Blues

Mick Abraham's Blodwyn Pig - Lies (1993)

2017-02-24T16:35:01Z

Mick Abraham's Blodwyn Pig - Lies (1993)


01. Lies
02. The Night Is Gone
03. Recession Blues
04. Latin Girl
05. Gnatz
06. Funny Money
07. Witness (To A Crime Of Love)
08. Aby's Lean
09. The Victim
10. Love Won't Let You Down
11. Dead Man's Hill
12. Maggie Rose
13. I Wonder Who
14. All Said And Done

Mick Abrahams - Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Lead Vocals, Producer, Remix
Bass – Andy Pyle (tracks: 13), Pete Fensome (tracks: 14)
Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals – Mike Summerland (tracks: 1 to 12)
Drums – Clive Bunker (tracks: 13, 14)
Drums, Percussion – Graham Walker (tracks: 1 to 12)
Backing Vocals [Guest] – Jackie Challoner
Harp, Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone [Guest] – Nick Payne
Keyboards – Bruce Boardman (tracks: 13)
Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Dave Lennox (tracks: 1 to 12, 14)

The reconstituted Blodwyn Pig, consisting of Mick Abrahams (lead vocals, guitars), Graham Walker (drums), Dave Lennox (keyboards, vocals), and Mike Summerland (bass, vocals), with Jackie Challoner (backing vocals) and Nick Payne (harmonica, saxes). This is more of a soul band than the original Blodwyn Pig, and thankfully they've left jazz and progressive rock behind on this album. Apart from the superb title track, there's a ton of R&B-styled material here, all played and sung hard but well, with a level of maturity that only adds to the depth of the performances. In addition to originals by Abrahams, there are covers of songs by Doc Pomus and Dr. John ("The Victim") and Alexis Korner ("I Wonder Who"), the latter one of a pair of live tracks reuniting Abrahams with his former bandmates Clive Bunker and Andy Pyle. ---Bruce Eder, AllMusic Review

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Blodwyn Pig - Getting To This (1970)

2017-02-20T15:15:39Z

Blodwyn Pig - Getting To This (1970)


01. Drive Me
02. Variations On Nainos
03. See My Way
04. Long Bomb Blues
05. The Squirreling Must Go On
06. San Fransisco Sketches
07. Worry
08. Toys
09. To Rassman
10. Send Your Son to Die
11. Summer Day
12. Walk on the Water

*Mick Abrahams - Guitar, Vocals, Seven String Guitar, Tenor Guitar
*Jack Lancaster - Flute, Electric Violin, Tenor, Baritone, Sax, Phoon Horn, Cornet
*Andy Pyle - Electric Bass, Six String Bass
*Ron Berg - Drums, Tympani
*Graham Waller – Piano, Words [Recited "The Ancient Mariner"]

Less than a year after the release of their début, Blodwyn Pig returned with what would prove to be their final album (although further material would eventually appear in the Blodwyn Pig name as a result of a reunion many years later). Once again, the band revolves around the blues leanings of Mick Abrahams and the jazz influences of Alan Lancaster.

Abrahams dominates the early song-writing, composing all the tracks (one with Andy Pyle) on the first side of the LP release. The opening "Drive me" mixes jazz rock with blues rock to come up with a catchy up-beat introduction to the album featuring a gritty vocal. The contrast with the vocal style on the following "Variations On Nainos" is quite stark, the latter being more in line with Abrahams subsequent solo album. In an obvious effort to out -Tull Abrahams former band, "Variations On Nainos" features prominent flute alongside some good lead guitar. The singing through a glass of water verse is an indulgence too far though!

"See My Way" is the longest of the Abrahams songs at a shade over 5 minutes. There is a bit of an American feel to this steam-rolling blues rocker, which makes it among the most appealing of the set. The brief "Long Bomb Blues" takes the American feel south, with picked guitar dominating. The relentless pace of the Abrahams songs continues on "The Squirreling Must Go On", another powerful slice of guitar rock. The lack of a vocal leaves the song feeling a bit like an unfinished backing track, but it is enjoyable nonetheless.

Alan Lancaster is restricted to writing a single track, but he comes up with an eight minute suite in four parts entitled "San Francisco Sketches" . The sections feature mainly San Francisco related sub-titles, setting off with a a semi-improvised jazz workout. Surprisingly, the "Telegraph Hill" section features a Ray Conniff singers style vocal, but apart from that the track is instrumental. Many will probably find this to be the high point of the album, but for me it is prosaic. Andy Pyle receives a rare sole writing credit for "Worry", a song which sounds for all the world like another Abrahams composition. "Toys" is something of an oddity, being a soft reflective acoustic number. The singer-songwriter feel to the track makes for a pleasant contrast.

Drummer Ron Berg also gets a writing credit for the brief "To Rassman", a nonsensical calypso song. The album closes with "Send Your Son to Die", a track which featured on the Island records sampler "Bumpers". The track sums up the band well, blending the blues rock and the jazz rock with an infectious rhythm section.

Overall, an album which is the equal of its predecessor. Blodwyn Pig were never going to be the most original band of the early 70's, or the best. As bands who also served go, they were however one of the better ones.

Following the release of "Getting to this", Mick Abrahams left the band. While the name was briefly retained and later resurrected, Blodwyn Pig's bacon was effectively cooked. --- Easy Livin, progarchives.com

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Blodwyn Pig - Ahead Rings Out (1969/2000)

2017-02-17T16:02:31Z

Blodwyn Pig - Ahead Rings Out (1969/2000)


1. It's Only Love
2. Dear Jill
3. Sing Me A Song That I Know
4. The Modern Alchemist
5. Up And Coming
6. Leave It With Me
7. The Change Song
8. Backwash
9. Ain't Ya Comin' Home, Babe?

Mick Abrahams — guitar, slide guitar, vocals
Jack Lancaster – saxes, phoon horn, violin, flute
Andy Pyle – bass, 6-string bass
Ron Burp – drums

None of Jethro Tull's progressive rock tendencies or classical influences followed Mick Abrahams into his creation of Blodwyn Pig, even with the inclusion Jack Lancaster's sax- and flute-playing prowess. Instead, Abrahams built up a sturdy British blues-rock sound and used Lancaster's horn work to add some fire to the band's jazzy repertoire. Ahead Rings Out is a stellar concoction of gritty yet flamboyant blues-rock tunes and open-ended jazz centered around Mick Abrahams' cool-handed guitar playing, but it's the nonstop infusion of the other styles that makes the album such a solid listen. After only one album with Jethro Tull, Abrahams left to form this band, and it's evident that he had a lot of pent-up energy inside him when he recorded each of the album's tracks. With a barrage of electrifying rhythms and fleeting saxophone and woodwind excursions, cuts like "Sing Me a Song That I Know," "Up and Coming," and "Backwash" whip up highly energetic sprees of rock and blues. Most of the tracks have a hearty shot of rock up the middle, but in cuts like "The Change Song" and "Backwash," the explosive riffs are accompanied by a big band style of enthusiasm, adding even more depth to the material. Andy Pyle's bass playing is definitely distinct throughout each track and is used for anything but a steady background, while labeling Ron Berg's drumming as freewheeling and intemperate would be an understatement. It's apparent that Blodwyn Pig's style is indeed distinct, releasing a liberated and devil-may-care intensity while still managing to stay on track, but the fact that each cut convokes a different type of instrumental spiritedness is where the album really gains its reputation. Wonderfully busy and even a tad motley in some places, Ahead Rings Out shows off the power and vitality that can be channeled by combining a number of classic styles without sounding pretentious or overly inflated. A year later, Blodwyn Pig recorded Getting to This before Abrahams left the band, and although it's a solid effort, it falls just a smidgen short of Ahead Rings Out's bluesy dynamism. --- Mike DeGagne, AllMusic Review

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