Record Reviews
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  | BLIND FAITH ~ LONDON HYDE PARK 1969
SANCTUARY 0090 (Barcode: 5050749500908) ~ UK ~ Classic Rock
Recorded: 1969 Released: 2005
Captured live in front of 100,000 (or more) people gathered in London’s Hyde Park, here is the world’s first “super group”, Blind FaithFind albums by this artist, playing their debut gig on June 7th, 1969. Surely a momentous occasion and a premiere piece of Rock’s history, this footage is seen here for the first time in its entirety. The group existed for just a very brief period of time and left as its legacy just one eponymous album, but its historical importance stretches way beyond that. Blind Faith was a proof that greatly talented musicians can work together, in spite of their different backgrounds and experiences, creating momentous music. The “super group” phenomenon would become ever so popular in the 1970s, but the pioneering effort that was Blind Faith would forever stay in our collective memory as one of Rock’s giant steps. The collective talents of guitarist Eric ClaptonFind albums by this artist, vocalist / keyboardist Steve WinwoodFind albums by this artist, bassist Rick GrechFind albums by this artist and drummer Ginger BakerFind albums by this artist represented the formative years and experiences of British Rock in the 1960s. They played in some of the most important bands of the 1960s: Spencer Davis GroupFind albums by this artist, Graham Bond OrganizationFind albums by this artist, CreamFind albums by this artist, TrafficFind albums by this artist and FamilyFind albums by this artist – all icons and remarkable Rock achievers. The music they created together in Blind Faith is (especially in retrospect) quite surprising and different that anything done before. Anticlimactic and relaxed, it allowed them to take a much-deserved break from the emotional (and physical) extremities they all experienced with their former groups. The change is most evident and personalized by Clapton, who left behind the high-volume, heavy, fuzz saturated guitar style he used with Cream and dramatically changed it into a subdued, relaxed and laid-back guitar playing, which was to be his new “thing”, as evident on his recordings from that moment on. He was still one of the best players around, but simply not trying to prove it any more. Winwood’s vocals, dramatic and soulful as always, were of course the group’s trademark and here he reached maturity (in spite of his young age) for the first time. Baker’s drumming is inventive, as always, but again the relaxed atmosphere allows for his incredibly melodic playing to he really heard. Grech is solid and supportive all the way, with his elegance and sensibility at their best. But of course not everything is perfect here – the gig was played in the midst of the recordings for the album and the material is obviously still being in the “working” phase, with charming imperfection and numerous glitches. Nevertheless it does work charmingly and listening to this stuff almost 40 years later still gives me the shivers. What a teat! Dolby Digital Stereo Sound, 73 minutes.
| | | DVD 1 Recommend To A Friend |
  | SPENCER DAVIS ~ SO FAR
EVANGELINE 4123 (Barcode: 805772412323) ~ UK ~ Classic Rock
Recorded: 2006 Released: 2008
This is a solo album by the Welsh vocalist / multi-instrumentalist / bandleader Spencer DavisFind albums by this artist, famous for founding and leading one of the greatest British Pop / Rock groups during the Golden Decade, The Spencer Davis GroupFind albums by this artist, which also included in its original lineup the young (15 years old) Steve WinwoodFind albums by this artist, who later left the group to form the celebrated group TrafficFind albums by this artist. Davis led many incarnations of the Spencer Davis Group over the years, but this is (so far) his last recording.
The album features thirteen original songs, most of which were co-written by Davis and the band members. All the songs are excellent and have a strong nostalgic tinge which makes them sound as if they were recorded way back in the good old 1960s / 1970s. Stylistically the music moves between British Folk, Blues, Rhythm And Blues and Rock and there is not a dull moment on this album from start to finish. The accompanying band consists of seasoned instrumentalists and they do a great job playing these songs as if there´s no tomorrow.
It is hard to guess if this is indeed the very last album by Davis, but if so it certainly is a great way to say goodbye to the numerous fans after over five decades of playing music. People who like the British Classic Rock sound will find here an album they can easily identify with. They don´t make music like that today anymore, or they do it very rarely, like in this case. Strongly recommended!
| | Updated: 08/05/2023Posted: 03/04/2016 | CD 1 Recommend To A Friend |
  | HARDIN & YORK ~ CAN`T KEEP A GOOD MAN DOWN: THE ANTHOLOGY
GRAPEFRUIT 089 (Barcode: 5013929188907) ~ UK ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion
Recorded: 1969 - 1974 Released: 2021
This wonderful 6CD Box Set compiles the recorded legacy of the British duo Hardin & YorkFind albums by this artist, comprising of keyboardist / vocalist / composer Eddie HardinFind albums by this artist and drummer Peter YorkFind albums by this artist. It includes the five albums recorded by the duo: “Tomorrow TodayFind albums with this title” (1969), “The World`s Smallest Big BandFind albums with this title” (1970), “Hardin & York LiveFind albums with this title” (A German bootleg from 1970), “For The WorldFind albums with this title” (1971) and “Hardin & York With Charlie McCrackenFind albums with this title” (1974), as well as a plethora of studio outtakes, live recordings and radio broadcasts.
Hardin and York met as members of the legendary British Pop / Rock outfit Spencer Davis GroupFind albums by this artist, which they left together to pursue more ambitious musical plans. Both participated on dozens of album by other British artists and released many solo projects. Hardin & York was a highly unusual undertaking, producing music by just two musicians with only occasional help from guests or studio musicians. They combined elements of Rock, Prog and Jazz-Rock Fusion into a superb amalgam typical of the period, with Hardin in charge of writing most of their material.
Hardin, who passed in 2015, was one of the greatest British Rock keyboardists, especially a superb Hammond organ player of the class of Brian AugerFind albums by this artist or Keith EmersonFind albums by this artist, as well as an outstanding composer and excellent vocalist. York, still with us at the time of writing, is a highly skilled and sensitive drummer, esteemed by his peers, with a unique approach and musicality. Together, as a duo, they were able to create music often richer and more complex than ensembles with much bigger lineups. Strangely Hardin & York achieved much more success on the continent, especially in Germany, than home, and they were of course not the only band that experienced that phenomenon.
Overall, this Box Set is a sublime time capsule preserving the incredible versatility, creativity and “out of the box” musical thinking, which characterize this unique period in British music, and which left such vast legacy, never to return. For fans of early British Prog and Jazz-Rock Fusion this Box Set is an absolute must of course, especially since it presents so much previously unreleased material and excellent remastering. What a jewel!
| | Updated: 21/12/2021Posted: 21/12/2021 | CD 6 Mini-Sleeve Box Set Remastered Recommend To A Friend |
  | HARDIN & YORK ~ THE WORLD`S SMALLEST BIG BAND
ESOTERIC 2090 (Barcode: 5013929719026) ~ UK ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 1970 Released: 2008
2nd album by the great British duo: keyboardist / vocalist Eddie HardinFind albums by this artist and drummer Peter YorkFind albums by this artist. Hardin was a superb keyboards player and his abilities were often compared to those of Steve WinwoodFind albums by this artist (whom he replaced in the Spencer Davis GroupFind albums by this artist) and even Keith EmersonFind albums by this artist. His vocal abilities and his songwriting skills were also second to none. York, a Jazz influenced drummer (also from the Spencer Davis Group), was a perfect partner for Hardin´s extended keyboards (mostly the Hammond organ) explorations and the Jazzy atmosphere, which prevails throughout the album, which was recorded with just the duo and a string section. In retrospect this album stands against the tides of time perfectly, sounding today every bit as good as it did at the time of its recording, emphasizing the greatness of the British Prog and early Jazz-Rock Fusion in the late 1960s / early 1970s. Absolutely brilliant stuff!
| | | CD 1 Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend |
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