Week of September 18, 2005
Personnel:
Phillip Crooks - Guitar
Carol Grimes - Vocals
Sam Mitchell - Guitar
John Porter - Guitar, Bass
Dave Skinner - Keyboards, Vocals
Terry Stannard - Drums
Album:
Old Hat (Signpost SG 4253) 1972
45:
River Road/First Night (Signpost SGP 752) 1972
A short-lived rock group including Carol Grimes, who fronted Delivery
in 1970 and also made solo recordings. John Pearson played drums on four of the
tracks and John
'Rabbit' Bundrick, who was later with The Who, played piano on a
couple of tracks. Most of the songs were penned by Dave Skinner, although there
are a few covers, including Dylan's “I'll Be Your Baby Tonight”
and Sam C. Phillips/Hermann Parker's “Mystery Train”. Carol Grimes'
vocals are the most appealing thing about this album. John Porter is a producer
nowadays and produced The Smiths and John Lee Hooker's comeback
album in 1989.
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
The easy-going boogie-woogie feel is the main attraction of this early 70s
album – a pretty standard fare of jazzy British blues-rock driven by guitars,
saxes and honky-tonk piano, a bit like early
Joe Cocker,
instrumentation-wise. Because of Carol Grimes’ vocals, the whole thing
sounds a bit like a tame, but still very enjoyable, version of
Stone The Crows. Worth
investigating!
Alex Gitlin
September 2005