Week of February 18, 2001

Gass

Personnel:
Robert Tench - Guitar, Vocals, Organ, Percussion
Godfrey McLean - Drums, Congas, Vocals, Percussion, Dustbin Lid (!)
DeLisle Harper - Bass (electric, acoustic), Percussion
Derek Austin - Organ, Piano, Flute, Percussion
Michael Piggott - Violin, Guitar

Also featuring:
Junior Kerr - Guitar
Errol McLean - Congas
Humphrey Okah - Sax
Alan Roskans - Lead Guitar
Frank Clark - Organ
Ian Thomas
Peter Green - Guitar

Album:
Juju (Polydor 2383 022) 1970 (featuring Peter Green)
CD: Synton, 1022 AM, 2006

45s:
One Of These Days/I Don't Know Why (Parlophone R 5344) 1965 
The New Breed/In The City (Parlophone R 5456) 1966 
Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)/Jitterbug Sid (CBS 202647) 1967 
Something's Got To Change Your Ways/Mr. Banana (Polydor 2058 147) 1971 

Formed in London in May 1965, by Errol and Godfrey McLean (from British Guiana) and Robert Tench (from Trinidad), this group was managed by Rik Gunnell (Georgie Fame/Zoot Money) and their third 45 was produced by Mike Smith. Peter Green was also involved in Gass after leaving Fleetwood Mac. One cut, "Black Velvet", was later featured on Polydor's 1970 compilation, "Supergroups, Vol. 2".

(Vernon Joynson/Nick Rossi)
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

In my own write…

A feast for the ears of any early 70s prog rock aficionado, this complex bouquet of soul, Latin jazz, progressive rock, blues and Beatlesque melodic and tempo experimentation defies classification altogether and through the years has been sadly and criminally neglected. CD reissue treatment definitely overdue, as this masterpiece has been forever out of print, and copies in good condition fetch ridiculous sums on the collectors market!

Stylistically, it was perhaps closest to what the likes of Ginger Baker's Airforce, Pete Brown & Piblokto! and Graham Bond were doing at the time, and definitely paved the way for further groups in the same vein in the coming years, such as Hanson (founded by Junior Kerr aka Junior Hanson, ex-Keef Hartley Band, to join Bob Marley & The Wailers) and Hummingbird. Priceless.

Alex Gitlin, February 2001

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