Mick Abrahams

Mick Abrahams - All Said And Done - Elite - 1991

A superb album from the great British Bluesman, Mick Abrahams, played with a masterful finesse. Mick has never been acclaimed properly for his vocal style, and his laid back, understated, jazz/blues guitar technique is a joy to listen to. Mick played superb guitar on Jethro Tull's masterful "This Was" album nearly forty-one years ago, and even then, he had proved his reputation as a great blues guitarist. Listen to Mick playing on the track, "Cat's Squirrel" on this Tull album. Mick's recording output is relatively sparse, but in his case "quality is better than quantity" and any of Mick's albums are worth listening to, as are his albums with Blodwyn Pig. "All Said And Done" is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Buy his "Micks Back" album. His contribution to British Blues music has been undervalued for too long. You will find info on Mick Abrahams Blodwyn Pig's " Lies" album @ MABR/BPIG/LIES and Mick Abrahams' 1971 s/t album @ MABR/ST/1971

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

Road Roller - Mick Abrahams
Watch Your Step - B.Parker
Billy The Kid - Reverend Andrew Jenkins (Trad. Arr. Mick Abrahams)
Let Me Love You Baby - W.Dixon
Black Night - J.M.Robinson
All Tore Down - Mick Abrahams
Redways Of Milton Keynes - Mick Abrahams
Long Gone - Mick Abrahams /G.Murphy
Rock Me Right - Mick Abrahams
So Much Trouble - B.McGhee
Dear Jane - Mick Abrahams
I Wonder Who - A.Korner
All Said And Done - Mick Abrahams /G.Murphy
Cat's Squirrel - Charles Isaiah Ross (Trad. Arr. Mick Abrahams)

N.B: "All Said And Done" has also been released as a 28 track, 3 CD set, incl. "interview with Mick" DVD in 2004 on Shakedown Records. The album is credited to Blodwyn Pig, Mick's old band.. The album is also listed in some catalogues as a 1970 CD by Mick Abrahams! Were CD's commercially available in 1970?! There is also info. on Amazon about a remastered version of the CD which was released in 2001 on Mick's own Squirrel Music label. All very confusing! Anyway, the album posted here may be regarded as a legitimate solo effort by Mick, released on Elite records, a subsidiary of Pickwick Group PLC. in 1991

MUSICIANS [Incomplete]

Mick Abrahams - Guitar, Vocals
Clive Bunker - Drums
Nigel Pegrum - Drums
Andy Pyle - Bass



MICK ABRAHAMS BIO (Wikipedia)

Michael Timothy 'Mick' Abrahams (born 7 April 1943, in Luton, Bedfordshire, England) was the original guitarist for Jethro Tull. He recorded the album This Was with the band in 1968, but conflicts between Abrahams and Ian Anderson over the musical direction of the band led Abrahams to leave once the album was finished. Abrahams wanted to pursue a more blues/rock direction, while Anderson wanted to incorporate more overt folk and jazz influences. He was replaced first by Tony Iommi who would leave Tull after only a few weeks and would later go on to form Black Sabbath, and then by Martin Barre who remains with Jethro Tull to this day. Abrahams went on to found Blodwyn Pig and the group recorded two albums, Ahead Rings Out and Getting to This before breaking up in 1970. Abrahams soldiered on with the short-lived Wommet, then the Mick Abrahams Band and has continued to release albums by himself and with reunited versions of Blodwyn Pig. Abrahams caused some controversy in Tull fan circles for his formation of a band called This Was in the late 1990s, which reunited the members of the first incarnation of Jethro Tull (with the exception of Ian Anderson) to perform songs from that era of Jethro Tull's music. Tull fans disapproved but Ian Anderson apparently was not too offended, as in recent years Abrahams and Anderson have guested on each other's records. Abrahams has also participated in Jethro Tull reunions as well as one-off projects and gigs over the years.

MORE ABOUT THE ARTIST

Mick Abrahams (b.Apr 7, 1943 in Luton, Bedfordshire, England) was one of the more unfortunate hard-luck stories in rock music. Best known for his work on Jethro Tull's debut album, This Was, where he played blues licks that had critics comparing him favorably to Eric Clapton, he left the group, and since then has never managed to achieve lasting success as a recording artist, or the world-class fame of his former bandmates. Leading various incarnations of his best known band, Blodwyn Pig, he has persevered over the last quarter century, and achieved some major cult recognition, especially in England. Abrahams joined his first band, the Crusaders, in 1964, alongside pianist Graham Waller, drummer (and Screaming Lord Sutch/Cyril Davies veteran) Carlo Little, and bassist Alex Dmochowski, all backing singer Neil Christian. Abrahams's musical hero was Alexis Korner, the man who -- with Cyril Davies -- brought blues to England. He was one of that legion of young guitarists, which included Brian Jones and Keith Richards, who found their way into music through Korner's groundbreaking work with Blues Incorporated. In 1965, Abrahams and Waller joined the Toggery Five, a septet whose members included drummer Clive Bunker. That group had a momentary brush with the record books when they cut a Mick Jagger-Keith Richards song as a failed single, but otherwise failed to make any lasting impression. In the summer of 1967, while playing in his next group, McGregor's Engine with Bunker, Abrahams met Ian Anderson and bassist Glenn Cornick, who were playing in a group called the John Evan Smash. After comparing notes on their shared enthusiasm for blues, they decided to form Jethro Tull. Abrahams remained with the group until November of 1968, and his guitar was very prominent in the group's sound during this period, revealing him to be one of the best among England's legions of bluesmen. Evidence of his skill, passion, and persuasiveness are all over their second single, "A Song For Jeffrey," and the album This Was. Anderson's voice and flute, however, quickly challenged Abrahams for primacy, and by the fall of 1968 Anderson had won that battle; in November, Abrahams was gone. Early in 1969, Abrahams formed his own group, Blodwyn Pig, with Jack Lancaster on saxophone, ex-McGregor's Engine member Andy Pyle on bass, and Ron Berg on drums. This was a blues band through-and-through, and even arriving on the scene in a time when London was filled with white blues players, Blodwyn Pig quickly became a critical favorite with its performances and its first album, Ahead Rings Out. Considered a classic progressive blues album, the record found a small audience in the United States, while in England it was a top 10 album. The group's second long-player, Getting To This, released a year later, was received with enthusiasm as well, and also made the British top 10. The group was riven by internal conflicts, however, as Lancaster and the other members expressed a desire to go in a somewhat different direction in their music, and for Lancaster's sax to become more prominent. Abrahams left the band in 1970, to be replaced by ex-Yes guitarist Peter Banks and guitarist/singer Larry Wallis. The group continued on under the leadership of Lancaster, although it was eventually renamed Lancaster's Bomber. Initially Abrahams formed a new group called Wommet; it was very short-lived, however, so he reorganized his career around the Mick Abrahams Band, with Walter Monaghan on bass, Bob Sargeant on guitar, keyboards and vocals, and Ritchie Dharma on drums. He released two albums on Chrysalis, Mick Abrahams and At Last, with his former Blodwyn Pig bandmate Lancaster expanding the lineup to a quintet. Neither sold very well, although Abrahams was never at a loss for paying gigs. In 1974, Abrahams reformed Blodwyn Pig with his ex-Tull bandmate Bunker, Pyle, and Lancaster, but the group only lasted a few gigs before breaking up. Meanwhile, Abrahams virtually left the music business, but not before he recorded what proved to be his biggest selling solo album of all, an instruction record entitled Learning To Play Guitar With Mick Abrahams. He continued to play occasional shows, but made his living outside of music, working as a driver, lifeguard, and financial consultant. He seemed content to play the odd impromptu show at the local pub, or for causes that mattered to him in his home town of Dunstable. Finally, in 1988, however, he reformed Blodwyn Pig with Andy Pyle back in the line-up on bass, ex-Bonzo Dog Band member Dick Heckstall-Smith and Bernie Hetherington on saxes, Bruce Boardman on keyboards, and Clive Bunker on drums. The reformed group was a success, releasing a well received album called All Said And Done. Their 1993 line-up, including new keyboardist Dave Lennox, Mike Summerland on bass, and Graham Walker on drums, released the album Lies (A New Day), Blodwyn Pig's most accomplished album ever. The group later issued a live recording from their 1993 tour (where Abrahams was reunited with Ian Anderson at one gig), entitled All Tore Down. Abrahams continues to play and record regularly, with a following in England and America with Blodwyn Pig. As of the mid-1990s, the group consisted of a quartet of Abrahams, Walker, Lennox, and Summerland, with vocalist Jackie Challoner and sax-player Nick Payne augmenting their membership in the studio. © Bruce Eder, All Music Guide