy about its move to England. Soon after, the horrifying herbal hellion has spread throughout the land and threatens the survival of our race. The song's instrumental closing features some terrific interplay between keys and guitars, creating visions of frolicking Hogweeds attacking en masse and dancing with glee. The release of "Nursery Crime" saw Steve Hackett (guitars) and Phill Collins (drums) join the band replacing Anthony Phillips and John Mayhew respectively. Gabriel's story telling was developing at a rapid pace as heard in the album's opening track, "The Musical Box" a staple in their live show. While "Nursery Crime" did well in Italy it was not a huge hit at home.
Reverend Rock
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Ross Ingall is a 52 year old ordained Canadian baptist minister who has been listening to hard rock and metal quite literally since each was invented. A second career pastor who attended seminary in his 40's, the Rev hosts Too Metal For Church on Metal Nation Radio. Writing both under his own name as well as the psuedonym/nickname Reverend Rock, Ross has been writing music articles on the web since 1999.
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