The Sutherland Brothers

The Sutherland Brothers - Down To Earth - 1977 - Columbia

The Sutherland Bros. are another seventies band who never got the success and recognition they deserved. The early '70s produced many bands like the Sutherland Brothers. Iain Sutherland was a remarkably talented songwriter. As an individual, and with his brother, Gavin, he wrote many wrote many fine, catchy, and melodic pop songs with tasteful instrumental work and fine harmony vocals, the most notable being "Sailing," and "Arms of Mary". They were more than competent musicians and made some great records, none of which sold in any great numbers. Sadly, many of the duo's great songs have never been heard by so many people. "Dream Kid" is one example of a SB & Q album that went largely unnoticed. Like so many other bands on this blog, they are really only remembered for one or two songs. The Sutherland Brothers will always be remembered for "Arms Of Mary" and Rod Stewart's famous anthemic "Sailing" but the duo wrote many great songs. The band's wonderful folk rock sound is here, and the vocals are great. Sadly, in Britain and elsewhere, good folk rock was declining in popularity from the mid seventies onwards. "Down To Earth" has been dismissed by many music "critics" as a slushy, below average late '70's soft rock album, but good songwriters don't disappear overnight and "Down To Earth" needs to be reassessed by some of these critics. Check out Quiver's "Gone in the Morning" album, the Sutherland Brother's "Lifeboat" album, (UK Version), Gavin Sutherland's "Diamonds and Gold" album, and the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver's "Beat of the Street" album. For more music in the same vein, listen to Gallagher & Lyle's great "Seeds" album, or the "Ferguslie Park" album by Stealers Wheel. Also check out some of Gerry Rafferty's early recordings. His "Can I Have My Money Back" album is a good example. N.B: This album was also released in 1977 in the USA on CBS as The Sutherland Bros & Quiver "Down To Earth" which contained the tracks "Oh Woman", "Rock 'n' Roll People", and "Where Lies Your Soul" but excluded the tracks, "One More Night With You", "Sunbird", and "When I Say I Love You (The Pie)". NNB: The post here is a vinyl version but many of these albums are now available on CD and well worth checking out. Search this blog for more related releases

TRACKS

A1 One More Night With You 3:41
A2 Ice In The Fire 4:17
A3 Sunbird 3:05
A4 Harbour Light 4:31
A5 Dark Ship 5:33

B1 Situations 4:15
B2 Somebody's Fool 4:32
B3 Every Tear I Cry 4:11
B4 Fun Of The Farm 4:57
B5 When I Say I Love You (The Pie) 4:14

All songs composed by Gavin Sutherland, and/or Iain Sutherland

MUSICIANS

Gavin Sutherland, Iain Sutherland - Vocals, Guitar
Ritchie Zito, Rick Vito, Leonard Arnold, Ray Flacke, Mick Grabham, Tim Renwick - Guitar
Bob Glaub, Andy Pyle, Rick Wills - Bass
Billy Smith, John "Rabbit" Bundrick - Keyboards
Mike Baird, John "Willie" Wilson - Drums
Brian Bennett, John Shearer - Percussion

BIO

Folk rockers the Sutherland Brothers formed originally in London during 1970, but it wasn't until a few years later (when the group fused together with another band) that they enjoyed their greatest chart success. Brothers Ian (vocals, guitar) and Gavin (bass, vocals) first went by the name of A New Generation (at the insistence of their manager at the time) before the duo changed their name to the Sutherland Brothers and recorded a demo. The tape caught the ear of former Traffic bassist Muff Winwood, who helped sign the duo to Island Records, a label that Winwood served as an A&R man for at the time. A pair of largely folk-based recordings were issued in 1972, a self-titled debut and Lifeboat, the latter of which scored the group their first bona fide hit, "(I Don't Want to Love You But) You Got Me Anyway," as well as an original composition that would later be covered by Rod Stewart, "Sailing." By the dawn of 1973, the Sutherland Brothers decided to augment their group (they were unhappy with their live sound at the time) by teaming up with an obscure rock act named Quiver (who had issued a pair of underappreciated albums on their own -- 1971's self-titled release and 1972's Gone in the Morning) -- as the new group went by the name of the Sutherland Brothers & Quiver, or SBQ. The Sutherland Brothers & Quiver remained intact for much of the '70s and Stewart's aforementioned cover of "Sailing" hit the number one spot in the U.K. and during 1975, the group scored another sizeable hit on their own with "The Arms of Mary" (peaking at number five in the U.K.). The group steadily toured both the United States and Europe, issuing such further releases as 1973's Dream Kid and 1974's Beat of the Street before leaving Island for Columbia Records and releasing 1975's Reach for the Sky, 1976's Slipstream, 1977's Down to Earth, and 1979's When the Night Comes Down. But by the dawn of the '80s, the hits had dried up and SBQ decided to call it a day. Both of the Sutherland brothers attempted to launch solo careers on their own during the early '80s, but both failed to retain the audience of their previous band. © Greg Prato © 2011 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-sutherland-brothers-p20868/biography