Week of July 29, 2001
Dave Nicholls - bass
Alan Pearse - guitar, vocals
Derek Perry - drums
Trevor Povey - guitar, vocals
TJ - bass, vocals
Mick - percussion
Dogfeet (Reflection REFL 8) 1970 (reissued on Kissing Spell; CD version CA 36002, has extra tracks, including studio demos for the 1970 album and two live tracks from 1991).
Sad Story/On The Road (Reflection RS 7) 1970
This guitar-bass-drums quartet thrived on much of the same echoed-and-reverbed guitar
workouts one would come to expect from the period, and released one now rather obscure album on the equally as obscure Reflection label in 1970, reissued on CD by Kissing Spell in 1994. The throbbing, pulsating, incessant bass driven opener,
"Mr. Sunshine" is a chromatic 4-chord romp in minor, which lasts over 11 minutes, and could've been a real find for some disco mogul, had it been recorded 7-9 years later! The warning rhythms and more minor chords on
"Armageddon" carry on the proceedings nicely with plenty of drama; short interludes like
"Theme" fall into the same territory and tread much the same ground as some of the spacier, quainter moments of
Wishbone Ash and vintage Black
Sabbath, whereas tracks like "On The Road", add a bit of lazy boogie'n'roll into the melting pot in - what else - minor!
Kissing Spell have done very little in the way of restoring the original sound, so the CD sounds quite gritty and most definitely "live" (even the studio tracks which constitute the main bulk here), but maybe that's part of the charm?
Not essential listening for prog or 70s heavy rock aficionados, but a nice companion perhaps to a serious retro party, complete with lava lamps, bandanas, long hair and well worn out bell bottomed denim... (joints are optional?)
Alex Gitlin, 2001
Discography/Personnel info taken from The Tapestry of Delights - The Comprehensive Guide to British Music of the Beat, R&B, Psychedelic and Progressive Eras 1963-1976, Vernon Joynson ISBN 1 899855 04 1