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.