Freedom to Music
Posts tagged Bobby Harrison
Snafu – All Funked Up (1975) (@320)
01 May 2010
(Review from rlwl.co.uk, wikipedia, allmusic)
Solley left the band to join Procol Harum. Brian Chatton and Tim Hinkley was recruited to complete the lineup that would record the band’s third album.
As the title suggests, the overall sound is very funky rock with an evident blues debt. Micky Moody’s overdriven slide adds a touch of Southern boogie to the mixture. The laidback country-rock groove sustained throughout has held up remarkably well in the quarter-century since its release.
Shortly after the release of the album, the general feeling of disillusionment and loss of direction which dominated the established British rock scene in the mid-seventies finally caught up with Snafu as well. During a tour of Germany, Micky Moody was invited to join David Coverdale (for the band which would become Whitesnake) and he accepted. Snafu was no more.
Line-up:
- Bobby Harrison / vocals, percussion
- Micky Moody / guitar
- Colin Gibson / bass, percussion
- Terry Popple / drums, percussion
- Tim Hinckley / piano, organ
- Brian Chatton / keyboards
Track List:
01. Don’t Keep Me Wondering – 5:21
02. Bloodhound – 5:25
03. Lock And Key – 2:56
04. Hard to Handle – 3:22
05. Every Little Bit Hurts – 4:41
06. Turn Around – 4:23
07. Deep Water – 5:27
08. Keep on Running – 3:24
09. Barroom Tan – 3:48
10. Dancing Feet – 5:51
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Snafu – Situation Normal (1974) (@256)
30 Apr 2010
(Review from alexgitlin.com)
On the second LP, “Situation Normal”, Pete Solley had taken over much of the control of the band. There is a strong country-rock influence on this album, which makes you either hate or love it.
Solley’s keyboard/fiddle playing is wonderful throughout the album. At the same time, Micky Moody was exploring music by the likes of Ry Cooder and getting more and more into playing slide guitar. Harrison’s vocal work is sublime and the rhythm section is both tight and soulful.
Surprisingly, it was not as well reviewed as its predecessor. The band toured America as a support act for Emerson Lake and Palmer but wasn’t happy with the results of having to play to a completely different audience.
Line-up:
- Bobby Harrison / vocals, congas
- Micky Moody / guitar, mandolin, harmonica
- Colin Gibson / bass
- Terry Popple / drums, washboard
- Pete Solley / keyboards, fiddle, ARP synthesizer
Track List:
01. No More – 6:19
02. No Bitter Taste – 3:24
03. Brown Eyed Beauty & The Blue Assed Fly – 3:25
04. Lock And Key – 2:49
05. Big Dog Lusty – 3:41
06. Playboy Blues – 8:16
07. Jessie Lee – 4:37
08. Ragtime Roll – 5:05
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Snafu – Snafu (1973) (@256)
29 Apr 2010
(Review from amazon)
Snafu was formed in 1973 by former Procol Harum and Freedom vocalist Bobby Harrison along with Micky Moody, formerly of Tramline, the Mike Cotton Sound and Juicy Lucy (later with Whitesnake). With Colin Gibson from Ginger Baker’s Air Force, Terry Popple from Mickey Jupp’s Legend, and session musician Pete Solley the line-up was completed. Gibson suggested the name Snafu, a term he lifted from a Captain Beefheart LP. The musical influences were mainly American and came from bands such as Allman Brothers and in particular Little Feat, one of Bobby Harrison’s favourite bands.
The band’s first album is filled with well-played funky rock with the kind of edge you’d expect from guys who had their backgrounds. The opener “Long Gone” was the single, and a pretty good introduction to the style of the album: a quiet keyboard intro with guitar drifting in, funky mid-tempo drums, Harrison’s suitably raw but melodic and familiar-sounding rock’n'roll voice and a melody that’s easy to listen to.
Other highlights include “Monday Morning”, peppered with Pete Solley’s fierce fiddle-playing, the country-rock number “Country Nest”, graced with a melody that hooks on you instantly – the aptly titled “Funky Friend” with its kicking drum beat that’s left as loud as possible in the mix (and Solley plays fiddle on this one too), and the climactic closer “That’s the Song” with a dynamite chorus.
A balanced album by talented musicians, it forebode good things for Snafu, but sadly, commercial success was to elude the band.
Line-up:
- Bobby Harrison / vocals, congas
- Micky Moody / guitar, mandolin, harmonica
- Colin Gibson / bass
- Terry Popple / drums, washboard
- Pete Solley / keyboards, fiddle, ARP synthesizer
Track List:
01. Long Gone – 5:18
02. Said He To The Judge – 4:34
03. Monday Morning – 3:17
04. Drowning In The Sea Of Love – 5:51
05. Country Nest – 5:19
06. Funky Friend – 4:05
07. Goodbye USA – 4:24
08. That’s The Song – 6:05
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Freedom – Freedom At Last (1969) (@256)
20 Mar 2008
(Review from allmusic)
A spinoff of Procol Harum, Freedom was formed by guitarist Ray Royer and drummer Bobby Harrison. Both of them were in Procol Harum’s lineup at the outset for their debut, “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” single, but were ousted almost immediately.
Freedom’s early sound, perhaps unsurprisingly, echoed Procol Harum’s in its prominent use of organ and piano, as well as heavy rock guitar, and like Procol Harum’s early records, captured late British psychedelia as it was starting to inch towards progressive rock. Freedom wasn’t a Procol Harum clone, though, with a somewhat poppier take on psychedelia that was closer to Traffic than Procol Harum.
Their debut is typical lumpy British hard rock circa 1969. It features the early Freedom sound, including covers from Beatles, Zombies and Howlin’ Wolf.
Line-up:
* Peter Dennis / Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
* Bobby Harrison / Drums, Vocals
* Steve Jolly / Guitar
* Roger Saunders / Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
Track List:
01. Enchanted Wood – 3:04
02. Deep Down In The Bottom – 4:31
03. Have Love Will Travel – 2:53
04. Cry Baby Cry – 3:42
05. Time Of The Season – 4:55
06. Hoo Doo Man – 4:28
07. Built For Comfort – 4:26
08. Fly – 3:18
09. Never Loved A Girl – 4:47
10. My Life – 2:50
11. Can’t Stay With Me – 4:18
12. Dusty Track – 3:39
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