Development of the British Blues and Rhythm

  --- show 36 ---   10-14-2015

Rod Stewart / Faces                              1970, 1971

John Mayall                                          1969, 1971

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Rod Stewart became a favorite of mine when he fronted the Jeff Beck Group, but even though I bought the first four of his solo albums (only the first new, the rest as I came across them at flea markets) I didn’t make listening to them a priority, probably because that first one was disappointing.

Around the same time the Beck Group disbanded, Steve Marriott was leaving the Small Faces to form Humble Pie so Rod and bass player Ron Wood joined drummer Kenney Jones, bassist Ronnie Lane and, I believe, Ian McLagan on keyboards, shortening the name to Faces.  Wood was happy to get back to his natural instrument as his guitar and Rod’s vocals easily covered any deficit created by Marriott’s departure.

Actually, I had seen the Small Faces referred to as similar to The Kinks and the Who so I purchased a couple of compilation sets and found them totally lackluster, strange since these were the same guys backing Rod and Ron.  Oh well, lesson learned.

I haven’t had time to dig up my vinyl and see who backed up the Stewart albums, but it is my understanding that at least Gasoline Alley could have just as easily been a Faces release.  Anyway, here is a list of the LPs the combination recorded:

The Rod Stewart Album (English title: An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down) February 1970, Gasoline Alley September 1970, Every Picture Tells a Story July 1971, Never a Dull Moment July 1972

Faces: First Step March 1970, Long Player March 1971, A Nod is as Good as a Wink November 1971, Ooh La La April 1973

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In 1969, John Mayall switched gears (as he was often prone to do) and put together a band without a drummer, somewhat novel in the Blues / Rock field.  Although the group, which included Johnny Almond on saxophone, Jon Mark on guitar and bassist Steve Thompson, never went into the studio to record, the live Turning Point album shows them off very well.  Actually, this is the only really good LP between 1967’s Crusade and 1970’s USA Union, a span that included six other releases.  This would be the time that Mayall’s voice was becoming so irritating to me.

After the USA Union album, Mayall took it’s band of bassist Larry Taylor, guitarist Harvey Mandel and fiddler Don “Sugarcane” Harris and augmented them with some of his former players such as (unless my memory is failing me) guitarists Eric Clapton and Mick Taylor, drummers Keef Hartley and Aynsley Dunbar as well as multi-wind instrumentalist Johnny Almond and mixed and matched them on songs to comprise 1972’s Back to the Roots.  While I have that double LP on vinyl, today’s presentation comes from the Archives to Eighties CD remake where Mayall returns to the studio with his then-drummer Joe Yuele and remastered several of the tracks.  In spite of the quality of the musicians, or likely because their talents make you expect more, the album is a disappointment, but from four LP sides we were able to cull a decent 40 minute set.

In 1972, Mayall put together the Jazz-Blues Fusion album using essentially a Jazz ensemble with bassist Larry Taylor holding them to a Blues groove.  Along with its 1973 follow-up, Moving On, these were the last great Mayall albums, but that’s just my opinion and I haven’t gone out of my way to listen to his new material over the last four decades.

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Since it is still relatively new, I thought I’d mention that KKUP is now streaming on the internet and, while it is still in a developing stage, we have been putting out the word.  I’m not all of that good with high-tech stuff, but it seems pretty easy to access.  If you go to our website at KKUP.org you will see on the home page a strip of options immediately above the pictures of the musicians the next to the last option being LISTEN ONLINE.  By clicking this, it brings up a choice of desktop or mobile.  I can only speak for the desktop but after maybe a minute I was receiving a crystal clear feed.  As already mentioned, this is still a work in progress and we are currently limited to a finite number of listeners at any one time.  I mention this so you will be aware to turn off the application when you are not actually listening.  (I put the player in my favorites bar for the easiest of access.)  Now we can reach our listeners in Los Gatos and Palo Alto, even my family in Canada.  Let your friends elsewhere know they can now listen to your favorite station, and while they have the home page open they can check out our schedule.

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Street Fighting Man
An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down
Wicked Messenger
Shake, Shudder, Shimmy
Around the Plynth
Three Button Hand Me Down
Cut Across Shorty
   Rod Stewart / Faces

The Laws Must Change
I’m Gonna Fight for You, J.B.
So Hard to Share
Room to Move
   John Mayall

Bad ‘n’ Ruin

Sweet Lady Mary
Had Me a Real Good Time
That’s Alright
(I Know) I’m Losing You
Maybe I’m Amazed
Rear Wheel Skid
Miss Judy’s Farm
Memphis, Tennessee
Stay with Me
   Rod Stewart / Faces

Blue Fox

Dream with Me
Boogie Alert
Accidental Suicide
Television Eye
Prisons on the Road
Force of Nature
Home Again
   John Mayall

Gasoline Alley   (live)

Love in Vain   (live)
Too Much Woman for a Henpecked Man   (live)
   Rod Stewart / Faces