Wabash Resurrection sound like a garage Lynyrd Skynyrd after a heavy night with Crazy Horse. The best tracks are definitive shit-kicking-rural-mullet-toting pick-up-truck-drivin’ rawk. Naturally they look the part on the cover. Launches with “Pigsty Blues” which seems to be about “keeping yer sheeet good and your feet flat on the ground”, essential for one’s health and well being don’t you know.
The second track, “A Soldier’s Lament” is perhaps the best, and could be straight off the Rayne LP, thudding drumming and really groovy Crazy Horse style guitar with perfectly subdued, downer vocals. On the amazing “In Heat” they really nail it on the head with the lines: “I dig those Rhythm and Blues/Don’t try to tell me ‘bout no astral projections/I got horse shit on my shoes". You can just picture the lead singer in his cowboy hat peering skeptically at the hippie chick as she warbles on about the Age of Aquarius.
from "Acid Archives"
Tracks
1. Pigsty Blues (Larry Lemons) - 3:43
2. A Soldier's Lament (Doug Oakley) - 4:41
3. Feelin' Good (Bud Bailey, Doug Oakley) - 5:17
4. Country Heartache (Larry Lemons) - 4:41
5. In Heat (Doug Oakley) - 4:47
6. The Angel Came And Went (Bud Bailey) - 2:58
7. Society Woman (Bud Bailey, Doug Oakley) - 4:13
8. You Need Someone (Bud Bailey, Doug Oakley) - 6:53
The Wabash Resurrection
*Bud Bailey - Vocals, Guitar
*Larry "Pipes" Lemons - Bass
*Doug Oakley - Drums, Vocals Free Text the Free Text
Weight consisted of Brian Cassidy (vocals-bass), Peter Masi (vocals-keyboards-guitar-harmonica), Toni Christmas (guitar-vocals), and Noel Cassidy (drums-washboard-vocals).
The album described in some circles as “progressive psych” starts off with “The Night The Pig Got Loose”, featuring a hilarious account of a drug bust told in an Arlo Guthrie sort of way, and then shifts to a ballad musically similar to Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released” with the weird title of “Mr.M, Mr.N, and Mr.C (With Help From Mr.D)” (maybe the Mr.D is Dylan they’re referring to).
As the album progresses, it has some nice guitar/organ interplay similar in style to the Allman Brothers, so it leans to Southern Rock as much as it does to a progressive style.
by Max Collodie
Tracks
1. The Night The Pig Got Loose - 4:37
2. Mr. M, Mr. N. And Mr. C (With Help From Mr. D) - 4:27
3. I'm Sure We're Gonna Die - 8:53
4. Overhead Ego - 3:47
5. Disillusion # 1 - 3:00
6. Open Up Your Gate - 3:38
7. The Reason Why We're Here - 5:23
All songs by Peter Masi
The Weight
*Brian Cassidy - Vocals, Bass
*Noel Cassidy - Drums, Washboard, Vocals
*Toni Christmas - Guitar, Vocals
*Peter Masi - Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar, Harmonica Free Text the Free Text
Who was the mysterious Juicy Lucy? Glenn 'Fernando' Campbell was always meaning to tell me. The cheerful dude in the big hat who played the steel guitar loved to keep everyone guessing and he never revealed his secret. At least - not to me. But Lucy was doubtless one of those ladies of the road, who lubricated the wheels of rock, if you'll pardon the phrase. Musically speaking Juicy Lucy, the band that bore her name, was one of the most respected outfits to come howlin' and wailin' out of the Sixties' blues boom. They had style and class. They also had some of the finest musicians of the day, ready to rock and eager to tour. Their debut album 'Juicy Lucy' (Vertigo), released in 1969 became famous for its notorious gatefold album sleeve, depicting a plump, naked lady covered in grapes, bananas and a half consumed melon. Not a pretty sight, but once seen, never forgotten.
Despite their dramatic launch and excellent credentials, the band never quite made it into the international super league. They had a Top Twenty hit in 1970 with their version of Bo Diddley’s ‘Who Do You Love’ and a subsequent hit with ‘Pretty Woman’. Glenn was filmed in action with the band for the rock movie 'Supersession' and Juicy Lucy went on to record several more albums for Vertigo, Polydor and Island, including 'Lie Back And Enjoy It', 'Pieces' and 'Get A Whiff Of This', before they finally broke up in 1972. Juicy Lucy underwent considerable line up changes during this turbulent period. The band featured on 'Pieces' provides revealing aspects of a fascinating saga which began when Glenn Campbell first arrived in Britain from the States, and ended with the final version of Juicy Lucy, fronted by guitar legend Micky Moody.
The roots of Juicy Lucy lay way back in The Misunderstood, a band championed by both the author of these notes and the lugubrious, mild mannered Radio One DJ John Peel. The reasons for this enthusiasm lay in the fact that Glenn Campbell was not just a fine musician who played a pedal steel guitar with great gusto. He was an American in London and thus seemed closer to the source. He was also very funny and entertaining, and liked a glass of English beer. His laid back sense of humour provided a welcome contrast to the attitude of many British blues practitioners, who seemed to imagine that you had to undergo some sort of private hell and spread a message of unrelenting gloom to be considered a true blues man!
The original Misunderstood was formed in 1966 and reformed for its trip to England. They made two singles for Fontana including 'Children Of The Sun,' and featured good looking young singer Steve Hoard. However the Misunderstood were eventually superseded by a more commercial Juicy Lucy. The first Lucy lineup included Ray Owen (vocals), Glenn Campbell (steel guitar, mandolin and vocals), Neil Hubbard (guitar), Chris Mercer (saxophone, and piano), Keith Ellis (bass and vocals) and Pete Dobson on drums. The band was managed by Nigel Thomas who also looked after the affairs of Joe Cocker. A controversial but energetic music biz figure, Nigel died of a heart attack a couple of years ago. Micky Moody (born August 30, 1950), who is featured on the present album, remembers seeing the first version of the band on the road. 'The band was virtually formed around Glenn and everyone remembers their first album cover with the lady covered in fruit! I think her name was Zelda Plum. It was a great album and I remember seeing the band in action at their early gigs.’
Moody is from Middlesborough. He went to school with Paul Rodgers who later came to fame with Free and Bad Company. Micky and Paul formed a band at school called The Roadrunners which became The Wild Flowers when they moved to London in 1967 and 'starved to death in our caftans!' Micky later went home to study classical guitar while Paul Rodgers met Paul Kossoff and Simon Kirke and formed Free. Says Moody: 'I went back to the North East and was asked by a local club owner and singer called John McCoy to help form a blues band called Tramline.' The singer was friendly with record boss Chris Blackwell and the band released two albums on Blackwell's Island label. In March 1969 Moody auditioned for Lucas & The Mike Cotton Sound, a well known soul band. He got the gig, but switched to Zoot Money's band for a few months in 1970. He'd got to know Zoot's regular singer Paul Williams, who by this time had joined Juicy Lucy. Micky was brought up to date on all the latest Juicy gossip. 'Ray Owen had been sacked after a couple of months and Paul had got the gig. He told me Neil Hubbard was leaving and asked if I'd like to join on lead guitar. I said, 'Great!' I went straight into recording the album 'Like Back And Enjoy It.' We were gigging all the time and became particularly popular in Germany where the band was very respected."
However it proved increasingly difficult to break out of the club circuit, and reach a higher level of acceptance. "We made another album 'Get A Whiff Of This' before the group finally disintegrated in 1971.' Glenn Campbell went back to America, apparently disillusioned, but during their time together the, Campbell/Moody guitar partnership had worked well. ‘It was good because we didn't get in each other's way. I liked Glenn's playing and did a bit of slide guitar myself, using the bottle neck. Yes I remember Glenn wearing his big hat. But we all used to do that, it was quite trendy at the time!’
Despite the defection of the mainman, Paul Williams wasn't ready to give up. ‘Paul said he wanted to keep the band together. He wanted me to be the lead guitarist and also play bottle neck slide and the band kind of reformed. We had the famous rhythm section of Ron Berg and Andy Pyle from Blodwyn Pig. The line-up varied from time to time and Bernie Marsden actually came down for a blow. We were looking for another player because we wanted twin guitars. I'd been promoted to lead and we needed a rhythm player to get that American funky sound, without being too heavy. Bernie came down, but he was wrong for the job, as he was more in the Clapton vein.’
The third and final version of Juicy Lucy remained functional between July 1971 and June 1972. Rhythm player Dave Tedstone worked with them for a while but the line up on 'Pieces' mainly featured Paul Williams (vocals), Micky Moody (guitar), Jean Roussel (keyboards), Ron Berg (drums) and Andy Pyle (bass). Later Paul Williams would depart to join Jon Hiseman's Tempest, Jean Roussel worked with Cat Stevens and the rhythm section defected to Savoy Brown. Juicy Lucy's style meanwhile had begun to move away from the more predictable blues sound.
Says Micky: ‘The music had a more mellow edge to it. We got a deal with Polydor to record the 'Pieces' album which was produced by Bruce Rowlands, drummer with the Grease Band.'
It was recorded at Olympic Studios, Barnes in December 1971. Most of the songs were written by Paul and a lyricist friend of his called John Edwards. There were a few guests on the album. Albert Lee and Chas Hodges were on backing vocals and Ian McLagan from the Small Faces and Mick 'Wynder K. Frogg' Weaver were on keyboards. Incidentally those two guys have been working together again on albums in Los Angeles.’ 'Pieces' is packed with good performances and kicks off with a rousing version of Chuck Berry's 'Promised Land' intended as a tribute to the master. ‘Although it was mainly a mellow album we wanted to show we could still play rock'n'roll,’ says Micky. ‘The next song, 'Cuckoo', was one we'd head on a Taj Mahal album called 'Natch'l Blues.' This showed the kind of West Coast influence on the band.
We really liked Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder. 'It Ain't Easy' was a song Zoot Money wrote and passed on to Paul, and 'Suicide Pilot' was a Williams/Edwards original and a good rock'n'roller. Some of the songs have early Seventies' style lyrics, like 'Dead Flowers In The Mirror' which I recall was a bit of a country spoof! The final cut 'How Can A Poor Man Stand These Times' was taken from Ry Cooder's first album and was written by a blues singer called Alfred Reed. Did the album do very well? I don't think so I haven't been paid for it!' The band virtually split up not long afterward the album was released in the summer when Paul left to join Tempest. Yet the band struggled on with Frankie Miller for a couple more gigs and Bobby Harrison also sang for a while.
We tried to get Frankie Miller into the band but his management said 'no.' Then Bobby said he had a management deal and asked if we'd like to form a band with him. So we formed a new band called SNAFU and in 1972 we toured with Joe Cocker in Europe and did some gigs with Slade. But as Nigel Thomas, our manager, was looking after Joe Cocker, we sort of got pushed to the background. At one point I was asked to join Boxer with Mike Patto but didn't really fancy that, so I teamed up with Bobby Harrison and that was the end of Juicy Lucy.’It was a sad end to a band which had started out with such promise, and high hopes.
Amazingly, despite all the line up changes and shifts in musical direction, the band's name alone could still command strings of college and club gigs right up to the end, such was the demand for 'live' music in those days. Subsequently, Moody did three albums with SNAFU. After they disbanded in 1976, Moody returned to session work and in that role backed singers Graham Bonnett, Frankie Miller, Chris Farlowe, Sheena Easton, Eric Burdon and Roger Chapman. In the mid-seventies, David Coverdale asked him to work on a project that became the first Whitesnake album. Micky played lead guitar on the album, contributed four songs and subsequently toured the world with Whitesnake.
Moody has also recorded with Bob Young ('Young And Moody' album recently reissued on Repertoire) and worked with Bernie Marsden in the Moody Marsden Band. Recently Moody has reunited with Paul Williams to sing in a new band called Blue Thunder. No doubt, when the last punters have left and it’s time for a drink at the bar, reminisce and they swap tales of the days when Juicy Lucy was on the loose!
by Chris Welch, London 1997
Tracks
1. Promised Land (Chuck Berry) - 3:51
2. Cuckoo (Traditional Arr. Paul Williams) - 3:40
3. All My Life (Paul Williams, John Edwards) - 6:30
4. It Ain't Easy (Zoot Money, Colin Allen) - 5:54
5. Suicide Pilot (Paul Williams, John Edwards) - 4:10
6. Why Can't It Happen To Me (Paul Williams, John Edwards) - 3:51
7. Dead Flowers In The Mirror (Paul Williams, John Edwards) - 3:56
8. Prospector Dan (Paul Williams, John Edwards) - 4:50
9. How Can A Poor Man Stand These Times And Live (Alfred Reed) - 3:54
The second Juicy Lucy album was released a mere 10 months after their debut, a feat all the more remarkable when one considers that half the band who had recorded the first album had departed and been replaced. Guitarist Glenn Ross Campbell, bassist Keith Ellis and saxophonist/keyboard player Chris Mercer were joined by former Zoot Money/Aynsley Dunbar vocalist Paul Williams, drummer Rod Coombes and a young slide guitarist named Michael 'Micky' Moody, who despite only being 20 years of age had already release two albums with his previous band, Tramline.
However, it was the recruitment of Williams that had the biggest impact on the group with the new vocalist contributing to the writing of five of the album's eight songs, three of which were solo efforts, the first of which, Thinking Of My Life opens the album. A strong beginning, the combination of Campbell and Moody is quite electrifying and Williams' Cocker-like vocals emphasise the bluesier direction the band were heading in, confirmed by the very sympathetic cover of Willie Dixon's Built For Comfort.
Pretty Woman, another Williams solo composition, was the single released from the album and features an interesting mixture of Campbell's lap steel guitar and Moody's bottleneck guitar. The single's b-side, I'm A Thief has been added to the CD as a bonus track and it's quite a corker! Simple piano riff, scorching sax and lots of female backing vocals make it a great addition.
Back at the album proper, Whisky In My Jar (not the song covered by Thin Lizzy!) is a pleasant enough song enhanced by a great acoustic guitar solo by Moody but it is the cover of Delaney Bramlett's Hello LA, Goodbye Birmingham that takes things to a new level. Even though the title undoubtedly refers to Birmingham, Alabama, one can't help thinking the band had Birmingham, England on their mind as they recorded the song! Again, Moody's guitar playing is a highlight of the song. Changed My Mind, a hangover from the first incarnation of the band, should perhaps have replaced I'm A Thief as the non-album b-side, being a country-ish throwaway that pales in comparison with the rest of the album.
A deeper and more 'traditional' blues is found on That Woman's Got Something, with the two guitarists employing a variety of instruments and Coombes adding a mixture of percussion effects. However, it is the next number that has, over the years, really divided people in relation to this album - a version of Zappa's Willie The Pimp. Personally I think it is better than the original, from Williams' Beefheart-like vocals to Moody's searing solos and Mercer's faultless sax it is a wonderful interpretation, particularly the coda following a brief drum interlude. The Williams penned title track Lie Back And Enjoy It, a brief piano instrumental calms things down bringing the album to completion.
Lie Back And Enjoy It is another good reissue from the Esoteric label from an era when anything went and artists were free to express themselves in any way they wanted and even occasionally came up with a hit single. Fine performances though!
by Mark Hughes
Tracks
1. Thinking of My Life (Paul Williams) - 4:31
2. Built for Comfort (Willie Dixon) - 6:03
3. Pretty Woman (Paul Williams) - 3:15
4. Whisky in My Jar (Keith Ellis, Micky Moody, Paul Williams) - 4:01
5. Hello L.A., Bye Bye Birmingham (Mac Davis, Delaney Bramlett) - 4:13
6. Changed My Mind (Glenn "Ross" Campbell, Neil Hubbard) - 3:07
7. That Woman's Got Something (Glenn "Ross" Campbell, Micky Moody, Paul Williams) - 2:55
8. Willie the Pimp (Frank Zappa) - 5:37
9. Lie Back and Enjoy It (Paul Williams) - 1:30
With its pretty amusing "flasher" cover, the musicalstyle is best described as The Dead meets MaryButterworth, with its seedy organ and a smattering offuzz guitar. One of the few things we do know aboutthe band is that it consisted of 4 guys fromPennsylvania (Drummer Michael Carr, guitarist TonyMolla, bassist Mark Mozzone and Mike Mulloney onkeyboards), the band's only album appeared on theminiscule Barclay Records sometime in 1969.
Only a few hundred copies of this album are known to exist. All the band members leant their compositionaltalents to the enterprise and the combination makesfor a musically solid and satisfying album, although it has to be said the sound is falls rather on the lo-fi side of the audio spectrum.
Tracks
1. Stars And Bars (Mike Mulloney) - 2:47
2. Tell Me (Tony Molla, Mike Mulloney) - 2:17
3. Poor John (Michael Carr, Mike Mulloney) - 3:16
4. Mamma Come Got What You Want (Michael Carr, Mike Mulloney) - 2:39
5. Good To Be Good (Mike Mulloney) - 4:47
6. Trilogy (Michael Carr, Mike Mulloney) - 6:00
7. Trilogy II (Michael Carr, Mike Mulloney) - 3:33
8. I'm Clean (Michael Carr, Mike Mulloney) - 2:07
9. Joe (Michael Carr, Mike Mulloney) - 3:19
10.Enjoy Yourself (Merk Mozzone, Mike Mulloney) - 2:21
At the time of the album’s release, Detroit rock was epitomised by the Grande Ballroom and the powerful sounds of the groups associated with it, such as the MC5, Stooges, SRC, Amboy Dukes and Frost. The Rationals were younger than the majority of the musicians in these groups, and they ploughed their own rock/R'n'B furrow, resisting the heavyweight arrangements deemed mandatory, and eschewing the fashionable hirsute image of the time for a neat, latter-day mod look. Not that the Rationals were unpopular at the “high energy” Grande – far from it. The group appeared as a regular, and no doubt refreshing, alternative to the bluster of many of their harder-edged contemporaries. Their classic 1969 single ‘Guitar Army’ became an anthem of sorts for Detroit rock, with its universal truth that seemed to have been submerged in the overheated revolutionary rhetoric of the time – that the music was the message.
Having left their mentor Jeep Holland, of A-Square Records,in 1968, the Rationals cast around for a contract and a producer, eventually settling for a deal with Bob Crewe’s short-lived Crewe label. The result, this album, were as soulful as their earlier recordings but it demonstrated better the breadth of the group’s talents. Intricate, complex originals like ‘Ha Ha’ and ‘Deep Red’ nestled easily with tried and tested R&B chestnuts from their stage act and inspired covers like Dr John’s ‘Glowin’’ and Mike d’Abo’s soon-to-be-classic ‘Handbags And Gladrags’. All showcased the amazing pipes of vocalist Scott Morgan to great effect.
Sadly, the Rationals’ long-overdue shot at recording a long-player did not translate into record sales and by the end of the year the group had split. They remain a cherished memory for their devoted hometown audience of Ann Arbor who had been by their side since they first emerged in 1965.
Our reissue of “The Rationals” adds the rare single mixes of ‘Guitar Army’ and ‘Sunset’, along with two previously unissued tracks, including an amazing ten minute live-in-the-studio take of ‘Wang Dang Doodle’ that goes some way to explaining the roots of that devotion. The Rationals were truly one of the era’s finest.
by Alec Palao
Tracks
1. Barefootin' (Robert Parker) - 3:22
2. Temptation 'Bout To Get Me (James Diggs) - 3:58
3. Guitar Army (Bill Figg, Scott Morgan, Steve Correll, Terry Trabandt) - 3:16
4. Something's Got A Hold On Me (Etta James, Leroy Kirkland, Pearl Woods) - 3:49
5. Deep Red (Bill Figg, Scott Morgan, Steve Correll, Terry Trabandt) - 2:19
6. Sunset (Bill Figg, Scott Morgan, Steve Correll, Terry Trabandt) - 5:36
7. Glowin' (Mac Rebennack) - 4:16
8. Handbags And Gladrags (Mike D'Abo) - 3:30
9. Ha-Ha (Bill Figg, Scott Morgan, Steve Correll, Terry Trabandt) - 6:36
10.Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah (Previous Unissued) (Allie Wrubel, Ray Gilbert) - 3:36
11.Wang Dang Doodle (Previous Unissued) (Willie Dixon) - 11:24
12.Guitar Army (Single Version) (Bill Figg, Scott Morgan, Steve Correll, Terry Trabandt) - 2:46
13.Sunset (Single Version) (Bill Figg, Scott Morgan, Steve Correll, Terry Trabandt) - 5:39
The Rationals
*Scott Morgan - Lead Vocals, Flute, Harmonica, Percussions
*Steve Correll - Electric Guitar, Vocals, Percussion
*Terry Trabandt - Bass, Vocals, Piano
*Bill Figg - Drums, Vibes, Percussion
Hard Nose the Highway is psychologically complex, musically somewhat uneven and lyrically excellent. Its surface pleasures are a little less than those of St. Dominic's Preview and a great deal less than those of Tupelo Honey, while its lyric depths are richer and more accessible than those of either predecessor. The major theme of Hard Nose is nostalgia, briefly but firmly counter-pointed by disillusion. The latter sentiment Van spews out in the album's one ugly, self-indulgent song, "The Great Deception," a vicious indictment of hip urban culture and rock affluence.
The chief musical mode of Hard Nose the Highway is intimate, quiet jazz, a cornucopia of understated, subtly-shaded and shifting instrumental textures that provide a sympathetic setting for Van's vocal ruminations. Again, Van demonstrates his ability to fuse jazz, pop and rock ideas into a fluid format whose stylistic identity ends up being his and his alone.
The cut-by-cut schematization of Hard Nose is fairly loose. Side one comprises five songs, beginning with "Snow in San Anselmo" and closing with "The Great Deception." "Snow" is alternately contemplative and rapturous in its recollection of a near-miraculous occurrence. A languid, jazz-flavored verse suddenly erupts into a sped-up refrain that pits the Oakland Symphony Chamber Chorus against a frenetic horn-sax arrangement. Van's introduction of a large chorus seems as unnecessary as the London Symphony Orchestra behind Neil Young, for it exaggerates the volatile emotional dualism that exists at the core of Van's sensibility in the same way that the London Symphony overdramatizes and undercuts Neil's pathos. "Snow" does contain, however, one of Van's best vocals.
Next is the ingratiatingly melodic "Warm Love," which embodies in all its details a sensuous appreciation of life and music. Because it's the album's strongest tune, it stands the best chance of being a hit single. The title cut, which follows, is an abbreviated, inferior reprise of "St. Dominic's Preview" in its sound, structure and shifting time sense. Here Van pays tribute to the best mid-Fifties pop ("Ain't that some interpretation/When Sinatra sings against Nelson Riddle strings"), then assesses his own rocky past and offers a somewhat cynical directive: "Put your money where your mouth is ... In order to win you must be prepared to lose sometime."
"Wild Children," which delves deeply into Van's personal mythology from childhood through adolescence, is the album's most historically resonant song. Against early memories of returning soldiers, Van identifies his growing-up with the figures of Tennessee Williams, Rod Steiger, Marlon Brando and James Dean. The musical energy here is relaxed, the poetry terse and poignant: "We were the War Children/Born 1945/When all the soldiers came marching home/Love looks in their eye."
As was the case in St. Dominic's Preview, the second side of the album turns out to be better than the first. The ten-minute "Autumn Song" demonstrates anew Van's gift at creating extended meditations that accumulate emotional power as they unfold in modified, impressionistic streams of consciousness. "Little glamour sun coming round/Take a walk when autumn comes to town," he sings, evoking as few contemporary composers have, the ineffable joys of daily life in attunement to a pleasant environment. The music is laid-back and sparkling, highlighted by the lovely pianism of Jef Labes and the doubled guitars of Van and John Platania.
"Autumn Song" is sandwiched between two other mellow delights. Joe Raposo's "Green" is an enchanting bit of poetic whimsy set in rock & roll triplets and featuring a lusty horn break that segues into shivering strings. The album closes with Van's beautiful arrangement of the traditional "Purple Heather," which he has transformed into an ethereal "Astral Weeks" reverie that fades out on his inimitable rock scat singing ... "Da da da, Da da da, Da da da ..." echoed between voice and piano, with glissando strings hovering overhead. It is a deliciously satisfying ending that carries us back into the mystic arena where Van always seems most at home.
by Stephen Holden, September 27, 1973
Tracks
1. Snow In San Anselmo - 4:33
2. Warm Love - 3:22
3. Hard Nose The Highway - 5:12
4. Wild Children - 4:19
5. The Great Deception - 4:50
6. Bein' Green (Joe Raposo) - 4:20
7. Autumn Song - 10:34
8. Purple Heather (Traditional Arranged By Van Morrison) - 5:42
Music and Lyrics by Van Morrison except where stated
Second album from 1971 by this killer LA blues/rock band, also originally released on the Blue Horizon label and also stupidly rare and sought after. With Rod Piazza still out front, harp in hand, wailing his soul and J.D. Nicholson suppling piano and vocals Tough Guys has much to recommend it to fans of the group's debut and anyone who would like to hear one of the west-coasts greatest harmonica players.
Tracks
1. Wait On It (Rod "Gingerman" Piazza) - 3:39
2. Down The Road (J.D. Nicholson) - 3:20
3. Shake Dancer (Walter Jacobs) - 2:05
4. Leaving On Your Mind (George "Harmonica" Smith) - 4:05
5. Jivin' The Business (Ivan «Buddy» Reed) - 2:25
6. Betty (Gregg Schaefer) - 2:41
7. Travelling South (Mike Vernon) - 3:00
8. Evil (Chester Burnett) - 2:46
9. Blues Feeling (Rod "Gingerman" Piazza) - 4:00
10.Pool Hall Sam (George "Harmonica" Smith) - 2:54
11.Translating Blues (Ivan «Buddy» Reed) - 4:05
12.Hurricane (George "Harmonica" Smith) - 5:00
The Bacon Fat
*Rod "Gingerman" Piazza - Harp, Vocals
*George "Harmonica" Smith - Harp, Vocals
*Buddy Reed - Guitar, Vocals
*Gregg Schaefer - Guitar
*J.D. Nicholson - Vocals, Piano
*Jerry Smith - Bass
*Dick Innes, Jr. - Drums
The history of Heat Exchange starts somewhere in the late 60s in Toronto, Canada. The band emerged from a band named Cloud which involved four of the total of six of Heat Exchange members, except the saxophonist / flutist Craig Carmody and the lead singer Mike Langford. The unsuccessful attempts to release their debut album in 1972 in connection with the indifference of the record companies, led them inevitably to their break-up. However, they managed to deliver a concise legacy of three 45 rpm records, the six compositions of which are included in this album, along with some unreleased songs. Some of the band members kept the recorded material and Guerssen Records willing to carry out her purpose once again, gathered their material and presents an addictive compositions package where a blending of heavy prog, prog folk, pop glimpses, jazz and rock guitar is harmoniously achieved.
What seems clear is that their place of origin is not indicative of their influences. The whole aesthetics of the album refers to bands of the Old Albion and the generalized wave of prog rock of that era. If we want to clarify the effects that arise, these will probably be found in two of the favorite bands of Carmody, Emerson, Lake and Palmer and King Crimson, the Raw Material, Jethro Tull, The Nice, Web, and Argent. The album has an exciting flow capturing a band composed of highly talented musicians. To avoid prolixity in relation to the individual development of the album, I wish to stand on tracks which fascinated me most and to the minimum disadvantages I received as a listener.
First, it is the opening For Those Who Listen, a four-minute prog folk anthem based on the keyboards of Gord McKinnon. Imagine a mixing of Argent, Jethro Tull and Procol Harum with the discreet but very successful presence of the flute of Carmody. In the surprising title track Reminiscence, whose characteristic introduction recollects late 60s-early 70s keyboard-driven prog bands, until the Carmody flute takes charge of the composition to take off completely the composition. In the also excellent jazzy Stopwatch but mainly in the last track of the album, the prog / folk epic Four to Open the Door. From there onwards, Can you Tell Me is constructed on a pop base brightened with distinct funk blends, while the highly remarkable Scat effortlessly evokes N.S.U. by Cream. The heavy prog Inferno convinces equally with the foregoing, as well as the switch of harmonica and saxophone in the very good She Made All Alone. The intelligible Philosophy and Scorpio Lady without touching the heights of the previous compositions do not affect the positive sign of the total.
For several years we share a seamless revival of the past, with the positive and negative aspects. Bands like Heat Exchange underline the purpose of this revival which is not ephemeral and any trendy trivialization, but the need to update the past through the present. Reminiscence is a serious reminder of this revival. Rush fearlessly and listen.
by Thomas Sarakintsis
Tracks
1. For Those Who Listen - 3:43
2. Inferno - 3:52
3. Reminiscence - 4:37
4. Can You Tell Me - 3:06
5. Stopwatch - 5:48
6. She Made Me All Alone - 3:31
7. Philosophy - 2:50
8. Scorpio Lady - 2:35
9. Scat - 3:22
10.Four To Open The Door - 9:34
Music and Lyrics written by The Heat Exchange
If you were a London-based listener with at least a modicum of good taste in the late summer of 1975, Mac Gayden’s massive turntable hit, ‘Morning Glory’ will hold more than a few memories for you. Championed by a better class of DJ, such as Charlie Gillett on Radio London, and Roger Scott on Capital Radio when it was everything that an independent radio station should be, this supremely catchy song with its compelling slide guitar work ought, by rights, to have been one of the year’s stone smashes. Sadly, its appeal didn’t get far beyone those who appreciate perfect pop, but even now, 33 years on, it stands up to any amount of scrutiny, and is easily the equal of any of Gayden’s better known mid 1960s compositions, such as ‘Everlasting Love’ and ‘Love On A Mountain Top’, two Top 20 hits that he co-wrote for Robert Knight, or the beach music/60s classic ‘She Shot A Hole In My Soul’for Clifford Curry.
‘Morning Glory’ was not a hit in the USA either, but Gayden’s label ABC believed in him enough to release “Skyboat” and “Hymn To The Seeker”, two of only three solo albums that he released last century issued here with his non-album B-side ‘Sunfall’ as a bonus track. Neither of them made ways. Not helped by sending the decidedly non-country “Skyboat” album to country stations, on the basis that it had been recorded in Nashville. Now they have come to be recognised as masterpieces of the diverse and all encompassing musical melting pot that is Southern Rock.
The sleevenotes, by Gayden aficionado and Mojo writer Mick Houghton, give valuable insight into this still relatively unsung hero, whose other notable achievements include playing on Dylan’s “Blonde On Blonde” sessions, co-founding two cornerstone acts of Southern rock in Area Code 615 and its successor, Barefoot Jerry and, possibly most importantly, inventing an innovative way to play a slide guitar through a wah-wah pedal, as exemplified by his work on J J Cale’s first album and, of course, ‘Morning Glory’.
Gayden still pursues a musical path in the 21st century, with his own label and the occasional Nashville gig to keep him busy. For those who can’t pop across to Music City every time Mac plays a show, the CD premiere of “Morning Glory – The ABC Recordings” will be a most acceptable alternative. We’re delighted to return this small but perfectly formed body of work to catalogue after far too long an absence.
by Tony Rounce
Tracks Disc 1 Skyboat
1. Morning Glory - 3:40
2. Gettysburg - 2:41
3. Southwind - 3:27
4. Everlasting Love (Mac Gayden, Buzz Cason) - 4:10
5. Freedom Drum - 4:00
6. Don't Look Back (William Robinson, Ronald White) - 4:41
7. It's All Right (Curtis Mayfield) - 4:03
8. Sweet Serenity - 3:45
9. Appalachian Fever - 4:13
10.Waterboy - 3:42
11.Diamond Mandala 10:24
12.Sunfall (Bonus Track) (Mac Gayden, Buzz Cason) - 2:53
All songs by Mac Gayden except where indicated
Disc 2 Hymn To The Seeker
1. Rejoice The Dawn (Mike Miller) - 2:30
2. Steppin' Stone (Mac Gayden, Bill Cheatham) - 4:01
3. Someone Whispered - 4:53
4. Standing in the Background - 3:50
5. Life Is Just A Pantomime - 5:32
6. Here We Meet Again - 1:50
7. To Our Ancestors (Mac Gayden, Mike Miller) - 5:03
8. Colours of the Rainbow - 3:12
9. The Minstrel Is Free At Last (Mac Gayden, John Harris) - 9:16
10.Hymn to the Seeker (Mac Gayden, Mike Miller) - 1:32
11.If I Could I'd Set You Free - 1:14
All compositions by Mac Gayden except where stated
