Jess Roden Band

Jess Roden Band - Blowin' - 1977 - Island

The former gravel-voiced Butts Band shouter sounds riotously confident on this live album, which has no real agenda except documenting a hot night before a British college crowd. Roden's band is slick and proficient, with guitarists Bruce Roberts and Steve Webb being the standouts, though percussionist/saxophonist Ron Taylor gets lots of space, too. Roden and company manage to show themselves as diverse performers and crowd-pullers at the same time -- no mean feat when hits drove the engine of '70s mass-market rock. The preeminent sound is slinky, laid-back pop-funk, as exemplified on story songs like "The Ballad of Big Sally" or "Me and Crystal Eye." Cut from similarly breezy cloth, "In a Circle" is an example of how Lowell George might have sounded if he'd grown up across the pond. The band stretches out on "Can't Get Next to You," which dips into the blues bag, but Roden's husky howl shines brightest on the glistening title track (which also makes clever use of varying internal rhymes). There's also a blistering boogie in "Jump Mama," where Roden pushes his throat in the manner of peers like Frankie Miller and Maggie Bell. The album ends on an unconventional note with a brief, piano-led reprise of "Blowin'." Unlike many live albums of this period, there's no side-long solos to pad out an average evening -- just a proficient band and their frontman throwing down before a packed house. The story would change after Britain went punk, but there's no denying what Roden could offer. This isn't an easy album to find, but worth the hunt if you see it. © Ralph Heibutzki © 2012 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/blowin-r48210/review

Recorded live in the Autumn of 1976 at Birmingham Town Hall and Leicester University, England, Jess Roden and his great band show 'em how it's done. If only this vinyl issue was remastered for CD ! Here's hoping the rumours are true. Check this blog for more info on Jess Roden [All tracks @ 160 Kbps: File size = 46.9 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

SIDE 1

1. The Ballad of Big Sally - Cartwright, Roberts
2. In a Circle - Webb, Cartwright
3. Can't Get Next to You - Whitfield, Strong

SIDE 2

1. Me and Crystal Eye - Roden, Webb
2. Blowin' - Cartwright, Roden
3. Jump Mama - Roden
4. Blowin' (Reprise) - Cartwright, Roden

BAND

Jess Roden - Vocals
Bruce Roberts, Steve Webb - Guitar, Vocals
John Cartwright - Bass
Billy Livsey - Keyboards, Drums, Vocals
Pete Hunt - Drums
Ron Taylor - Saxophone, Percussion
Chris Gower - Trombone, Percussion