Review by Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck
4 stars out of 4
British blues the hard way is the best way to describe Savoy Brown's
path to success. It didn't seem to matter how many times the group
fell apart after releasing an album nor how successful it was, the
leader Kim Simmonds would always manage to get together another group
that put out another great album. One of the good things that happened
out of one of the fallouts is that one of the best rock boogie bands
ever were formed, Foghat. Lonesome Dave Peverett (guitars, vocals),
Roger Earle (drums), and Tony Stevens (bass) were the three most notable
members that jumped the Savoy Brown ship to set sail another rock blues juggernaut.
As part of the 20th Century Collection series, this group and many
others are honored with career retrospectives that attempt to define
a career. There is a tremendous amount of material available to highlight
such a long and fruitful career such as Savoy Brown has enjoyed, and
this is the tip of the iceberg, it's not a comprehensive collection
by any means. It serves the purpose in giving an excellent introduction
to the group's history however. These collections in particular, however
brief, are the icing on the cake, and they create new fans and inspire
old ones to buy back catalog releases.
This CD is 11 tracks of smokin' red hot blues from one of the groups
that help to write the book on blues rock. One listen to "Hellbound
Train" and the evidence is unequivocally obvious. Savoy Brown is still
truckin' right along to this day. There is a lot to be said for longevity
and consistency, and that's what separates the greats from the mediocre
groups that have been long since forgotten. This group is in a class all by themselves.
Songs:
1. Train to Nowhere (Simmonds/Youlden) - 4:12
2. Louisiana Blues [live] (Muddy Waters) - 8:58
3. I'm Tired (Youlden) - 3:26
4. A Hard Way to Go (Youlden) - 2:20
5. Stay While the Night Is Still Young (Youlden) - 3:08
6. Poor Girl (Stevens) - 4:06
7. Money Can't Save Your Soul (Peverett/Simmonds) - 5:35
8. Tell Mama (Raymond/Simmonds) - 5:18
9. I Can't Get Next to You (Strong/Whitfield) - 6:32
10. Street Corner Talking (Simmonds) - 4:01
11. Hellbound Train (Silvester/Simmonds) - 9:09
Credits:
Bob Hall - Piano
Chris Youlden - Vocals, Producer
Dave Bidwell - Drums
Roger Earle - Drums
Rivers Jobe - Bass
Paul Raymond - Guitar, Keyboards
Andy Silvester - Bass
Kim Simmonds - Guitar, Producer
Neil Slaven - Producer
Dave Walker - Vocals
Tony Stevens - Bass
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