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stray dog
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Drummer Randy Reeder, bassist Alan Roberts, and lead guitarist Snuffy Walden started their musical partnership as members of the Texas-based blues-rock band Aphrodite. Formed in 1968, the trio spent five years touring extensively throughout the mid-west without much success. Their big break came in 1973 when Greg Lake (or Lake's manager Neville Chesters) spotted them playing in a Denver, Colorado club. Lake (or his manager) offered the band a recording deal with ELP's newly formed Manticore label. The deal included the provision the band immediately fly to the UK. Roberts and Walden readily signed on leaving Reeder behind - he reappeared as a member of the band Bloodrock and Alexis. In the UK the quickly auditioned for a new drummer, hiring former Road member Leslie Sampson and opting to change their name to Stray Dog. Produced by benefactor Greg Lake and the band, 1973's "Stray Dog" was one of those albums that somehow managed to fall through the cracks. Critics largely panned it as mindless heavy metal, while fans simply ignored it. Shame. True, musically these seven tracks didn't offer up anything particularly original, but the band's affection for conventional blues rock was obvious throughout the collection. Walden was a spectacular Hendrix-influenced guitarist who managed to pull a unique, watery sound out of his instrument (recall he was picked to replace Paul Kossoff in Free). There's hardly a song here that doesn't showcase a first-rate Walden lead. He also had a surprisingly enjoyable voice. Equally impressive, given they hadn't been playing together more than a couple of months at the time the album was recorded Roberts and Sampson provided watertight backing - Sampson's time with Noel Redding's band Road came through on a couple of tracks - check out his blistering performance on the second half of the opener 'Tramp (How It Is)'. "Stray Dog" track listing: (side 1) 1.) Tramp (How It Is) (Snuffy Walden - Alan Roberts) - 7:06 'Tramp (How It Is)' opened up with some Keith Emerson-styled church organ and Carl Palmer-ish percussion giving you the impression this was going to be an ELP-styled set of bombastic pretense ... Luckily about a minute into the track Walden announced 'fasten your seat belts' and the song spun off into a nifty slinky blues-rocker. While Walden's lead work was amazing (the Roberts Sampson rhythm section kicked in big time during the second half of the tune), the big surprise on this one was how good his voice was. rating: **** stars - 2.) Crazy (Snuffy Walden) - 5:10 Even though it was listed as a Walden original, 'Crazy' was apparently an updated version of Bloodrock's 'Crazy 'Bout You Babe' (taken from the "U.S.A." album). Regardless of the song's pedigree, the result was a slinky, Hendrix-styled rocker. Once again, Walden's raspy voice was the big surprise here. One of my picks for standout performance. rating: **** stars 3.) A Letter (Snuffy Walden) - 3:50 Showcasing Walden's acoustic guitar chops, 'A Letter' was a pretty, slightly psych-tinged and slightly wobbly ballad. They certainly tried their best and the backing vocals were nice, but they just didn't sound all that comfortable on this one. rating: ** stars 4.) Chevrolet (Billy Gibbons) - 3:56 The band's sizzling cover of ZZ Top's 'Chevrolet' moved things back in the right direction. You won't forget the original, but overlooking the screechy female backing vocals this one wasn't bad. Would have been a blast to hear it live ... Curiously a couple of website claim Walden took credit for co-writing this one with Billy Gibbons. For what it's worth my copy of the album credits it solely to Gibbons. rating: *** stars (side 2) 1.) Speak of the Devil (Snuffy Walden - Alan Roberts - Leslie Sampson) - 4:15 The lone group composition, 'Speak of the Devil' demonstrated a mix of bar boogie and commercial AOR moves. Nice, breezy melody, though the female backing vocalists were needless. rating: *** stars 2.) Slave (Alan Roberts) - 6:00 Penned by Roberts and showcasing Sampson on drums, 'Slave' found the band taking a somewhat tentative stab at a more progressive sound - imagine early Rush (sans the shrieky Geddy Lee vocals) and you'd have a rough idea of what this one sounded like. Didn't do much for me at first, but it's consistently grown on me. rating: *** stars 3.) Rocky Mountain Suite (Bad Road) (Snuffy Walden) - 8:24 'Rocky Mountain Suite (Bad Road)' started out as an acoustic ballad, but got a lot better a couple of minutes in when it morphed into a country-blues number showcasing some excellent Walden acoustic slide guitar. The track took another sep in the right direction when it reinvented itself as a jumpy Walden-powered rocker. For anyone interested, this one showcased Walden's best lead guitar work. rating: *** stars
| 状态 | 未发布 |
|---|---|
| Alias | stray dog |
| Extra | stray dog |
| Name | stray dog |
| 原始名称 | Stray Dog |
| 名称 | stray dog |
| 收藏数 | 2 |
| 歌手 | stray dog |
| 类别 | 录音室专辑 |
| 语言 | 英语 |