Climax Blues Band

Climax Blues Band - Harvest Years 1969-1972 - 1991 - See For Miles Records

Prior to their brief days as an American FM corpo-rock darling, the then Climax (Chicago) Blues Band were much like their U.K. predecessors Graham Bond, Rory Gallagher, Savoy Brown, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, the Groundhogs, and Eric Clapton. They played and wrote original blues and blues-rock tunes based on their love of the electric Chicago sound of their heroes. These tracks from their days on the Harvest label remain pleasant reminders of how very good they were. Not that this is essential or unavailable elsewhere -- in fact, this is a quite recycled compilation, reissued in other forms and with similar cover graphics. It is a compact overview of how focused and tight they were, with the slide guitar an integral part of their sound during tracks like "Shake Your Love," "Please Don't Help Me," "You Make Me Sick," and covers of "Take Out Some Insurance," "Wee Baby Blues," and "Cut You Loose." This music was a perfect prelude to their radio hits. © Michael G. Nastos © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/harvest-years-1969-1972-r352325/review

In the early days CBB focused on the "Chicago" element in their name, and showed a definite empathy for the city's electric combo style. The band's later work deviated from the 12-bar tempo formula, and they became more rhythmic and progressive with some of Colin Cooper's sax work recalling the jazz inflections of Colosseum and Blodwyn Pig. Later work became more commercial but the band always maintained an underlying blues base to their music. The band is often referred to as Climax, Climax Chicago, The Climax Blues Band, and The Climax Chicago Blues Band. On this compilation there are 6 tracks from 1969. 5 tracks from 1970. 2 tracks from 1971, and 3 tracks from 1972. Most of the tracks are credited to either Climax, or Climax Chicago. Tracks 1,3,6 15, & 16 are from "A Lot Of Bottle" in 1970 : Tracks 2,9, & 14 from "Plays On" in 1969 : Tracks 4, & 11 from "Tightly Knit" in 1971 : Tracks 5,7, & 10 from "Rich Man" in 1972: Tracks 8,12, & 13 from "The Climax Chicago Blues Band" in 1969. "Harvest Years 1969-1972" is a good compilation album from the early CBB and is representative of some of this underrated band's best work. The Climax Blues Band's "Drastic Steps" album is @ CBB/DS CBB's "FM Live" album is @ CBB/FML and CBB's "Big Blues (The Songs Of Willie Dixon)" album can be found @ CBB/BB-SOWDIX Listen to the CBB's brilliant "Sense of Direction" album

TRACKS / COMPOSER (S) / YEAR

1 Please Don't Help Me - Climax 3:01 - 1970
2 Hey Baby, Everything's Gonna Be Alright Yeh Yeh Yeh - Climax 4:27 - 1969
3 Everyday - Climax 2:28 - 1970
4 Towards the Sun - Climax Chicago 3:22 - 1971
5 You Make Me Sick - Climax 3:53 - 1972
6 Reap What I've Sowed - Climax 4:38 - 1970
7 Shake Your Love - Climax, Gottehrer 5:29 - 1972
8 Looking for My Baby - Climax 2:53 - 1969
9 Flight - Climax 7:53 - 1969
10 Mole on the Dole - Climax 5:09 - 1972
11 That's All - Climax Chicago 2:10 - 1971
12 Take Out Some Insurance - Hall, Singleton 3:48 - 1969
13 Wee Baby Blues - Traditional 3:19 - 1969
14 Crazy 'Bout My Baby - Climax 6:07 - 1969
15 Alright Blue - Climax 4:16 - 1970
16 Cut You Loose - Cotton 5:19 - 1970

MUSICIANS [ 1969 - 1972 ]

Peter Haycock - Guitar, Slide Guitar, Harmonica, Saxophone, Vocals
Derek Holt - Guitar, Guitar (Bass), Guitar (Rhythm), Mellotron, Piano (Electric), Vocals
John Cuffley - Guitar (Bass), Drums, Percussion, Piano (Electric), Vocals
Colin Cooper - Guitar, Bamboo Whistle, Harmonica, Sax (Alto), Sax (Tenor), Saxophone, Clarinet, Vocals, Whistle (Instrument), Drums, Percussion
Richard Jones - Guitar (Bass), Keyboards
George Newsome - Drums
Art Wood - Keyboards, Organ, Piano, Cello, Harmonium
Peter Filleul - Keyboards, Vocals
Humpty Farmer - Keyboards

SHORT BIO

Led by Colin Cooper, the former frontman of the R&B unit the Hipster Image, the Stafford, England-based Climax Chicago Blues Band were one of the leading lights of the late-'60s blues boom. A sextet also comprised of guitarists Derek Holt and Peter Haycock, keyboardist Arthur Wood, bassist Richard Jones, and drummer George Newsome, the group debuted in 1969 with a self-titled effort recalling the work of John Mayall. Prior to the release of 1969's Plays On, Jones left the group, prompting Holt to move to bass. In 1970 the Climax Chicago Blues Band moved to the Harvest label, at the same time shifting toward a more rock-oriented sound on the LP A Lot of Bottle. Around the release of 1971's Tightly Knit, Newsome was replaced by drummer John Holt; upon Wood's exit in the wake of 1972's Rich Man, the unit decided to continue on as a quartet, also dropping the "Chicago" portion of its moniker to avoid confusion with the American band of the same name. In 1974 the Climax Blues Band issued FM Live, a document of a New York radio concert. Released in 1975, Stamp was their commercial breakthrough, and 1976's Gold Plated fared even better, spurred on by the success of the hit "Couldn't Get It Right." However, the rise of punk effectively stopped the Climax Blues Band in their tracks, although they continued recording prolifically well into the 1980s; after 1988's Drastic Steps, the group was silent for a number of years, but resurfaced in 1994 with Blues from the Attic. © Jason Ankeny © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/climax-blues-band-p16545/biography