Smith & Weston –A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues/Run Run Run –Decca F13441 (1973 UK)
Smith & Weston come up with a neat version of the Arthur Alexander track. Rawer than The Flamin’ Groovies' version from the previous year, this version stands (and stomps) at the crossroad of the then current Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival (Wild Angels, Fumble…) and crunching Glam. It features great power chords and handclaps, but the fuzzy/ scratchy guitar didn’t get quite through the mastering stage unscathed. Who the hell were these guys? More Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival/ Glam crossovers soon…
Click below for a soundclip of A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues
Smith & Weston come up with a neat version of the Arthur Alexander track. Rawer than The Flamin’ Groovies' version from the previous year, this version stands (and stomps) at the crossroad of the then current Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival (Wild Angels, Fumble…) and crunching Glam. It features great power chords and handclaps, but the fuzzy/ scratchy guitar didn’t get quite through the mastering stage unscathed. Who the hell were these guys? More Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival/ Glam crossovers soon…
Click below for a soundclip of A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues
6 comments:
Y-E-S!!! Strangely, this is where my mind has been gravitating to as well as of late. Are any of those Fumble records actually any good? Can't be any worse than Matchbox (can they?!?!).
Not exactly rock revival, but have you heard the Jack-Stack-A-Track single - great mid 70's Beach Boys revival with more than a touch o glitter.
Shame Sterno & The Flames never actually made it to a real studio.
There is one really great single by Fumble on Sovereign: Million Seller/ Get Up. Million Seller is a cool Holly-esque pop song, but Get Up is Monster and rocks. My first ever band (Lou Chrysler back in 75) used to open the set with it...Killer. The Fumble LP on RCA strange but sometimes hits the spot.Not Fade Away is HUGE -great production by Shel Talmy. Don't kknow Jack-Stack-AKAKAKAK...God where does this end?
Ok! Nothing tops the Groovies '72 Rockfield sessions, but his one goes straight to the top of my want list. What's the flip like? It would be good to get the nod on some of the better RnR Revivalists.To my mind the best of the B&C Wild Angels 45s is the Edmunds-like Time to Kill/Three Nights a Week, after that I start to draw a blank, though somewhere I've got the Rock n Roll Allstars doing what must have been one of the first Bolan covers. . . Right, I'm off to find out about Fumble. Best, Peter
Hi Peter
The B side is OK but nothing too special -kinda like Willie And The Poorboys era Credence. Some of the Decca Wild Angels stuff is tops. The Out At Last LP is worth having. The singles Jo Jo Ann and Clap Your Hands And Stamp Your Feet (the Bonnie St. Claire track) are ace.
Didn't take me long to track down a copy, and it is fully worth the five quid plus postage. It's got a really thumping sound, hand claps right the way through and ending in some great "hey yeahs." I could imagine the guitars a tad louder in the mix, as you say, but it is so forceful overall it don't matter much. As this came out a scant 9 months after the Groovies version I can't believe they weren't familiar with that take. There are some spot-on Edmunds-like guitar fills running through the Smith & Weston version, though I guess it's not likely he was moonlighting on the session. His version was released almost a year to the day after S&W's. Anyway, thanks for the tip, this is a really great slab of wax. Got anymore like this in your collection waiting to be shown the light of day on Purepop? Best, Peter
Hi Peter
Yep, plenty more up my sleeve (or behind the sofa). In the Dave Edmunds/Glam ilk -there's the James Hogg Band, Fred Cass etc...more soon
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