The Spencer Davis Group – The Second Album (1966)

The Second Album is the second studio album by the British band The Spencer Davis Group, released in 1966. Many of the songs were a slightly experimental blend of beat, folk, jazz and blues, but included Jackie Edwards’ “Keep on Running”, which gave the group their first U.K. number 1 single, and the R&B standard “Georgia on My Mind”. The album spent eighteen weeks on the U.K. album chart, peaking at number 3.[1] While the album was not released in the US, the single “Keep on Running” was released in February, 1966, and spent four weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart peaking at number 74 on March 12. (by wikipedia)

The Spencer Davis Group – The Second Album – More Blues and soul from Britain’s highly American influenced soulful blues band of sorts. Their first really big single, “Keep On Running” appears on this disc and is a soulful rock classic and I guess I call it that because there’s a fuzz tone guitar. More blues and soul fill the air with tunes like “Georgia on My Mind” “This Hammer” Strong Love” and “Since I Met You Baby”, all classic American soul songs of that particular time period. Their is also included 8 bonus tracks of some US Versions on here as well. Great album … (by Joe Eastlackon )

Their best one. Early British group doing jazz and blues like you want to hear. Stevie on piano is soulful in the raw. Georgia on my mind for example. Look away a classic and some more. A few pop like ones but hey something for everyone and not easy to track down finally I have and its on its way. (by bodon)

The Spencer Davis Group from Birmingham is one of my most favortite bands from the British Beat Boom …  and they was much more the only a beatgroup …

Rare French single

#Personnel:
Spencer Davis (guitar, vocals)
Muff Winwood (bass)
Steve Winwood (guitar, vocals, keyboards)
Pete York (drums, percussion)

Tracklist:
01. Look Away (Meade/Russell) 2.46
02. Keep On Running (Edwards) 2.51
03. This Hammer (Traditional) 2.19
04. Georgia On My Mind (Carmichael/Gorrell) 4.44
05. Please Do Something (Covay) 2.28
06. Let Me Down Easy (Ford) 3.06
07. Strong Love (Malone/Silvers/Brown) 2.18
08. I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water (Babcock} 2.39
09. Since I Met You Baby (Hunter) 3.30
10. You Must Believe Me (Mayfield) 2.48
11. Hey Darling (Davis/S.Winwood) 4.50
12. Watch Your Step” (Parker) 2.57
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13. Stevie’s Blues (Davis/M.Winwood/S.Winwwod/York) 3.49
14. Trampoline (S.Winwood 2.28
15. Back Into My Life Again (Davis/M.Winwood/S.Winwwod/York) 2.26
16. Kansas City (Leiber/Stoller) 3.52
17. Oh! Pretty Woman (Williams) 3.22
18. Det war in Schöneberg / Mädel ruck ruck ruck (Kollo/Traditional) 2.42
19. Stevie’s Groove (Davis/M.Winwood/S.Winwwod/York) 2.46
20. Stevie’s Blues (US Version) (Davis/M.Winwood/S.Winwwod/York) 3.49

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The Murgatroyd Band (Spencer Davis Group) – Magpie + Twice A Week (1971)

Let´s take a look back in the history of British TV Shows:

Magpie was a British children’s television programme shown on ITV from 30 July 1968 to 6 June 1980. It was a magazine format show intended to compete with the BBC’s Blue Peter, but attempted to be more “hip”, focusing more on popular culture. The show’s creators Lewis Rudd and Sue Turner named the programme Magpie as a reference to the magpie’s habit of collecting small items, and because of “mag” being evocative of “magazine”, and “pie” being evocative of a collection of ingredients.

The programme, made by Thames Television, was first transmitted on 30 July 1968 which was Thames Television’s first day of broadcasting, and was shown weekly until 1969. From that point, until it ended on 6 June 1980, it went out twice a week with approximately 1,000 episodes being made, each 25 minutes in duration. It was not fully networked to all other ITV companies until the autumn of 1969.

The first presenters were the former BBC Radio 1 disc jockey Pete Brady, Susan Stranks and Tony Bastable. Brady left the show in 1969 to be replaced by Douglas Rae, and Bastable left in 1972 when he was replaced by Mick Robertson. Jenny Hanley replaced Susan Stranks in 1974. This lineup remained until 1977, when Tommy Boyd replaced Rae.

Like Blue Peter, Magpie featured appeals for various causes and charities. Notably, however, it asked for cash donations rather than stamps or secondhand goods, familiar on Blue Peter. The cash totaliser was a long strip of paper which ran out of the studio and along the adjacent corridor walls. Unlike the BBC programme, Magpie was unscripted and the presenters were free to improvise the presentation of the show.

The show’s mascot was a magpie called Murgatroyd.

Extremely rare promo Label

The theme tune was played by the Spencer Davis Group under the alias of The Murgatroyd Band, and composed by Eddie Hardin (lead voc., keyb.), Ray Fenwick (harm. voc., guit.) and Spencer Davis (harm. voc.guit.). The main lyric was cribbed from an old children’s nursery rhyme:

    One for sorrow
Two for joy
Three for a girl
Four for a boy
Five for silver
Six for gold
Seven for a story never to be told
Eight for Heaven
Nine for Hell
Ten for the Devil himself.

or, alternatively,

    Eight for a wish
Nine for a kiss, and
Ten for a big surprise!

The first seven lines of this song (from “One for sorrow” to “Seven for a secret never to be told”) have been used in the last verse of the song “Magpie”, by Patrick Wolf.

The rhyme refers to an old English superstition concerning the portent of the number of magpies seen together in a flock. The TV programme version altered the final lines to:

    Eight’s a wish and
Nine a kiss
Ten is a bird you must not miss.

(by wikipedia)

And here´s one of the rarest recordings by The Spencer Davos Group … the single to this TV Show ..

Side one is a more or less psychedelic track … and side two is fun, just fun !.

I guess they had to use the pseudonym “The Murgatroyd Band” because of the fact, they a in 1968/69 a contract with United Artists and not with Decca Records.

The Magpie Crew

Personnel:
Spencer Davis (guitar, background vocals)
Ray Fenwick (guitar)
Eddie Hardin (keyboards, vocals)
Pete York (drums)

Tracklist:
01. Magpie (Fenwick/Hardin/Davis) 2.26
02. Twice A Week (Hardin/York/Fenwick) 3.01

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1pV4urK38Y&spfreload=10

Spencer Davis Group – Live At The BBC (1973)

This is another very rare item from my tape collection … :

Steve Winwood left The Spencer Davis Group to form Traffic in 1967; his brother, Muff, moved into the music industry as A&R man at Island Records. In a joint venture the soundtrack to the film Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush featured both the Spencer Davis Group and Traffic. After the Winwoods’ departures, the Spencer Davis Group regrouped with the addition of guitarist Phil Sawyer (ex-Les Fleur de Lys) and keyboardist/vocalist Eddie Hardin (ex-A Wild Uncertainty). This line-up recorded several tunes for Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush and released the “Time Seller” single in July 1967; the b-side, “Don’t Want You No More,” also received radio airplay.[citation needed]

This was followed by “Mr. Second-Class” in late 1967, which received heavy airplay on Radio Caroline (at that time one of the two remaining pirate radio ships off the British coast), and the album “With Their New Face On” in 1968. At that time Ray Fenwick had replaced Phil Sawyer. The group’s last minor hit, “After Tea”, was released at the same time by the German band The Rattles, providing competition that led finally to a temporary stop to all activities of the band. The song was originally recorded by the Dutch group After Tea, which included guitarist/singer Fenwick amongst its members.

After one further single (“Short Change”), at that time Eddie Hardin and Pete York had left to form the duo Hardin & York. They were replaced by future Elton John Band member Dee Murray on bass and Dave Hynes on drums. Nigel Olsson replaced Hynes, and this lineup produced the album “Funky” in 1969 (only released in the USA on DATE, a sub-label of CBS) before splintering.

The group reunited in 1973 with Davis, Fenwick, Hardin and York, and newcomer Charlie McCracken on bass. The group released the albums Gluggo (1973) and Living in a Back Street (1974) before once again disbanding.(by wikipedia)

And this is a very rare live performance by the shortlived reunion of the Spencer Davis Group (featuring Charlie McCracken – ex-Taste), recorded for the BBC In Concert series (Broadcast date: 07/21/73).

And the band was introduced by the one and only Alexis Korner !

Enjoy this rare show …and  on the backside of this album was a very fine Back Door concert … coming soon in this blog !

Pete York

Personnel:
Spencer Davis (vocals, guitar)
Ray Fenwick (guitar, vocals)
Eddie Hardin (keyboardsm vocals)
Charlie McCracken (bass)
Pete York (drums)

Ray Fenwick

Tracklist:
01. Introduction by Alexis Korner + Let´s Have A Party (Robinson) 4.08
02. Introduction to the Band + Catch You On the Reebop (Hardin/Davis) 5.35
03. I´m A Man (Winwood/Miller) 11.51
04. Gimme Some Lovin´ (S.Winwood/Davis/M.Winwood/York) 5.42
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05.  Live At The BBC (complete show without editing) 27.18

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Spencer Davis & Band – 24 Hours (1988)

For a musicians who is used to working as a side man, the Spencer Davis Band experience comes as a pleasant surprise: Instead of being told exactly what to play by the star of the show, any band member finds that he is a star of the show as well.

This recording represents the first time the first time Spencer has brought an L.A. … band to Europe.

The circumstances in which the music on this recording envovled are a perfect example of Spencer´s “everybody is star” approach. In thirty-five days we performed in twenty-eight cities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. We then spent some days in a very fine studio outside Freiburg im Breisgau, recording material we´d been doing on stage plus a few things prepared just for these recording sessions.

The result is a very special for us all: five weeks of twenty-four hours a day “Rock N Roll Living”, captured in digital stereo (no overdubs) (ny Bobby Crew, taken from the liner notes)

In other words: This is one of the best Spencer Daivs album after his great albums from the 60´s  … Perfect L.A. rock … from the Eighties … listen, listen, listen !

Personnel:
Bobby Crew (keyboards, vocals)
Spencer Davis  (vocals, guitar)
Bob Metzger (guitar)
Billy Ruff (drums)
David Wintour (bass)

Tracklist:
01. 24 Hours (Harrison/Tree) 5.31
02. Lady Cop (Harrison/Tree/Fosson) 4.19
03. Sensitive Kind (Cale) 5.01
04. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress (Webb) 4.36
05. On The Green Line (Winwood) 3.37
06. Pockey Way (Neville/Porter/Modeliste/Nocentelli) 5.03
07. I’ll Take Your Love (Williams) 6.09
08. Don’t Want You No More (Hardin/Davis) 4.41
09. Strong Love (Malone/Silvers/Brown) 2.54
10. Route 66 (Troupe) 3.35
11. Easy Rider (Traditional) 5.20
12. Knock On Your Door (Crew/Tree) 3.36
13. Spiral Times (Metzger/Crew) 3.34

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Spencer Davis Group – Living In A Back Street (1974)

In 1967, Winwood left the Spencer Davis Group to form Traffic; his brother Muff moved into the music industry as A&R man at Island Records. In a joint venture, the soundtrack to the film Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush featured both the Spencer Davis Group and Traffic. After the Winwoods’ departure, the Spencer Davis Group regrouped with the addition of guitarist Phil Sawyer (ex-Les Fleur de Lys) and keyboardist/vocalist Eddie Hardin (ex-A Wild Uncertainty). This line-up recorded several tunes for Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush and released the “Time Seller” single in July 1967; the b-side, “Don’t Want You No More,” also received radio airplay.

This was followed by “Mr. Second-Class” in late 1967, which received heavy airplay on Radio Caroline (at that time one of the two remaining pirate radio ships off the British coast), and the album “With Their New Face On” in 1968. At that time Ray Fenwick had replaced Phil Sawyer.The group’s last minor hit, “After Tea”, was released at the same time by the German band The Rattles, providing competition that led finally to a temporary stop to all activities of the band. The song was originally recorded by the Dutch group After Tea, which included guitarist/singer Ray Fenwick.

After one further single (“Short Change”), at that time Eddie Hardin and Pete York had left to form the duo Hardin & York. They were replaced by future Elton John Band member Dee Murray on bass and Dave Hynes on drums. This line-up, with Nigel Olsson replacing Dave Hynes, produced the album “Funky” in 1969 (only released in the USA on DATE, a sub-label of CBS) before splintering.

The group reunited in 1973 with Davis, Fenwick, Hardin and York, and newcomer Charlie McCracken (ex-Taste) on bass. The group released the albums Gluggo (1973) and Living in a Back Street (1974; produced by Roger Glover from Deep Purple) before once again disbanding. (by wikipedia)

This is their second reunion-album from 1974:
The 1974 album “Living in the Back Street” is a solid album with some good songs and fine vocals from Eddie Hardin. Hardin has remixed the songs as bonus-tracks for this release.
The title song is great, as well as the ballad “No Reason”, and “Sure Need a Helping Hand”. My favorite track though is the last “I Can Only Stay a While” – great tune.
Fine liner notes ny Chris Welch! (By Morten Vindberg )

And the titel track “Living In A Backstreet” is a killer-song ! Or: Some people like to rock, some like to roll …

Personnel:
Spencer Davis (vocals, guitar)
Charlie McCracken (bass, vocals)
Ray Fenwick (guitar, vocals)
Eddie Hardin (vocals, keyboards)
Pete York (drums, percussion)
+
Miller Anderson (guitar on 11.)
Tony Coe (clarinet)
Brian Dexter (accordion)
Martyn Ford (french horn)
Ruby James (background vocals)
Liza Strike (background vocals)
Gary Thain (bass on 11.)
Doris Troy (background vocals)

Tracklist:
01. Living In A Back Street (Hardin/Fenwick) 3.26
02. One Night (Bartholomew/King) 3.16
03. Hanging Around (Hardin/Davis) 3.36
04. No Reason (Hardin/Jamerson/Davis) 2.30
05. Fastest Thing On Four Wheels (Hardin/Fenwick) 4.33
06. Back Street Boys (Hardin/Fenwick) 3.22
07. Another Day (Hardin/Fenwick) 3.10
08. Sure Need A Helping Hand (Hardin/Fenwick) 4.04
09. We Can Give It A Try (Hardin/Fenwick) 4.12
10. Let’s Have A Party (Robinson) 3.35

+ bonus tracks & alternative mixes:

11. We Can Give It A Try (Hardin/Fenwick) 2.49
12. Living In A Back Street (Hardin/Fenwick) 3.21
13. Fastest Thing On Four Wheels (Hardin/Fenwick) 4.27
14. Sure Need A Helping Hand (Hardin/Fenwick) 3.58
15. Hanging Around (Hardin/Davis) 3.29
16. One Night (Bartholomew/King) 3.15
17. Back Street Boys (Hardin/Fenwick) 3.18
18. Another Day (Hardin/Fenwick) 3.09
19. Let’s Have A Party (Robinson) 3.26
20. We Can Give It A Try (Hardin/Fenwick) 4.11
21. No Reason (Hardin/Jamerson/Davis) 2.30
22. I Can Only Stay A While / We Can Give It A Try (Hardin/Fenwick) 3.46

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Spencer Davis – Live Together (1984)

A 1984 performance in Germany by Spencer Davis, reunited with his former drummer Pete York and with bassist extraordinaire Colin Hodgkinson. “Live Together” isn’t an especially accomplished Spencer Davis live recording, but it’s a very affable one: Pete York banters with his audience in German throughout the set, and it’s clear that everyone’s enjoying themselves. Hodgkinson’s finest bass work has always been in his blues covers, and it’s shown to fine effect here in “Walking Blues” and “Sliding Delta Blues”; Davis himself turns in some tasteful guitar work in a pensive rendition of “Trouble in Mind.” But the undeniable highlight is “I’m a Man.” It’s a hard one to go wrong with by any band, as it’s a song simply incapable of not being rousing when played live. Still, Davis’s washes of electric guitar and the insistent pounding by York make this version particularly worthy. (by Paul Collins)

This was the first CD – as far as I remember –  I ever bought. Inak Records released a viny edition, too, but the viny edition included not all songs from this great concert (listen to one of the finest bass player in the world: Colin Hodgkinson !).

Personnel:
Spencer Davis (guitar, vocals)
Colin Hodkginson (bass, vocals)
Pete York (drums, vocals)

Tracklist:
01. Keep On Running (Edwards) 6.02
02. Midnight Special (Traditional) 4.26
03. Walking Blues (Johnson) 6.18
04. Mistakes (Feldman) 3.24
05. Sliding Delta (Hurt) 3.43
06. I’m A Man (Miller/Davis/Winwood) 6.43
07. Crossfire (Holler/Careaga) 3.51
08. Blood Runs Hot (Samsel) 3.15
09. Trouble In Mind (Traditional) 5.53
10. Somebody Help Me (Edwards) 7.27
11. Don’t Leave Me (York) 7.40
12. Tulsa Time (Flower) 4.25
13. Gimme Some Lovin’ (M. Winwood/Davis/Winwood) 5.48
14. Muddy Waters (Babcock) 4.51

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The Spencer Davis Group – Their First LP (1964)

It’s funny how the early Spencer Davis Group records never sold or had the emphasis of The Rolling Stones or even The Animals. Mostly filled with covers of 60’s blues standards it’s pretty much left up to Steve Winwood and the band to provide their best interpretations to separate them from mediocrity. The opening “Look Away” and “Keep on Running” are the most pop sounding songs and the latter had some top 40 success. The best song may be the heavier “Hey Darling” where the band stretches it out a little and we get a good listen to Winwood at his grittiest. Oddly enough it is also one of only two songs Davis and Winwood wrote on this album. Certainly this is a worthy album from 1966 that deserves as much attention as anything The Rolling Stones had done up until this time.

A really decent soulful album by The Spencer Davis Group.

Personnel:
Spencer Davis (guitar, vocals, harmonica)
Muff Winwood (bass)
Steve Winwood (keyboards, vocals, guitar)
Pete York (drums)

Tracklist:
01. Look Away (Meade/Russell) 2.45
02. Keep On Running (Edwards) 2.50
03. This Hammer (Winwood/Winwood/Davis/York) 2.19
04. Georgia On My Mind (Carmichael/Gorell) 4.43
05. Please Do Something (Covay) 2.27
06. Let Me Down Easy (Holloway/McDougal) 3.05
07. Strong Love (Malone/Silvers/Brown) 2.17
08. Washed My Hands In Muddy Waters (Babcock)
09. Since I Met You Baby (Hunter) 3.30
10. You Must Believe Me (Mayfield) 2.48
11. Hey Darling (Davis/Winwood) 4.49
12. Watch Your Step (Parker) 2.56

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