Web
I Spider

Those were the times of the underground, not meant only from a musical perspective, but adopted as a true lifestyle by the young artists of the era. Music indeed played an astonishingly prominent, almost mystical, role during that period, sometimes merging with the soul of those who made it, thus becoming the main reason for their existence and the only valid means of expression.

In England, in this atmosphere of ferment and experimentation, many musicians found themselves continuously taking the stages of countless venues scattered across the country, seeking the opportunity to perform in public and get noticed, in the hope of securing a contract with any record label, even an unknown one. In 1970, during one of these tours, Dave Lawson's Episode Six, along with future Deep Purple members Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, encountered The Web, a relatively established jazz-blues band with two albums behind them but momentarily in trouble due to both an identity crisis resulting in not knowing which musical path to follow, and the defection of singer John L. Watson. The good Dave, who had long been waiting for a band to allow him to unleash all his genius and love for jazz sounds, seized the opportunity and joined the group (immediately renamed Web, without "The"), firmly taking the reins.

It is no coincidence that the tracks composing this "I Spider" all bear the signature of the new singer and keyboardist, the latter deserving praise for guiding the other five musicians through new progressive sounds decidedly bordering on jazz, never fully experimented with before. The companions who made the realization of this incredible Lawsonian fresco possible are distributed quite unusually as, besides the classic bass, entrusted to John Eaton, and the guitar, played by Tony Edwards, there are the horns of Tom Harris and no less than two drums by percussionists Lennie Wright and Kenny Beveridge.

The album opens with the majestic "Concerto for Bedsprings" (divided into five movements), where it quickly becomes clear that the horns and keyboards are the true pillars of this new style, although the marvelous interweaving of the drums throughout the suite sections reaches truly refined levels of execution. The atmosphere constantly changes throughout the tracks, shifting from tormented and at times pulsating introspection, supported by Tom's elegant horns and Dave's emotional voice (I Spider), to the hypnotic and resolute rhythm dictated by Tony's guitar, perpetually overflown by the impalpable sound of the keyboards (Always I Wait). It also happens that the sounds change suddenly within the same piece, perhaps starting from a gentle mellotron introduction, accompanied by Dave's soft singing, then veering towards an intense jazz-rock where the horns dictatorially take over the scene, yielding only to the sharp solo flights of the guitar (Love you). The balance between the keyboards and the horns is achieved by their continued alternation in the instrumental "Ymphasomniac," further illuminated by the dazzling skill of Lennie and Kenny, once again extraordinarily creative and impeccable with their percussion.

The remastered version of the album includes live recordings of "Concerto for Bedsprings" and "Love you," performed in 1971 during the Festival of the Midnight Sun in Sweden, unfortunately the band's last stop, as they would disband right after the concert due to poor sales and ensuing financial problems. The downfall, however, was only postponed, as, thanks to the help of Tony Reeves (former Colosseum and future companion of Dave in Greenslade), the Web managed to secure a contract with Greenwich Gramophone, allowing them to produce another masterpiece the same year, this time under the name Samurai.