The Sharks

The Sharks - Jab It In Yore Eye - 1974 - Island

The Sharks toured the UK and the States in support of this album in late 1973, and early 1974. The "promottional" tour had little or no effect on the sales of "Jab It In Yore Eye". Returning to the UK they started work on a third album, entitled "Music Breakout". The Sharks career was about to turn lopsided. Original drummer Marty Simon was fired and replaced with the former Glecoe drummer Stuart Francis. Then bassist, Busta Jones, called it a day. Busta later teamed up with the U.S band, White Lightning. To make matters worse, Island was unhappy with the band's new material and refused to release it. By the end of the year the group had disbanded. Snips Parsonsr eappeared as a member of The Baker-Gurvitz Army and then struck out as a solo act. Chris Spedding became a great in-demand session player and recorded some great solo material. Arguably, "Jab It in Yore Eye" is a "better"album than the band's first album, "First Water". The hint of glam rock from their debut album is absent here, and replaced with some great low key soul blues. Even without Andy Fraser, this is a quality blues rock album. Listen to the band's 1999 album, "Like a Van Parked on a Dark Curve".

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1. Just Like A Fever - Snips
2. Baby Shine A Light - Jones
3. Sun Beat Down - Snips
4. Rain Or Shine - Marty, Simon, Snips
5. Kung Fu - Snips
6. Sophistication - Snips
7. Surrender - Snips, Spedding
8. Cocaine Blues - Snips
9. Revolution Of The Heart - Snips

BAND

Steve "Snips" Parsons - Vocals, Guitar
Chris Spedding - Guitar
Busta Jones - Bass
Nick Judd - Keyboards
Marty Simon - Drums

REVIEW

Despite Free bassist/composer Andy Fraser and engineer Andy Johns moving on after 1973's First Water album, Sharks come back with a solid second outing putting Mr. Snips front and center, not only as vocalist, but as writer or co-writer of eight of the nine songs here. Jab It in Yore Eye features an absolutely dreadful album cover, sure to turn off record buyers. Where the first LP's artwork was simple and ineffective, this cover illustration by Bill Imhoff is just awful — and misleading, for the music inside is pretty good. Fraser contributed to half of the previous album's songs without providing the direction he helped give Free. Jab It in Yore Eye feels more unified — the addition of new bassist Busta Cherry Jones and expansion of the group to five pieces with keyboardist Nicky Judd provide definition. It would be hard to say Sharks was imitating Bad Company, as both groups emerged pretty much at the same time. But the bluesy core of a song like "Baby Shine a Light," penned by the new bassist, and lengthy essays such as Snips' "Sophistication" and "Revolution of the Heart" play totally in Paul Rodgers' world. Imagine Mick Ralphs' "Ready for Love" as performed by Bad Company without Mott the Hoople's power riffs, and expand that one song across two sides of a disc — that's basically the sound of Jab It in Yore Eye. Not a bad place to be, "Sun Beat Down" and "Rain or Shine" continuing the obsession with light and sunshine themes on side one. It appears the group Free didn't disband, it was just cloned. Chris Spedding adds some intricate rhythmic guitar on the mellow affair, his presence a subtle highlight. They've abandoned the hint of glam from the previous year's debut and replaced it with low-key mellow blues. But as with First Water, there is no hit single to help bring attention to an otherwise interesting and listenable project. Mr. Snips' half-time "Should I Stay or Should I Go" riff on "Sophistication" probably inspired the Clash eight years later, but even that rocking moment clings to the low-tone blues without a chance of hit radio airplay. Spedding's co-write of "Surrender" with Snips and bits of a guitar riff from the world of disco are the album's high points. © Joe Viglione, allmusic.com

BIO (Wikipedia)

Sharks was a band formed by ex-Free bass player, Andy Fraser, upon his second (and final) departure from Free, in late 1972. They were signed to Island Records and were that label's Great White Hope for the 1970s. The band was highly rated by critics, especially for Chris Spedding's guitar work. The initial line-up consisted of Andy Fraser (bass, piano), Snips (vocals), Chris Spedding (guitar) and American, Marty Simon (drums). At the start of 1973, they embarked on a UK tour and also made an appearance on the BBC TV programme Old Grey Whistle Test. On the 19 February 1973, on the way back to London from a gig in Cleethorpes, the band's car skidded and hit a tree. Fraser suffered injuries to his wrist and, during recuperation, had second thoughts about the band. The tour continued to the end of April but Fraser had some difficulties playing with the injury. Sharks' debut album, First Water, was released in April but Fraser left shortly afterwards and the band began searching for a replacement. Those considered included Tom Robinson, Ric Gretch and Boz Burrell. Mick Jagger then recommended a bass player from Memphis, Busta Cherry Jones, who joined in July 1973, along with ex-Audience keyboard player Nick Judd. A new UK tour with this line-up began in September 1973 and ran through until March 1974, when their second album, Jab It in Yore Eye, was released. The band then toured America during April & May 1974. On their return to the UK, the band began recording their third album, to be titled Music Breakout. However, Simon was fired and replaced by Stuart Francis and Jones returned to the States. Island didn't like the masters for the third album and the band folded in October 1974. Spedding continued his session work and solo career, whilst Snips joined Ginger Baker in the Baker Gurvitz Army and then went solo. In 1993, Spedding and Snips began recording together again as Sharks, although the album, Like a Black Van Parked on a Dark Curve..., wasn't released until 1995. There was a one-off gig in London, in December 1995, featuring Snips, Spedding, Jackie Badger (bass), Blair Cunningham (drums) and Nick Judd (keyboards) but the band has not re-surfaced since.