Week of January 21, 2007
Personnel:
Casey – Vocals
Simon Byrne - Drums, Vocals
Henry Marsh - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
John Perry - Bass, Vocals
Album:
Gringo (MCA MKPS 2017) 1971
CD: Audio Archives AACD 036, Won Sin WS 885 668 2
45:
I'm Another Man/Soft Mud (MCA MKS 5067) 1971
Evolving from student beat groups, Utopia/Toast, in the 1960s
Bath, Gringo toured Europe and even made a living with a club residency
on the south coast of France. They were an opening act on a UK tour featuring
Barclay James Harvest
and Caravan.
Their recorded legacy is a quality album of pop-tinged progressive rock that
still sounds fresh, with a lightness of touch and many distinctive twists. The
song-within-a-song piece, “Emma And Harry”, is worthy of note, but all
nine tracks are good. It is tempting to wonder if “Land Of Who Knows Where”
may have been inspired by a certain
Caravan album
released the same year!
Gringo split and John Perry joined Spreadeagle, but not in time to
play on their only album. The
Caravan
connection reappeared and he joined that band in time for the “Girls Who Grow
Plump...” album. He played later with Quantum Jump,
Curved Air and
Aviator and did a host of session and solo work. Henry Marsh sampled chart
success with
Sailor,
while Simon Byrne worked with
Brotherhood Of Man among others. There you have Gringo, an
overlooked band and album that is worth discovering. The B-side of their single
is a non-album track.
(Neil Murray)
Taken from The Tapestry of Delights Revisited
- The Comprehensive Guide to British Music of the Beat, R&B, Psychedelic and
Progressive Eras 1963-1976, Vernon Joynson
ISBN 1 899855 15 7