Bad Company – Live Albuquerque, NM, USA-1976 (2006)

Bad Company are an English rock supergroup formed in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers (formerly of Free), guitarist Mick Ralphs (formerly of Mott the Hoople), drummer Simon Kirke (formerly of Free) and bassist Boz Burrell (formerly of King Crimson among various others).[2] Peter Grant, who managed Led Zeppelin, also managed the band until 1982. Bad Company experienced widespread commercial success and popularity during the 1970s. Their first three studio albums, Bad Company (1974), Straight Shooter (1975), and Run with the Pack (1976), reached the top five in the album charts in both the UK and the US.

Many of their songs, such as “Bad Company”, “Can’t Get Enough” (1974), “Feel Like Makin’ Love”, “Shooting Star”, “Good Lovin’ Gone Bad” (1975), “Burnin’ Sky” (1977) and the disco influenced track “Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy” (1979), remain staples of classic rock radio. Bad Company has sold over 20 million records in the U.S. and over 40 million worldwide. (wikipedia)

Live in Albuquerque 1976 is a live album by the English hard rock band Bad Company featuring all four original members. The recordings were made by Mick Ralphs, who regularly taped the group’s shows in the 1970s, so the band could use them to finely tune their set and performances.The album was released on Angel Air Records in 2006, 30 years after it was recorded. The band did not release an official live album in the 1970s. Mick Ralphs also supplied photos from the 1970s and 1980s for the booklet, taken from his personal archive. It would be the last Bad Company release to feature original bassist Boz Burrell, who died from a heart attack on 21 September 2006 in Spain.

Due to legal objections, Live in Albuquerque 1976 was withdrawn shortly after its release. (wikipedia)

How is it possible that an arena rock band like Bad Company never left a legit live album in their wake? It certainly wasn’t due to lack of touring; beginning with their live debut in Frankfurt, Germany, the group regularly played across Europe, their native U.K., and the States, graduating swiftly from support act to headliner. In 1976, riding high on the success of their Run with the Pack album, Bad Company embarked on their third U.S. tour, a 52-date trawl through the nation’s stadiums that spring. The Albuquerque gig fell early in their itinerary, so the band was still fresh and raring to go.

The recording itself was made by Mick Ralphs, who regularly taped the group’s shows, utilizing them as a tool to more finely tune their set and performances. Which means, of course, that not only is the sound quality excellent, but you get Live in Albuquerque 1976 in its entirety spread over two CDs. Bad Company power through 16 songs, drawn from all three of their albums, although not all their hits, “Movin’ On” being a notable omission. But fans were treated to fabulous versions of “Can’t Get Enough,” “Good Lovin’ Gone Bad,” “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” “Young Blood,” and, of course, the group’s eponymous theme song.

On record, Bad Company were an unadulterated, hard stompin’ band, whose sound was built on unquenchable beats, thick bass, hefty rhythm guitar, and Ralphs’ mortar fire leads. On-stage, the band added another level of excitement, which fed to and from the crowd. Two decades after the fact, the Bad boys of rock finally add a live album to their canon, a potent reminder of classic rock’s enduring legacy and the Company’s own. (by Jo-Ann Greene)

Personnel:
Boz Burrell (bass)
Simon Kirke (drums)
Mick Ralphs (guitar, background vocals)
Paul Rodgers (vocals, piano, guitar, harmonica)

Tracklist:
01. Live for the Music (Ralphs) 4.47
02. Good Lovin’ Gone Bad (Ralphs) 4.04
03. Deal With The Preacher (Ralphs/Rodgers) 4.59
04. Ready For Love (Ralphs) 6.55
05. Wild Fire Woman (Ralphs/Rodgers) 6.15
06. Young Blood (Pomus/Leiber/Stoller) 2.47
07. Sweet Lil’ Sister (Ralphs) 4.11
08. Simple Man (Ralphs) 4.37
09. Shooting Star (Rodgers) 6.22
10. Seagull (Ralphs, Rodgers) 4.07
11. Run With The Pack (Rodgers) 6.22
12. Feel Like Makin’ Love (Ralphs, Rodgers) 5.46
13. Rock Steady (Rodgers) 4.43
14. Honey Child (Boz Burrell, Simon Kirke, Ralphs, Rodgers) 4.44
15. Can’t Get Enough (Ralphs) 7.47
16. Bad Company (Kirke, Rodgers) 8.33

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More from Bad Company:

Raymond “Boz” Burrell (1 August 1946 – 21 September 2006) was an English musician. Originally a vocalist and guitarist, Burrell is best known for his singing with King Crimson (1971–1972) and bass playing in Bad Company (1973–1982, 1998–1999). He died of a heart attack in Spain on 21 September 2006, aged 60. (wikipedia)

Symphonic Slam – Same (1976)

Symphonic Slam was mainly about Timo Laine (born in Finland, and moved to America as a child), and his polyphonic guitar synthesizer. The rest of the band was filled out by drummer John Lowery, and keyboardist David Stone.

Timo had been playing the club circuit for a while, but it wasn’t until he relocated to Canada that things began to happen. It was there that Symphonic Slam was discovered by A&M Records. What set them apart was the $10,000 360 systems guitar synthesizer prototype. This led to the release of their 1976 self-titled album.

They toured, and played gigs with some of the big names of the time (Rush, The Rolling Stones, and the Village People). Soon they were asked to go to L.A. to work on a new album. Not being interested in this tack, Stone took the opportunity to defect to Rainbow.

After the album was completed, A&M wasn’t pleased (they wanted disco). Timo took it to Canada, and created his own label on which to release it. It had some modest success, but Laine wasn’t interested in going back to L.A. to fight disco once again.

Musea’s 2001 re-release of the first album inspired Timo to get back on the horse. Apparently he had been working on another album for many years. “Her Fire” is supposed to be released some time in the future. He is also working on an instrumental solo project.

You can hear some influences of Styx, Kansas, Wakeman, Emerson, a bit of E.L.O., and even some funk. However, this is not like most of what we consider to be the classic ’70s progressive sound. Some of those qualities are woven in, and there are some lovely moments. But make no mistake, this is mid 70’s rock and roll at the core.

The main point of interest here is really the fact that Laine basically pioneered the synth guitar. It was a very new thing at the time. (H.T. Riekels)

And here´s their first and last album:

A great album that deserves more attention! There is a intensity and glow to this album that make it stand out. SYMPHONIC SLAM is not breaking ground, although the use of the guitar-synth gives this album a unique sound, but they play there songs with conviction and guts.

I couldn’t say which other progressive band to compare SYMPHONIC SLAM with… One reviewer mentioned Uriah Heep and I agree a bit with that but what dominates the sound of this album is the guitar-synth and the only thing that comes up in my mind is the Recycled album of NEKTAR where Larry Fast was on the keyboards.

There are lots of fat synthesizer sounds on this album but it doesn’t sound like TANGERINE DREAM or EL&P at all. Musically it has some jazzy and funky influences but overall it’s very rocky. On Days I hear a FRANK ZAPPA influence with the speeded la-la-la-voices and a jolly melody-line.

There are no long epic songs for proglovers here but there are a lot of changes within every tune and most of the songs doesn’t follow the verse-chorus-bridge pattern, which IMO is enough to make it interesting although the songs are short.

This completely unknown Timo Laine shows to be a rather talented guitarist and his fellow musicians on drums and keyboards make a good job too, especially the drummer vibrates with energy and I find his drumming innovative and tasteful. Singing is not Timo Laines greatest talent but he knows it and doesn’t try to sing things he couldn’t manage. His yell on the last chorus of How Do You Stand is still very effective and the guitar solo that ends this album isn’t pioneering buut ardent and soulful. (by Boluf)

Personnel:
Timo Laine (guitar synthesizer, synthesizer, vocals)
John Lowery (drums, background vocals)
David Stone (keyboards, background vocals)

Tracklist:
01. Universe 6.30
02. Everytime / Fold Back 7.10
03. I Won’t Cry 2.53
04. Let It Grow 3.54
05. Modane Train 4.17
06. Times Run Short 2.46
07. Days 5.01
08. Summer Rain 3.50
09. How Do You Stand 4.54

All songs written by Timo Laine

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Smokie – Living Next Door To Alice + Run To You (1976)

I have to reduce my singles collection:

Smokie (originally spelt Smokey) are an English rock band from Bradford, Yorkshire. The band found success at home and abroad after teaming up with Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn. They have had a number of line-up changes and were still actively touring in 2023. Their most pop
ular hit single, “Living Next Door to Alice”, peaked at No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart and, in March 1977, reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as going to No. 1 on the Australian singles chart. Other hit singles include “If You Think You Know How to Love Me”, “Oh Carol”, “Lay Back in the Arms of Someone”, and “I’ll Meet You at Midnight”.

“Living Next Door to Alice” is a song co-written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. Originally released by Australian pop band New World in 1972, the song charted at No. 35 on the Australian chart. The song later became a worldwide hit for British band Smokie.

The song is about a man’s long-standing unrequited and unadmitted love toward Alice, his next door neighbour of 24 years. The protagonist learned through mutual friend Sally that Alice is moving away, and begins to reflect on childhood memories and his friendship with Alice, and becomes heartbroken as he sees Alice drive away in a limousine. In the final verse, Sally reveals that all the time she has been waiting 24 years for her opportunity with him (“Alice is gone, but I’m still here”).

Later versions of the song insert an interjection during a pause in the chorus (from the audience during live performances or from a guest separate from the lead singer): “Alice! Who the fuck is Alice?” (guests will sometimes say “hell” or “heck”). These performances may also change a line in the chorus so that the singer’s affections are as much sexual as they are romantic, and that the singer had hoped to “get inside her pants” instead of “get a second glance.”

On the American Top 40 broadcast of 26 May 1979, Casey Kasem reported that Chapman stated that his source of inspiration for “Living Next Door to Alice” was “Sylvia’s Mother” by Dr. Hook.

In November 1976, the British band Smokie released their version of “Living Next Door to Alice”. The single peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart[5] and, in March 1977, reached 25 in the United States. It was a number one hit in Austria, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland and a number 2 hit in Australia staying in the charts for 23 weeks. (wikipedia)

Ok, it´s a nice pop song … But that’s definitely not my kind of stuff.

Personnel:
Chris Norman (vocals, guitar)
Alan Silson (guitar, background vocals)
Pete Spencer (drums, percussion, background vocals)
Terry Uttley (bass, background vocals)

Tracklist:
01. Living Next Door To Alice (Chinn/Chpman) 3.35
02. Run To You (Silson/Uttley) 3.44

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The official website:

Wild Geese – The Quays Of Galway Town (1976)

Unfortunately I found no informations about the hisory of the Irish Folk group; maybe they lived in Germany, becaus all their albums were recorded in Germany.

But I found the liner notes from their first album, written by Finbar Furey:

The past twenty years or so have seen a great re-birth and development in the popularity and techniques of traditional Irish music. Many individuals and groups have concentrated on particular aspects of the music.

If one word were applied to WILD GEESE it must surely be “variety”. The 4 musicians — Peadar, Norman and Tony from Ireland, Steve from England — play the whole spectrum of traditional music — from unaccompanied slow-airs and street-ballads to intricate arrangements of dance music and traditional songs. This scope and versatility is well represented on this, their first record together.

Finbar Furey, an old friend of the WILD GEESE, wrote to us the following about the musicians: “Sligo is a great County for music. Some of the finest musicians have emerged from here. Peadar is a grand flute player who plays in his native Sligo style, which yet has to be equalled. He’s a very modest man with a smile for the ladies and a great respect for fellow musicians; as Norman would say, ‘a mighty man’. Every group has to have one — what I mean is a Norman. What’s known as a man with a gifted tongue and a shake for the Bodhrán. He also plays guitar and has one of the best voices for singing Dublin street ballads and rowdy pub songs. His Dublin inheritance gives him one of the greatest humours on or off stage. A gentleman and a scholar.

Tony has a beautiful voice and when he sings, not only does he sing the song but tells the story and lives every moment of it. Very few people have this gift, or if you like, this combination. Tony seems to thrive on it. In other words, he doesn’t force it. His accompaniment on guitar with the Irish Reels and slow Jigs is very tasty indeed. He’s the peace-maker in the group, a very necessary man.

Steve is the fiddle player, mandolin, guitar, five-string banjo and even knocks an odd tune out of the tin-whistle. What’s known as an all-rounder. Steve you might say, is the odd man out. You have to look twice to see if he’s there. He’s so quiet sometimes and shy, you’d be afraid to bring him into Madame Tussaud’s Waxworks, in case they might be stock-taking. A very important man.

This is the combination of the WILD GEESE and when they play together they love every minute of it, and that’s the way a group should be. They’ve done many nice things in the arrangements of their material. This group have really sat down and put their heads together and the result is this fine LP.

So if you want some furious advice, get a glass of beer, or a glass of whatever you fancy, put the record player on, sit down and relax and listen to the sporting songs, the love songs, pub songs and music of the WILD GEESE!”

Eoin O Duigneain, still alive and well:

And here it is … the first LP from Wild Geese

And if you want to hear the quintessence of Irish folk, you have to listen to this album.
This natural liveliness of the melodies and the instruments is always a pleasure. And I am always amazed at how many traditionals there are from Ireland, this wonderful “green island”.
This album is a real treasure!

Personnel:
Eoin O Duigneain (bagpipes. tin whistle)
Norman King (bodhrán, vocals)
Peadar Ó Uallaigh (flute, tin whistle, concertina, vocals)
Norman King (vocals, bodhrán, spoons, tambourine)
Tony Small (guitar, vocals)

Tracklist:
01. The Otter’s Lair & The Pinch Of Snuff (Traditional) 2.48
02. Farewell To Nova Scotia (Traditional) 4.42
03. The Monaghan Jig (Traditional) 3.14
04. The Old Turf Fire & The Congress Reel (Patterson) 3.05
05. Roxburgh Castle & Ward’s Brae (Traditional) 2:38
06. The Quays Of Galway Town (Traditional) 5.45
07. The Squire And The Lady / The Shaskeen Reel / The Sack Of Grass / The Girl Who Broke My Heart (Traditional) 4.27
08. Fear & Bean An Tí (Traditional) 3.01
09. I Wish I Was Back In Liverpool (Kelly/Rosselson) 4.44
10. Sliabh Na MBan (Traditional) 2.53
11. The Beggarman (Traditional) 2.11
12. The Cup Of Tea & The Four Hand Reel (Traditional) 2.36
13. The Bush Of Australia (Traditional) 3.17

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More from Wild Geese:

The official website of Eoin O Duigneain:

Rod Stewart – A Night On The Town (1976)

Sir Roderick David Stewart CBE (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold over 250 million records worldwide. He has had 10 number-one albums and 31 top ten singles in the UK, six of which reached number one. Stewart has had 16 top ten singles in the US, with four reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100. He was knighted in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to music and charity.

Stewart’s music career began in 1962 when he took up busking with a harmonica. In 1963, he joined The Dimensions as a harmonica player and vocalist. In 1964, Stewart joined Long John Baldry and the All Stars before moving to the Jeff Beck Group in 1967. Joining Faces in 1969, he also maintained a solo career releasing his debut album that year. Stewart’s early albums were a fusion of rock, folk music, soul music, and R&B.[5][6] His third album, 1971’s Every Picture Tells a Story, was his breakthrough, topping the charts in the UK, US, Canada and Australia, as did its ballad “Maggie May”. His 1972 follow-up album, Never a Dull Moment, also reached number one in the UK and Australia, while going top three in the US and Canada. Its single, “You Wear It Well”, topped the chart in the UK and was a moderate hit elsewhere.

After Stewart had a handful more UK top ten hits, the Faces broke up in 1975. Stewart’s next few hit singles were ballads with “Sailing”, off the 1975 UK and Australian number-one album, Atlantic Crossing, becoming a hit in the UK and the Netherlands (number one), Germany (number four) and other countries, but barely charting in North America. A Night on the Town (1976), his fifth straight chart-topper in the UK, began a three-album run of going number one or top three in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia with each release. That album’s “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)” spent almost two months at number one in the US and Canada, and made the top five in other countries. Foot Loose & Fancy Free (1977) contained the hit “You’re in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)” as well as the rocker “Hot Legs”. Blondes Have More Fun (1978) and its disco-tinged “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy” both went to number one in Canada, Australia and the US, with “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy” also hitting number one in the UK and the top ten in other countries. Stewart’s albums regularly hit the upper rungs of the charts in the Netherlands throughout the 70s and in Sweden from 1975 onward.

After a disco and new wave period in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Stewart’s music turned to a soft rock/middle-of-the-road style, with most of his albums reaching the top ten in the UK, Germany and Sweden, but faring less well in the US. The single “Rhythm of My Heart” was a top five hit in the UK, US and other countries, with its source album, 1991’s Vagabond Heart, becoming, at number ten in the US and number two in the UK, his highest-charting album in a decade. In 1993, he collaborated with Bryan Adams and Sting on the power ballad “All for Love”, which went to number one in many countries. In the early 2000s, he released a series of successful albums interpreting the Great American Songbook.

In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked him the 17th most successful artist on the “Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists”. A Grammy and Brit Award recipient, he was voted at No. 33 in Q Magazine’s list of the Top 100 Greatest Singers of all time.[8] As a solo artist, Stewart was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006, and he was inducted a second time into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member of Faces.

A Night on the Town is Rod Stewart’s seventh album, released in 1976. The cover art is based on Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s painting Bal du moulin de la Galette, with Stewart inserted in the centre in period costume. On 30 June 2009, Rhino reissued the album as a two-disc CD with bonus tracks. A Night on the Town was Stewart’s last UK number-one studio album until Time in 2013.

The album is regarded as one of Stewart’s finest. “The Killing of Georgie” is one of Stewart’s most hard hitting set of lyrics, a melancholic tale of a gay friend who is cast out by his family and becomes a sensation in the New York nightlife, only to be murdered by a New Jersey gang during an attempted robbery. Controversial “Tonight’s the Night” was a No. 1 hit but was banned by some radio stations due to the very obvious lyrics about sex and loss of virginity. A cover of Cat Stevens’ “The First Cut Is the Deepest” was also a success and has since become one of Stewart’s signature songs. (wikipedia)

In some ways, it’s easy to think of A Night on the Town, Rod Stewart’s second album for Warner, as a reprisal of the first, cut with many of the same musicians as Atlantic Crossing, produced once again by Tom Dowd, and even following its predecessor’s conceit of having a “Slow Side” and “Fast Side” (granted, this flips the two around, opening with the slow one first). Superficially, this seems true, but A Night on the Town has a crucial difference: despite its party-hearty title, this album finds Stewart folding folk back into his sound, a move that deepens the music tonally and emotionally, particularly in the case of “The Killing of Georgie (Pts. 1 & 2),” Rod’s most ambitious original.

A winding, sensitive narrative about the murder of a gay friend — a hate crime years before the term existed — “The Killing of Georgie” finds Stewart filtering Dylan through his own warm, conversational style, creating a remarkable work unlike anything else in his body of work, yet the song’s smooth synthesis of folk storytelling, soul, and incipient disco act as an appropriate conclusion to a side-long suite of songs of seduction, beginning with his classic come-on “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright),” running through his splendid reading of Cat Stevens’ “The First Cut Is the Deepest,” and his fine original “Fool for You.” On the Fast Side, Stewart has only one original — the lewd, riotous “The Balltrap” — but he more makes up for it by spinning two country classics, Gib Guilbeau’s “Big Bayou” and Hank Thompson’s “The Wild Side of Life,” into thick, Stonesy rock & roll, and turning Manfred Mann’s “Pretty Flamingo” into a rave-up. With all this in mind, A Night on the Town isn’t a revival of Atlantic Crossing, it’s its inverse, with Stewart shining as an interpreter on the fast songs and writing the best slow ones, but it’s also its equal, proving that Stewart could still stay true to his open-hearted, ragged soul while on a big budget. (by Stephen Thomas Erlewine)

And… check the line-up !!!

Personnel:
Barry Beckett (keyboards)
Pete Carr (guitar)
Steve Cropper (guitar)
Jesse Ed Davis (guitar)
Donald Dunn (bass)
David Foster (keyboards)
Bob Glaub (bass)
Roger Hawkins (drums)
David Hood (bass)
Al Jackson Jr. (drums)
Plas Johnson (saxophone)
Jerry Jumonville (saxophone)
John Barlow Jarvis (keyboards)
Joe Lala (percussion)
David Lindley (guitar)
Andy Newmark (drums)
Billy Peek (guitar)
Rick Shlosser (drums)
Lee Sklar (bass)
J. Smith (keyboards)
Rod Stewart (vocals)
Fred Tackett (guitar)
Tommy Vig (percussion)
Joe Walsh (guitar)
Willie Weeks (bass),
+
Tower of Power horn section (french horn)

Tracklist:

CD 1:
Slow Side:
01. Tonight’s The Night (Gonna Be Alright) (Stewart) 3.57
02. The First Cut Is The Deepest (Stevens) 4.29
03. Fool For You (Stewart) 3.48
04. The Killing Of Georgie (Part I and II) (Stewart) 6.19

Fast Side:
05. The Balltrap (Stewart) 4.47
06. Pretty Flamingo (Barkan) 3.32
07. Big Bayou (Gilbeau) 3.55
08. The Wild Side Of Life (Carter/Walker) 5.09
09. Trade Winds (McDonald/Salter) 5.23
+
10. Rosie (Stewart) 4.01

CD 2 (all previously unissued)
11. Share (studio outtake) (Stewart) 4.17
The Alternate A Night On The Town (early versions)
12. Tonight’s The Night (Gonna Be Alright) (Stewart) 3.52
13. The First Cut Is The Deepest (Stevens) 3.50
14. Fool For You (Stewart) 3.40
15. The Killing Of Georgie (Part I) (Stewart) 4.24
16. The Balltrap (Stewart) 4.44
17. Pretty Flamingo (Barkan) 3.27
18. Big Bayou (Gilbeau) 4.12
19. The Wild Side Of Life (Carter/Walker) 4.46
20. Trade Winds (McDonald/Salter) 4.46
21. Rosie (Stewart) 4.18
22. Get Back (Alternate Version) (Lennon/McCartney) 3.37

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More from Rod Stewart:

The official website:

Paris – Same (1976)

Paris was an American rock music power trio formed in 1975 by guitarist and vocalist Bob Welch, who had just left Fleetwood Mac, bass player Glenn Cornick, formerly of Jethro Tull, and drummer Thom Mooney who had been a member of Nazz with Todd Rundgren.The group released two albums for Capitol Records, Paris and Big Towne, 2061, both in 1976. Paris toured in support of these albums, playing at arenas and auditoriums with Blue Öyster Cult, Rush, Cheap Trick, Trapeze, Leslie West, Rainbow, Bachman–Turner Overdrive, Thin Lizzy, Head East, Be-Bop Deluxe, Heart, The Outlaws, Nektar and Wishbone Ash. After the first album, Mooney was replaced by Hunt Sales, who had also played with Rundgren.

Initially the band’s sound was rock-oriented, but later developed towards funk, and represented a departure from Welch’s work with Fleetwood Mac.[1] Cornick then departed the band and was replaced by Sales’ brother Tony Fox Sales. A third album was planned, but Hunt Sales fell ill and after they did not achieve commercial success, the group split in 1977.

Songs from the aborted third Paris album were used for Welch’s first solo album, French Kiss, and the deal with Capitol was converted into a solo album deal for Welch.

After Paris split up, Welch launched a successful solo career, and Sales worked with Iggy Pop and later Tin Machine with David Bowie.[7] British-born Cornick moved to the US where, after a decade out of the music business, he reformed his band Wild Turkey in the 1990s.

In 2013, Capitol Records/USM Japan/Universal Music remastered and reissued paper-sleeve album replica (Mini LP) SHM-CD versions of Paris (TYCP-80036) and Big Towne, 2061 (TYCP-80037). (wikipedia)

And here´s their second and last album:

My favorite album of all time. The tracks are more refined than the harder rock previous album, Paris. All of the tracks on Big Towne 2061 are excellent. They range from hard rock to ballads. Hard to choose the best, but the worst is Money Love. All the other tracks are far better than those on Bob Welch’s subsequent solo albums, which were of course far more popular. (Drek Meek)

Bob Welch decides to take his band into a new direction with the second and last Paris album. Instead of the heavy metal of the first album, Welch switches to experimental hard rock, and the results speak for themselves. Lots of echo, big drums, abrupt rhythm changes, catchy riffs. With more promotion this could have been HUGE. The title track was released as a single and deserved to be a hit. The level of guitar work heard on that track can’t be heard elsewhere. What a masterpiece of an album this is. Treated rightfully by fans, but not by critics.(Tine Crine)

Personnel:
Glenn Cornick (bass, keyboards)
Thom Mooney (drums)
Bob Welch (guitar, vocals)

Tracklist:
01. Black Book 3.03
02. Religion 5.20
03. Starcage 3.54
04. Beautiful Youth 3.30
05. Nazarene 3.55
06. Narrow Gate (La Porte Etroite) 6.41
07. Solitaire 4.00
08. Breathless 3.19
09. Rock Of Ages 3.09
10. Red Rain 3.20

All songs written by Bob Welch

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The official website:

Mountain Ash Band – The Hermit (1976)

The Mountain Ash Band were an electric folk band, in the style of perhaps of Steeleye Span, based in The Hermit – became a collectors piece in Progressive Music circles. and, for the purposes of this particular site, they do have a strong Coventry connection. Iikley in 1975 and their one and only limited edition album.

And here is the story of the band and this LP written from the point of view of the publishers of the “Hobo – Coventry Music and Arts Magazine”:

In June 1973, while we were printing the very first issue of And here is the story of the band and this LP written from the point of view of the publishers of the, Colin Cripps and Lynda Hardcastle (later of the Mountain Ash Band, were preparing The Willenhall Free Press for print also at the Left Centre bookshop in, Lower Ford Street, Coventry.

Colin and Lyn were musicians, magazine editors and, I discovered live quite near to me in Willenhall, so naturally we became good friends and Colin and Lyn participated in the Hobo Workshop gigs at Holyhead Youth Centre (where the Specials and Selecter later began). They lived in a flat in Ivy Walk with their son and held regular soirees with poets, musicians and like minded people. Colin Cripps, who later authored the book Popular Music in the 20thC – Cambridge University Press 1988. Colin was an undergraduate at Warwick University, studying Literature at the time and they were both involved with a Community campaigning magazine The Willenhall Free Press and other forms of community activism. One of the poets, from Ivy Walk was Ray King (Not to be confused with Ray King of the Ray King Soul band – also from Coventry). Ray went on to write the lyrics for the Mountain Ash Band’s album – The Hermit. Colin and Lyn left Coventry in 1975 after Colin graduated and moved to Ilkley where they formed the Mountain Ash Band. Ultimately Colin was originally from Cambridge and Lynda from, I think, Filey in North Yorkshire. Lynda Hardcastle went on to sing with Grace Notes, featuring Maggie Boyle and Helen Hockenhull.

“When Ray King, a friend from Willenhall, visited I told him the folk tale and he tuned in immediately and came up with a great set of lyrics. They had no verse and chorus structure because Ray was a poet not a songwriter, but there was enough to work with.” (Colin Cripps)

And here´s the story of Job Senior:

Old Job is dead, that droll old man,

We ne’er shall see him more;

He used to wear a drab old coat.

With buttons and bands before.

A low crowned hat, with brim much torn,

To keep his old head warm;

His clogs were made of blocks of wood;

His stockings straw and yarn.

So opens this account of Old Joe Senior, the Hermit of Rumbold’s Moor. The poem continues with another seven verses describing Job’s ragged appearance. Here we content ourselves with the accompanying engraving, which is graphic enough!

Old Job Senior, the Rumbold’s Moor Hermit. An account of his Eccentricities & Remarkable Life. Printed and published by Thomas Harrison, Queen Street, Bingley. c.1880. 14 pages. No author is given.

Job was not always so scruffy, or a hermit. “When young, he was a good-looking and spruce young man, employed amongst the famers in the neighbourhood, driving the plowing team, &c, and afterwards became a regular farm servant about Ilkley.”

He later went to Whitkirk, near Leeds, where he courted a young woman, the result of which he became a father. The Parish authorities made him ‘pay the smart’, which cleared him out of money. The young woman later refused to have anything to do with him, probably because Job “… had already acquired indifferent habits, losing his sprightliness of appearance, and becoming careless and unsteady.” He returned to Ilkley, and continued as a farm labourer, and in winter, wool combing.

[He later] became acquainted with an old widow, living alone in a cottage near Coldstone Beck, Burley Wood Head, on the borders of Rumbold’s Moor … her little cottage stood within a small garden, she also claimed an adjoining field which had been left by her husband, and which he had taken from the common. Old Job again fell in love – if not with the widow, probably with her property.

Job and the widow, Mary Barret, married; she was eighty, he about sixty. After Mary’s death, catastrophe struck. Mary’s relatives determined to rid the old man off the property. Job resisted, but one day he returned to the cottage to find it in ruins. Job then built himself a sort of kennel with the largest of the stones from the rubble. “Here he lived for many years, forlorn, and poor, and miserable, in a place scarcely fit for a pig, and here he remained nearly to the time of his death.” He grew potatoes and other food on his land.

Job, however, was a fine singer, able to sing ‘in four voices’ – alto, treble, tenor and bass – which he claimed to have learnt at the Leeds Parish Church. He went about the country in the winter season and sung at such places as Headingly Gardens, the Woolsorters’ Gardens in Bradford, and was once fetched to sing at the theatre in Leeds. Athough he was generally well supported, he would sleep in any outbuilding or smith’s shop.

Old Job died aged 77 and was buried in Burley churchyard. (bradfordlocalstudies.com)

The Mountain Ash Band were an electric folk band, in the style of perhaps of Steeleye Span, based in The Hermit – became a collectors piece in Progressive Music circles. and, for the purposes of this particular site, they do have a strong Coventry connection. (press release)

This is an album where you may appreciate the more cultural branch of the british folk, this is a concept album on the life of Job Senior and for me it’s beautiful but better than my words that are maybe considered “dealer words” I ‘ve decided to offer you this review and some comment to this review that I have found in a nice blog called Time Has Told Me: “Its been a long time tracking this legendary recording down (thanks Pete!). Possibly one of the rarest UK folk gems from 1975, as rare as life itself?. Awesome electric violin and disturbingly haunting vocals tell the depressing story of a Yorkshire hermit named Job Senior. “Birth” sets the scene for what is a profoundly sad album that will leave you deep in thought every time you hear it. “Journeys” a fine piece of violin work runs into “Stone on Stone” which is almost Incredible String Band in vocal style. “A long Winter” tells of the latter stages of Job’s life after his wife dies and he is living alone on the moors of Ilkley. “Who Knows” is a sorry lament as Job ends up living in the remains of his dead wifes house which has been pulled down by her family in an attempt to evict him.

“The Outcast/Rebirth” ends the albums tragic story. Hear it and weep. “Lizardson,This album has been on my top 10 list to listen to for years! Thank you for tracking this one down for us!! Legendary is right! Dr. Q””arbor said…This is a very impressive album, and I can’t believe that this group is not more well known. The combination of the music and storytelling make it a very unique recording, thanks!” “Simon said… I downloaded this yesterday and can’t stop listening to it. It really is great and totally unique.” Believe me this is a great album, not a totally perfect listening but private label are so…sometimes.. have you ever played a perfect Stone Angel or a perfect Vulcan Hammer???…so Don’t miss! (popsike.com)

Indeed: A unknown masterpiece of British Folk-Rock in the Seventies !!!

Personnel:
Geoff Bowen (fiddle, recorder)
Martin Carter (vocals, guitar)
Colin Cripps (guitar)
Lynda Hardcastle (vocals, recorder)
Graham Jones (bass, vocals, recorder)
Alan Rose (vocals, whistle)
Kevin Slingsby (drums)
+
Sean Mansley (narrator)

Tracklist:
01. Birth (Narration) 0.58
02. Birth (Part 2) 4.06
03. Journey (Narration) 1.22
04. Journey (Part 2) 7.51
05. Stone On Stone (Narration) 1.17
06. Stone On Stone (Part 2) 2.44
07.  A Long Winter (Narration) 1.07
08.  A Long Winter (Part 2) 5.05
09. Who Knows (Narration) 1.12
10. Who Knows (Part 2) 4.07
11. I’ll Sing For My Supper (Narration) 1.40
12. I’ll Sing For My Supper (Part 2) 2.30
13. The Outcast / Rebirth (Narration) 1.18
14 The Outcast / Rebirth (Part 2)
15 Leading Lady / November
16 The Patient’s Song
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17. English Birds (taken from a Colin Cripps solo album) 2.33

Music: Colin Cripps including traditional tunes
Lyrics: Ray King

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Frogmorton – At Last (1976)

Frogmorton were an obscure English folk-rock band that released the album At Last on Philips in 1976.

Unfortunately, I could hardly find any information about this short-lived, but great band … and that is actually a shame.

And here´s their first and last album:

Remind me of _Steeleye Span_, traditional folk music, very nice and melodic. (bilbo1742)

At the time it was move over Steeleye, Frogmorton were the new kids in town and how they played their socks off to everyone’s delight.

Being picked up by Philips Records, one of the biggest labels of the time, was recognition of their unique, exciting music and extraordinary stage show.

The album _AT LAST_ presents Frogmorton at their best.
“White Swans” is their anthem whilst “Wedding Song” shows the writers insight of the lonely not unlike McCartney’s Eleanor Rigby.
The whole thing swings from traditional folk to what was then known as folk rock and back again.

This album could only have been made in England – and it was.
Frogmorton’s cult following was immense – today’s collectors should try to get a copy – they’ll love it. (frogmrtom)

This album is fantastic and so different. Although it does seem to have religious overtones, knowing all the members, I wouldnt say this was the intention.

White Swans is a fantastic song, but is too fast on this album- Iv heard it sung slower and it is amazing. The vocals are perfect (except Daves silly song- uncivilised man -I can be rude as he is my dad!) Lucy has a chilling voice, perfect for folk.

Its a shame they are not around performing today.
(Trivia wise- Lucy and Dave are now married!) (Ailsa)

Indeed: one of these great lost item´s of British Folk in the Seventies !

And Chris Tulloch is still active as “Mandolin Jack”

Personnel:
Dave Hardy (accordion, whistle, psaltery, kazoo, tambourine, vocals)
Bill Lynn (bass)
Terry Newbury (drums)
Lucy Sharpe (guitar, whistle, spoons, mandolin, vocals)
Chris Tulloch (keyboards, mandolin, vocals)

Tracklist:
01. Aurora (Smith) 2.44
02. Judas & Mary (Carter) 4.49
03. McGuire’s Favourite (Traditional) 2.00
04. The Crowd (Smith) 4.11
05. Shipwreck (Hardy/Sharpe) 1.38
06. Grace Darling (Smith) 5.11
07. Uncivilized Man (*) (Hardy/Sharpe) 3.31
07. White Swans (Smith) 3.20
08. Wedding Day (Tulloch) 5.23
09. Cedar Tree (Hardy/Sharpe) 2.16
10. Grimaldo (Tulloch) 1.55
11. The Horseman’s Word (Hardy/Sharpe) 3.19
12. Mr. Darwin (Tulloch) 2.54

(*) bonus track

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The Mandolin Jack website:

Lake – Same (1976)

Lake, or commonly referred to as The Lake in some countries, is a German-British rock music group that formed in 1973 in Hamburg, Germany. In 1975, they were joined by lead singer James Hopkins-Harrison, who gave them their signature sound for the remainder of their recording career.

The band was originally active as The Tornados between 1967 and 1973, before reincarnated as Lake in 1973. They achieved modest success in Europe from the mid-1970s through the early 1980s, particularly in Germany where they were named artist of the year by the German Phono Academy in 1977. That same year, their self-titled debut album reached #92 in the US, and the single Time Bomb reached #83, which would prove to be their greatest success in the US.

The album reached #97 while Time Bomb reached #91 in Canada. Lake toured the US in the late 1970s as the opening act for various headline acts, including Lynyrd Skynyrd, Black Oak Arkansas, and Neil Young. On June 23, 1978, they were the opening act of a rock festival at the Feyenoord football stadium in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and were followed by Eric Clapton, Champion Jack Dupree and headliner Bob Dylan. After their contract with CBS was discontinued the label released previously unavailable live material from stage appearances between May 1979 and October 1980, introducing the Lake 1 (incl. Detlef Petersen) and the Lake 2 (incl. Achim Oppermann) formations on the double live album Live – On the Run. The band was able to sign another contract with the German Polydor label and in 1984 they released album #6, No Time for Heroes.

In 1985 Lake released Voices and in 1986 recorded its final Polydor album, So What. Longtime drummer Dieter Ahrendt left and was replaced by Udo Dahmen. Bassist Jo (Josef) Kappl also left, replaced by Benjamin Hüllenkrämer. So What included “Inside To Outside”, written by Achim Oppermann which had already been performed by former Kajagoogoo lead singer Limahl. Lake ceased to exist by 1986/87. James Hopkins-Harrison died from an overdose of heroin in 1991.

At the beginning of the new millennium, Lake was revived by Alex Conti, including Mike Starrs, Adrian Askew, Mickie Stickdorn, and Michael “Bexi” Becker. In March 2005, the first Lake studio recording in 20 years was released: The Blast of Silence.

After having had to withdraw their 2012 album, Freedom, due to quarrels with their then singer, Lloyd Anderson; their original singer, Ian Cussick, rejoined the band.[1] In February 2014, Lake released their new album Wings of Freedom, which contains most of the material of Freedom (except for three songs which have been replaced by two new songs), with new vocals by Cussick.

Lake is the first studio album by Lake, released in Germany in 1976 and the USA in 1977. The track “Time Bomb” was the band’s highest charting single of their career. It reached #91 in Canada in December 1977. (wikipedia)

Lake’s debut showed them in strong form doing what they do best: pop-oriented, rocking tunes. It would be a sound that would be their mainstay for their entire career. From the opening piece, “On the Run,” the group established themselves in the same vein as bands like Supertramp. The mode of the disc was a bit lighter than some other groups of that ilk, though. They achieved some fame with this one based on the first single, “Time Bomb,” still one of their best songs. This band really did the pop/rock-slightly-based-on-prog genre as well as any — and better than most. It’s a shame they never achieved the level of fame that should have been theirs. (by Gary Hill)

Personnel:
Dieter Ahrendt (drums, percussion)
Alex Conti (guitar, background vocals)
James Hopkins-Harrison (vocals)
Geoffrey Peacey (keyboards, background vocals, guitar)
Detlef Petersen (keyboards, background vocals)
Martin Tiefensee (bass)

The German edition:
Tracklist:
01. On the Run (Petersen/Hopkins-Harrison) 4.08
02. Sorry to Say (Petersen/Hopkins-Harrison) 3.07
03. Time Bomb (Hopkins-Harrison/Peacey) 3.17
04. Chasing Colours (Petersen/Hopkins-Harrison) 3.48
05. Do I Love You (Petersen/Hopkins-Harrison) 4.05
06. Key To The Rhyme (Petersen/Hopkins-Harrison) 4.35
07. Jesus Came Down (Petersen/Hopkins-Harrison) 3.45
08. Between The Lines (Petersen/Hopkins-Harrison/Peacey/Conti/Tiefensee/Ahrendt) 10.26

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The official website:

Chris Hillman – Slippin’ Away (1976)

Along with frequent collaborator Gram Parsons, Chris Hillman was the key figure in the development of country-rock, virtually defining the genre through his seminal work with the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers. Hillman was born on December 4, 1944, in Los Angeles, where he grew up listening to Spade Cooley and Cliffie Stone and taught himself to play guitar. In 1961, he and a pair of high school friends formed the Scottsville Squirrel Barkers and cut an album; a year later, he joined the Golden Gate Boys, a bluegrass band featuring Vern Gosdin. In honor of their new vocalist’s prowess on the mandolin, the group renamed itself the Hillmen; after recording a self-titled LP with producer Jim Dickson, they broke up in 1963.

In 1964, the Beefeaters, an L.A. folk trio comprised of guitarists Jim (later Roger) McGuinn, David Crosby, and Gene Clark, released a single, “Please Let Me Love You”; after its commercial failure, they decided to add a bassist and drummer to their lineup. Their producer, Dickson, suggested Hillman for the bass position; although he had never picked up the instrument before, thanks to his bluegrass background he was able to quickly develop his own unique, melodic performance style. After the addition of drummer Michael Clarke, the quintet renamed itself the Byrds. At their label’s insistence, they cut their first record with sessionmen, which meant that Hillman and Clarke sat on the sidelines during production; the resulting single, a jangly cover of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man,” was a tremendous hit that marked the birth of the folk-rock form.

During the mid-’60s, the Byrds ranked as one of the most successful and influential American pop groups, issuing a string of massive hits like “Turn! Turn! Turn!,” “Eight Miles High,” and “So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” along with acclaimed albums like 1967’s Younger Than Yesterday and 1968’s brilliant The Notorious Byrd Brothers. Internal strife dogged the band, however, and by late 1967, only Hillman and McGuinn remained from the original roster. At about the same time, Gram Parsons entered the picture, and in December 1967, McGuinn invited him to join the group as a jazz pianist for a planned project embracing the history of American popular music. However, Parsons’ mastery of country soon became the sessions’ dominant focus, much to Hillman’s delight, and the album the Byrds ultimately recorded, 1968’s Sweetheart of the Rodeo, became the blueprint for all country-rock efforts released in its wake.

A tour followed, and so did disaster; Parsons did not agree with the group’s decision to play apartheid-torn South Africa and subsequently quit the Byrds in July 1968. Three months later, Hillman followed suit and joined Parsons as a vocalist and guitarist in the re-formed Flying Burrito Brothers along with bassist Chris Ethridge, pedal steel player “Sneaky” Pete Kleinow, and drummer Jon Corneal. Further honing their hybrid sound by combining the energy and instrumentation of rock with the issues and themes of country, the Burritos recorded the landmark Gilded Palace of Sin, followed in 1970 by Burrito Deluxe. After Parsons left the group in 1971, Hillman stayed on for two less successful records, a self-titled 1971 effort and the following year’s Last of the Red Hot Burritos. After they disbanded, Hillman joined Stephen Stills’ Manassas, where he remained until 1973, when he briefly rejoined the Byrds.

In 1974, Hillman teamed with singer/songwriters John David Souther and Richie Furay to form Souther Hillman Furay; after recording two LPs with the trio, Hillman issued a pair of solo albums, 1976’s Slippin’ Away and 1977’s Clear Sailin’. By 1978, he had rejoined McGuinn and Clark to record a 1979 album under the name McGuinn, Clark & Hillman, producing the Top 40 pop hit “Don’t You Write Her Off.” The album City followed a year later, this time as “Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman featuring Gene Clark.” They soon went their separate ways, and in 1982 Hillman issued a straightforward country record, Morning Sky. Two years later, he released Desert Rose, which contained the minor country hits “Somebody’s Back in Town” and “Running the Roadblocks.” The album’s title proved indicative of things to come, and in 1986 he formed the Desert Rose Band, a country-rock outfit featuring Nashville session aces Herb Pedersen, John Jorgenson, Jay Dee Maness, Steve Duncan, and Bill Bryson.

The Desert Rose Band proved to be Hillman’s most commercially successful post-Byrds project; their first LP, an eponymously titled 1987 outing, generated a pair of Top Ten country hits in “Love Reunited” and “One Step Forward,” which peaked at number two. Released in 1988, “He’s Back and I’m Blue” topped the country charts, as did “I Still Believe in You,” from the album Running. Two other singles from the record, “Summer Wind” and a cover of John Hiatt’s “She Don’t Love Nobody,” reached the Top Five. The follow-up, 1989’s Pages of Life, was also highly successful, with two more Top Ten hits, “Start All Over Again” and “Story of Love.” Subsequent releases like 1991’s True Love and 1993’s Traditional failed to achieve the same degree of popularity, however, and after one final LP, Life Goes On, the group called it quits in 1994.

At the peak of the Desert Rose Band’s success, Hillman had also begun appearing infrequently with McGuinn, releasing the Top Ten country duet “You Ain’t Going Nowhere” in 1989. Soon, the pair joined Crosby in a re-formed Byrds, playing a handful of club dates. In 1990, they appeared at a tribute to the late Roy Orbison, performing “Mr. Tambourine Man” along with the song’s composer, Bob Dylan. The same year, the Byrds cut four new songs for inclusion in a career-spanning box set and in 1991 were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In 1996, Hillman reunited with Desert Rose alum Herb Pedersen for Bakersfield Bound. Like a Hurricane followed in 1998. After a short hiatus, Hillman returned in 2002 with Way Out West, a sprawling 17-track collection of country, roots rock, Americana, and folk that reunited the artist with Pedersen and the Desert Rose Band. It was followed by The Other Side in 2005. Continuing to work with Pedersen, Hillman released At Edwards Barn, a sort of live career retrospective recorded at Edward’s Barn in Nipomo, California, on Rounder Records in 2010. Hillman would tour through the 2010s with Herb Pedersen, who also served as the executive producer for the Tom Petty-produced 2017 album Bidin’ My Time. (by Jason Ankeny)

And here´s his first solo-album:

Having recently departed Souther, Hillman, & Furay, this album more heavily reflects his association with Manassa than anything he did with SH&F. A nice batch of songs overall but the high point for me is the killer version of the bluegrass standard “Take Me in Your Lifeboat” that closes the album. (by Jim Worbois)

Chris Hillman has been a member of so many bands that it’s easy to forget he has a solo career as well. This first offering was noticeably slicker than anything he’d recorded with the Byrds, the Burritos or Manassas, and the ’70s sheen pointed the way towards McGuinn, Clark & Hillman’s work. That said, the pop production doesn’t get in the way of the material, which is sometimes excellent and never less than very good. Hillman’s folk and country roots are evident in “Midnight Again”, a cover of Stephen Stills’s “Witching Hour” and a solid reworking of the Burritos’ own “Down in the Churchyard”. “Step On Out” provides some light boogie while “Slippin’ Away” is one of Hillman’s best ballads. The real showstopper, though, is “Take Me In Your Lifeboat”, which closes out the album with a superb reminder that Hillman was a bluegrass mandolinist before picking up the bass. An excellent addition to his discography. (by Noah Miller)

Personnel:
Howard Albert (marimba on 07.)
Byron Berline (fiddle, vocals on 10.)
Sam Broussard (guitar on 06.)
Steve Cropper (guitar on 01., 05.,07., 09.,  leadguitar on 02.+ 08.
Donnie Dacus (slide guitar on 04. + 06.)
Donald “Duck” Dunn (bass on 05.)
Jim Fielder (bass on 03., 04., 07.)
Flo And Eddie (background vocals on 02.)
Albhy Galuten (synthesizer on 06. + 09.)
David Garibaldi (drums on 06.)
Jim Gordon (drums on 01., 03. – 05., 07., 09.
Ivory Joe Harris (keyboards on 08.)
Paul Harris (keyboards on 01., 02., 04. – 07.., piano on 03. + 09,)
Chris Hillman (vocals, bass, guitar)
Russ Kunkel (drums on 02.
Joe Lala (percussion on 01., 03. – 06., 08..)
Bernie Leadon  (guitar, vocals on 10.)
Herb Pedersen (background vocals on 01, 03., 07. 08., guitar on 08., banjo, vocals on 10.)
Al Perkins (pedal steel-guitar on 02., 03., 05., 08., guitar on 04., 07., lead guitar on 09.)
Rick Roberts (background vocals on 04. – 06., 09.)
Tim Schmit (background vocals on 01., 07.
Lee Sklar (bass on 02., 08. + 10.)
George Terry (lead guitar on 01. +07., guitar on 03.)

Tracklist:
01. Step On Out (Hillman/Knobler) 3.16
02. Slippin’ Away (Hillman) 3.28
03. Falling Again (Hillman) 4.05
04. Take It On The Run (Hilllman) 3.25
05. Blue Morning Hillman) 3.51
06. Witching Hour (Stills) 4.24
07. Down In The Churchyard (Hillman/Parsons) 4.03
08. Love Is The Sweetest Amnesty (Douma) 3.43
09. Midnight Again (Hillman) 3.36
10. (Take Me In Your) Lifeboat (Hillman) 2.45

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The official website: