Brinsley
Schwarz were always a band out of time, an antithesis to the early 70s British musical
landscape mainly occupied by Art School Glam, Prog Rock, earnest
Singer/Songwriters and lumpen heavy Blues Rock bands and although the
individual members went on to forge careers with varying degrees of success
after the band split, they never really received the acclaim they deserved for
their part in paving the way for the back to basics Punk Rock/New Wave and Garage
Rock explosion later in that decade. They had an enviable reputation as one of
the best live bands in the country………but they sold no records. Evolving from “a
Folk Rock band with psychedelic pretentions", they were a gritty but
tasteful Country Rock band in the mould of late period Byrds/Flying Burrito
Brothers and The Band, but could also mix it up with funkier bands like Little Feat
and the Meters having a depth of soul, R&B and Rock and Roll influences;
Old Grey Whistle Test viewers and pre-punk Peely loved ‘em…………but they sold no
records. And there was that little incident at the Fillmore East in 1970 that
overshadowed the rest of the bands career……….there really is not the space to
go into great detail here but Google “Brinsley Schwarz hype” for the story of
the mother of all failed publicity stunts which was thunk up by Dave Robinson
(later the boss of Stiff Records). It’s amazing what mad ideas you come up with
stoned (and in the early 70s it also seemed that money was no object either)……before
the first Brinsley Schwarz album was released, the plan was to fly the band to
New York to support Van Morrison/Quicksilver Messenger Service at the Fillmore
and to also fly out the cream of the music press writers to review the show.
Due to a Spinal Tap style chaotic mix of visa problems, engine trouble, drugs
and free booze and faulty hired gear the band turned up under-rehearsed and the
jurnos turned up pissed out of their minds…….needless to say the show got
panned. When the album landed after such a disastrous publicity blitz, it got
absolutely monstered by the press…………..and they sold no records.
Stumbling
from the wreckage of the Fillmore fiasco, the Brinsley Schwarz retreated to the
pubs of London where they built their reputation as one of the finest
unpretentious party bands of the era……effortlessly mixing Country Rock, Soul
and Rock and Roll in a storming live show which they never really translated
successfully to four solid but mainly uninspiring records. There were
contributions to the Glastonbury Fayre album (1 track) and they appear on the
Greasy Trucker’s Party record, which unfortunately, for a band known for its
live performances, this was their only live album…………..until now. Mega Dodo are
releasing Live Favourites, a recording of a performance from the Top Rank,
Cardiff in June 1974 where Brinsley Schwarz where both the support and backing
band for Dave Edmunds. The album surfaced originally around five years ago on
CD as a privately pressed, semi-official release but Mega Dodo are now giving
this record a full, vinyl only release……..limited to 250 copies with the first
100 including a set of postcards, stickers and a reproduction BBC audition
sheet.
Live
Favourites was recorded just after the release of what turned out to be the
bands swansong recording, The New Favourites Of Brinsley Schwarz, and the
line-up of the band at this time was Nick Lowe (bass and vocals), Brinsley
Schwarz (guitar, sax and vocals), drummer Billy Rankin (although it appears
that session drummer and original member of Dire Straits, Pick Withers was
behind the kit for this recording), Bob Andrews (piano, organ, sax and vocals)
and Ian Gomm (guitar and vocals). Brinsley Schwarz shift seamlessly from
Byrdsian Country rockers like ‘Country Girl’ and ‘Honky Tonk’ to covers of
classic Soul/R&B Revue tunes such as ‘Hip City’, ‘Ju Ju Man’ and William
Bell’s ‘Private Number’ via Rock and Roll covers (Eugene Williams ‘Trying to Live My Life Without You‘ ) and their own songs mainly penned
by Nick Lowe. ‘Small Town Big City’ is classic Rock and Roll, ‘Happy Doing What
We're Doing’ has a great funky New Orleans Dr John/Lee Dorsey vibe and you can
hear the inspiration for Graham Parker’s best songs on ‘Surrender To The Rhythm’.
How ‘(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding’ never became a
massive hit needs to have a Police investigation opened to determine why. These
tunes never really worked on record, but live they are transformed and drip
with the intensity of being played by a band that really know how to tear the
roof off the joint. You can imagine in a sweaty pub back room swilling with
beer you would have the best time of your life at a Brinsley Schwarz gig. Live
Favourites release has been well overdue (by about 40 years) and is a lasting
document that shows that when they were cooking live there were very few early
70s acts that could touch this band. The sound quality of this record is
excellent; it’s not some crappy bootleg recorded on a cheap cassette recorder
at the back of the hall and it is a surprise it has not seen the light of day
until now (then again Brinsley Schwarz never sold any records). Go buck the
trend and buy this record.
Live
Favourites will be released mid-October on Mega Dodo records……..it’s a little
off-piste compared to their usual output but it is great that they are putting
this out. Now available to pre-order now from their Bandcamp site at https://megadodo.bandcamp.com/album/live-favourites
and possibly from your local vinyl emporium if you ask nicely.
No comments:
Post a Comment