Bobby Whitlock (1976) Brand New Song - LOST 70s GEMS

My last post of 2017 will be a return to how I started this year; with a Bobby Whitlock post.. so here it is.

From his rollicking 1976 Rock Your Sox Off album though not as good as his 1972 work Raw Velvet which was packed with weight acoustic soul tunes this is more focused around his soul croon and punchy, Latin organ based production. His whiskey voice reminds me of a southern Peter Criss which isn't a bad thing when paired with Zapata horns like on Sweet Mother's Fun.

Brand New Song is a frenetic upbeat rock n roller with a dynamite chorus, aerial organ sustains and bright acoustic guitar rhythms. It dosen't linger awkwardly like a lot of the tracks but stays tight and Whitlock doesn't ham it up too much til the guttural groan mid way through but we will pretend that didn't happen.

While the twangy steel guitar solo against a backdrop of cascading electric pianos in Its Been a Long Long Time is fantastic Brand New Song is just that; fresh. See you next year when I'll be fresher too.

Boz Scaggs (1977) Then She Walked Away - LOST 70s GEMS

A solid pop song from Boz who may not have the most popular voice but had one of the funkiest sounds with his smooth disco backing always a pleasure alongside other blue eyed disco bands like Bee Gees, Wild Cherry, Steely Dan and Player.

Aerosmith (1976) Sick as A Dog - LOST 70s GEMS

Starting with a killer phased echoplex guitar part full of ringing acoustic picking like bells before the main jam rocks up. The melody is backed by some smooth 'Pleeeeeeeaaaaase' backing vocals while the chorus refrain is nearly comical with lines like 'Sick as a Dog, Cat got your Tongue, Sick as a Dog, Cause you really ain't that young'. The rollicking bass work thrumming along with the party rock anthem vocals and general raucous rhythm creates a strong, clear rock sound I love. The quiet Hi-Hat laden bridge is monumental, the rhythm section doesn't get enough credit with the classic 50s shuffle beat heightened by the use of handclaps towards the end.

Nite City (1978) The Dreamer - LOST 70s GEMS

From Ray Manzarek's band's second album. Golden Days Diamond Nights, (their final album) the track The Dreamer is a clavinet driven funker with a sweet serene bridge about how "you served me breakfast in bed..yo got me going out of my head" and a chorus about "We got time we're gonna make it, I think we're gonna make it!" and even some la,la,la backing vocals to add campy fun. While ray Manzarek provides the campy vocal, the bridge vocalist's voice is far better, its also nice the central clavinet boogie at the centre of the song heard isolated at 4:20 seconds and the lilting country-esque disco guitar licks; all very 70s sounding.

Rush (1974) What You're Doing - LOST 70s GEMS

This rampaging rock number, dominated with a Aerosmith sounding guitar with its rolling, trebly bass lead guitar riff . Of course, the album with it's complete ripoff of the Led Zeppelin sound and even look right down to the double neck guitar and dark and blonde haired frontmen wasn't fresh, but their was some very melodic arena rock. I also particularly love the original drummer John Rutsey's bombastic fills full of rollicking energy and devoid of any jazz sophistication or retro rock n roll; just pure thunder.

'Don't know what you're feeling but your feeling wrong' cries Geddy Lee in what is a fine Plant esque echoed banshee wail. Though later Rush would add a prog mystique this is still arena rock lacking a deeper quality..aw shucks its still sounds Olympic sized, I'll give it that, unfortunately it has the same power chord crushing style of Led Zeppelin I five years prior, the sound that Kiss were also mining for their similar sounding debut from the same year.

Main Ingredient (1970) Spinning Around (I Must Be Falling In Love) - LOST 70s GEMS

The title track of their 1970 album Spinning Around is a wonderful joyous concoction of strings, smoky horns, guitars and percussion all crashing in with the band's soothing harmonies and arrangements.

David Gilmour (1978) No Way Out Of Here - LOST 70s GEMS

Vastly superior to the band Unicorn's original which had a rootsy feel, Gilmour instead focuses on the atmosphere of and strips it to its grungy melody with his liquid guitar lines and an organ providing a more weighty backdrop. The best is the wailing harmonica intro mimicking the back and froth/up and down melody that is significantly more emphasised here with Gilmour's downbeat vocal drawl.

The combo of Gilmour's power chords and deliberately restrained rock toughness would make this a grunge sound.

Nite City (1977) Bitter Sky Blue - LOST 70s GEMS

 A jazzier arena rock sound than the Doors, not surprisingly its all a little too mellow with little keyboards support from Manzarek. But ultimately driven just as much by lead singer Noah James who would depart before their second album, which is a shame as his melodic vocals are engaging and central to the AOR material. This is a solid package of rock songs but they lack any discernible character or personality to make them edgy enough for critics, though song for song they are far more consistently than say Journey who struggled to keep the deep cuts as catchy as their hits. Also the warped organ on Love Will Make You Mellow sounding like its emerging in and out of water is cool sounding along with more laser blaster synth work would have made this album a little more interesting.

Bitter Sky Blue with its winsome melody of an ELO mix of RnB rhytmm of buoyant piano, frosty synths and heavily treated pop guitar. But the aerial synths of Summer Eyes and the heavy blues of Caught in a Panic are worthy of a listen too.

Jeff Beck (1975) You Know What I Mean - LOST 70s GEMS

Diamond Dust has a pleasant string arrangement while Freeway Jam has multi-harmonised guitar part in the bridge, but my favourite is opener You Know What I Mean with it's cutthroat funky blues stings throughout. Jeff Beck ably creates a restrained funk sound with a lot of fresh jazz vamping to create a heavy yet melodic guitar track best exemplified by ..You Know What I Mean.

Widowmaker (1976) Leave the Kids Alone - LOST 70s GEMS

 Widowmaker were a mid 70s supergroup fronted by Mott the Hoople's Ariel Bender (I.E. Luther Grosvenor) and Love Affair's Steve Ellis on chief wailing duties; the group is filled out by Hawkwind's lead guitarist, Lindisfarne's drummer.The band's sound comprises of Bad Company riffing and Early Rainbow folk rock but ultimately there's not nearly enough of their own personality to avoid faltering into the generic raunchy blues rock of the mid 70s bands before the explosion of New Wave, Heavy metal, Punk and Corporate rock of the late 70s that was just around the corner. There are a couple diverse moments such as the gospel backing vocals on Shine a Light on Me and the Graceful folk blues of Grosvenor's Pin A Rose On Me. There is highlights like the exuberant rocker of On The Road and the funky delight of Too Late [Live], one of three live tracks from a performance at the Paris Theatre in London included in pressings.

 Best is still the singalong/ clap along folk rock anthem, Leave the Kids Alone, with its' nice drawn out harmonies performed by Ariel and Ellis, but lets face it pairing that at first seemed very odd; a raucous blues guitarist and deep voiced, 60s soul singer seemed unbridgeable when you consider how restrained Ellis is in his demeanour compared to Bender. The mandolin solo is so filtered ad treated it sounds like an extraterrestrial telegram, but it works in what was the song that was singled out ironically as the biggest miss of the album in the Allmusic review.


Signed to Don Arden's Jet Records, Widowmaker's debut album charted in the US at #196 leading to tours with Nazareth and ELO before Ellis left, shame he was responsible for the most distinction in the group after Grosvenor.

Medicine Head (1974) I'm Your Man - LOST 70s GEMS

From their very pop single oriented album Two Man Band, full of funky RnB, this track sizzles with twangy slide guitars over a handclap beat and a chant of I'm your Man. John Fiddler's incredible voice is perfect as it creeps in with it's strong trebly quality, he exceeds in smooth and sexy rock tunes like this and even gets sensitive in the quiet castanets driven bridge. There is even a phone call sound effect and a wah wah sounding harmonica solo that is very country humbum and smooth for a mouth organ to sound.

Neil Young (1977) Hey Babe - LOST 70s GEMS

A heartfelt laidback ballad, Hey Babe, carries that characteristic Neil Young folk, care free melody that characterised his Harvest/After the Goldrush early 70s country days. Neil's address of Hey Babe reminding me of Only Love Can Break Your Heart and his fine abilities for easygoing and effortless central melodies; a style of circular melodies like hippie's nursery rhyme.

Lindisfarne (1974) The Man Down There - LOST 70s GEMS

A rough and ready acoustic strum backed by occasional ringing, echoey electric guitar that reminds me of the Beatles' She Came in Through the Bathroom Window with it's power pop yet rootsy shanty vibe. Lyrically is quite powerful in its basis on wages, drugs and much more in this song packed with gutsy vocal delivery, and rockin guitars ending with drumming triplets, flamenco shredding and country licks.

Lindisfarne (1971) Together Forever - LOST 70s GEMS

A forlorn sounding, yet ultimately cheerful country strum, broken up by a harmonica and pedal steel. The carefree, adorable romance of the lyrics and the timeless folk melody is great particularly the way the singer proudly declares 'you and me sittin on a bench watching the day go by'

Lindisfarne (1978) Get Wise- LOST 70s GEMS

Celtic rockers Lindisfarne from Newcastle mixed supreme harmonies and acoustic guitars when Americans were dominating Folk rock. Some of their best material came at the end of 1978, the Back and Fourth major label release on Mercury with the result the successful single Run for Home. But Get Wise is a underrated release, starting with funky electric guitars and unbelievably alien sounding harmonica while the driving vocals are delivered with a slight Dylanesque drawled rebuke all to make an interesting package. The smooth country blues guitar fills work for me too!