by Mott the Dog
**** 4 Stars Rating
This is probably Savoy Brown’s best and most
successful album. It was recorded on a personnel precipice as within weeks
of its release three quarters of the band deserted the ship leaving leader
Kim Simmonds on his own and looking for new band mates to form Savoy Brown
version 5 (he’s probably up to Savoy Brown version number 989 by now).
The others, with the addition of mercurial slide guitarist Rod Price, went
on to form boogie legends Foghat, leaving Savoy Brown because of alleged
iniquities in the division of income. Whilst recording some ten albums for
Bearsville records they became the leaders of the British Boogie and
Stadium Rock wave.
“Looking
In” was the predecessor for all this. Topped and tailed by two short Kim
Simmonds guitar pieces there are seven pieces of solid gold blues and
boogie. Just before going into the studio the erratic vocalist Chris
Youlden had decided to leave the band in search of solo fame. So, taking
his trademark eye piece, topper, and cane, he upped and went leaving the
others high and dry with studio time booked and no yodeler.
Cometh the hour cometh the man. Up to the microphone
stepped second guitarist Lonesome Dave Peverett and a sterling job of
handling the vocals he does, too, whilst adding valuable guitar work to
the longer numbers, particularly final workout “Leavin’ Again”, when
the dueling guitars battle it out like electric dueling banjos for a
glorious eight and a half minutes, the band doing what they do best and
boogie out. Lonesome Dave also co wrote this with Tone Stevens.
First song proper on the album, “Poor Girl”, was
another written by Tone Stevens. A real belting blues, which is still in
the Savoy Brown stage repertoire today, although Stevens left the band
more than 3 decades ago.
But star of the show with Savoy Brown, always was and
always will be, Kim Simmonds (funny name that for a boy), who’s guitar
playing throughout this album is nothing short of awe inspiring. Simmonds
could easily match the likes of his peers such as Clapton, Beck, and Page,
but was more often than not the unsung guitar hero, probably because
unlike all the others he stayed true to his initial roots of the blues. He
is still playing the same style he has since 1966, and there doesn’t
seem much likelihood of him changing now. The commercial appeal of pop or
heavy metal was not for him, although, I’m sure, even now he could turn
a coin or two by squashing his feelings and prostituting his guitar work.
Simmonds’ finest moment on “Looking In” comes on
“Take It Easy”, a slow burning song Kim wrote with Dave Peverett that,
from very small beginnings, builds to a shattering guitar climax.
This album collects the essence of the live beast that
is Savoy Brown on stage and that was where they were at their best, so if
two and two make four, then this is Savoy Brown at their finest.
Musicians:
Kim Simmonds - Guitar & Piano
Lonesome Dave - Vocals & Guitar
Roger Earl - Drums
Tone Stevens - Bass
Track Listing
1. Gypsy
2. Poor Girl
3. Money Can’t Save Your Soul
4. Sunday Night
5. Looking In
6. Take It Easy
7. Sitting An’ Thinking
8. Leavin’ Again
9. Romanoff
He
is undoubtedly an activist, an agent for change. His books deal with the
life of the Esarn people and the socio-economic-political changes that are
occurring within Thailand. He also writes with his heart on his sleeve,
and it is possible to see Pira Sudham himself through the words ascribed
to one of the principal characters, Prem Surin.
Wesley
Snipes is back as Blade. He is now living in Prague with a new partner
Scud (Norman Reedus) and they resurrect his old partner Whistler (Kris
Kristofferson). The trio forms an uneasy alliance with an elite vampire
militia, to track down and exterminate a mutant strain of vampire’s lead
by Nomak (Luke Goss) that turn their victims into exceptionally violent,
completely ugly super creatures. The team infiltrates the undead and
confronts the mosquito-like creatures in their subterranean lair.
Mott’s
CD review: