Silver Metre - Silver Metre (1969 uk / us, stunning blues psych classic rock)

Metre was a short-lived band with guitarist Leigh Stevens (who had just left Blue Cheer) and former Jeff Beck Group drummer Mickey Waller, along with bassist Pete Sears (who'd later join Hot Tuna and Jefferson Starship) and rhythm guitarist Tommy Cowan. Their 1970 eponymous LP has aged quite well, as evidenced from the opening piano-heavy rendition of Elton John’s “Now They've Found Me (Ballad of a Well Known Gun).”

They curiously cover a few more Elton John/Bernie Taupin songs, including a gritty take on “Country Comforts” and a psychedelic rendering of “Sixty Years On.” They also turn the main song from the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar into a heavy gospel-rock jam that’s more reminiscent of Delaney & Bonnie. 

The band’s own “Naughty Lady” riffed on some of the biker-friendly blues-rock that Stevens had played with Blue Cheer (though much mellower in volume and attack), while the instrumental jam “Gangbang” sought to revisit the decibel abuse that made Stevens such a worshipped guitar player.

by Keith Pettipas

Tracks
1. Ballad Of A Well Known Gun (Bernie Taupin, Elton John) - 3:39
2. Naughty Lady (Pete Sears, Tom Cowan) - 4:30
3. Gangbang (Leigh Stephens) - 4:42
4. Country Comforts (Bernie Taupin, Elton John) - 3:23
5. Superstar (Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice) - 3:45
6. Sixty Years On (Bernie Taupin, Elton John) - 4:20
7. Compromising Situation (Leigh Stephens, Tom Cowan) - 3:46
8. Cocklewood Monster (Leigh Stephens, Tom Cowan) - 5:15
9. Nightflight (Pete Sears, Tom Cowan) - 4:15
10.Dog End (Leigh Stephens, Tom Cowan) - 3:52

Silver Metre 
*Leigh Stephens - Guitar
*Pete Sears - Bass, Keyboards
*Jack Reynolds - Vocals
*Mick Waller - Drums

Related Acts
1969  Leigh Stephens - Red Weather
1971  Leigh Stephens - And A Cast Of Thousands

1968  Blue Cheer - Vincebus Eruptum (2017 Japan SHM remaster) 
1968  Blue Cheer - OutsideInside (2017 japan SHM remaster and 2012 edition)

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