Frontiers will release Jimi Jamison’s ‘1998 Live Hits’ on December 12. Jamison fronted SURVIVOR during the 80s, through a pile of hits and a few excellent albums. I always thought this guy was right up there with the likes of Brad Delp and Lou Gramm. His pre-Survivor bands COBRA and TARGET were more hard rock, making the albums he did with those bands highly recommended. But this Live Hits features largely Survivor’s biggest hits, as well as a few from Jamison’s solo catalogue, and a cover of The Doors “Riders On The Storm”. Check out the press info, as well as the bio below, the 2 videos released so far, tracklist…below.
‘1998 Live Hits’ is a powerful time capsule capturing the energy, emotion, and artistry of legendary vocalist JIMI JAMISON at a pivotal point in his post-Survivor career. Recorded across three vibrant shows in Little Rock, AR, Nashville, TN, and Bettendorf, IA, and now to be released by Frontiers Music Srl, this album showcases JAMISON’s electrifying live presence and undeniable vocal prowess as he revisits some of the most iconic songs from his time with Survivor, along with deep cuts, original solo work, and inspired covers. The album will be out on December 12, 2025.
Backing JAMISON is a seasoned and soulful ensemble: longtime collaborators Jeff Adams (bass, vocals) and Hal Butler (keyboards, vocals) were joined by guitarist Chris Adamson, drummer Pete Mendillo, and Memphis-based producer and guitarist Wes Henley, who also supervised these live album recordings. This lineup reflects a strong musical camaraderie built over years of touring, with several members having roots alongside JAMISON that date back to his 1970s band Target.
Now, years later, these recordings allow fans—old and new—to reconnect with a voice and spirit that remains timeless. ‘1998 Live Hits’ is more than a concert album; it’s a tribute to an era, a legacy, and the enduring magic of JIMI JAMISON.
One standout from the set is a haunting performance of “Riders on the Storm” by The Doors — a testament to JAMISON’s ability to tap into a wide range of emotions and his gift for storytelling through song. His delivery brings an atmospheric intensity, drawing the listener deep into the moment.
The track list includes fan favorites such as “Burning Heart,” “High on You,” “I Can’t Hold Back,” “The Search Is Over,” and “Eye of the Tiger,” all songs that defined a generation of melodic rock. Deeper cuts like “Oceans” and “Too Hot to Sleep” reveal the richness of Survivor’s catalog, while JAMISON’s originals, such as “Rock Hard” and “I’m Always Here” (the iconic Baywatch theme), showcase his creative versatility.
Of particular note is the interplay between Chris Adamson and Wes Henley on guitars. Though Henley’s primary role was behind the board, his friendship with JAMISON and passion for the Survivor material often brought him onstage. Together, he and Adamson bring layered, textured performances that do justice to the intricate compositions of Peterik and Sullivan.
Through warm crowd interactions and powerful vocal moments, ‘1998 Live Hits’ highlights JAMISON’s authentic stage presence, Memphis soul, and deep bond with both his band and his audience. As friends and collaborators reflect, this wasn’t just a group of musicians—it was a family.
1. Burning Heart 2. High On You 3. Rebel Son 4. I’m Always Here 5. I See You In Everyone 6. Rock Hard 7. Oceans 8. The Search Is Over 9. Is This Love 10. I Can’t Hold Back 11. Riders On The Storm 12. Too Hot To Sleep 13. Eye Of The Tiger
Line-up: Jimi Jamison – lead vocals Jeff Adams – bass and vocals Chris Adamson – guitars Hal Butler – keyboards and vocals Pete Mendillo – drums Wes Henley – guitars
Photo courtesy of Debbie Jamison
JIMI JAMISON earned recognition as the frontman for hard rock bands Target and Cobra before reaching platinum heights with Survivor, singing the hits “Burning Heart” from the film Rocky IV, “I Can’t Hold Back,” “High on You,” “The Search is Over,” and “Is This Love.” Acclaimed by legendary U.S. disc jockey Casey Kasem as “The Voice,” JIMI JAMISON’s performances are treasured by connoisseurs of AOR and melodic rock who consistently rate him as one of the genre’s Top 5 vocalists of all time.
Raised on R&B, Blues-Rock, and Country music in Memphis, Tennessee, JIMI JAMISON released his first single in 1967 with a band called The Debuts. “If I Cry” was originally intended for fellow Memphis band, The Box Tops, featuring lead singer Alex Chilton. Jamison honed his craft by singing commercial jingles by day and fronting gritty rockers Target by night. His next band, Cobra, with Mandy Meyer on guitar, cut a cult classic in 1983’s First Strike, but that was just a prelude to Jamison’s breakthrough as lead singer of Survivor.
With JIMI JAMISON at the mic, Survivor proved that its earlier success with “Eye of the Tiger” was no fluke. The combination of JAMISON’s emotion-charged vocals with Jim Peterik and Frankie Sullivan’s masterful songwriting and Ron Nevison’s radio-friendly production resulted in 1984’s Platinum-selling ‘Vital Signs’ album. Its hit singles “I Can’t Hold Back,” “High on You,” and “The Search Is Over” were massive hits, later joined by Survivor’s Rocky IV theme, “Burning Heart,” and the further Top 10 hit “Is This Love.” Survivor’s 1980s trilogy featuring JAMISON – ‘Vital Signs’ (1984), ‘When Seconds Count’ (1986), and ‘Too Hot to Sleep’ (1988) – are acclaimed as AOR and melodic rock landmarks. Concurrently, JAMISON’s voice could be heard singing prominent harmony vocals on ZZ Top’s smash ‘Eliminator’ album, most notably on ‘Gimme All Your Lovin’.’
Striking out on his own in the 1990s, Jimi Jamison released the solo albums ‘When Love Comes Down’ and ‘Empires.’ His voice and songwriting reached new audiences through “I’m Always Here,” the theme song for Baywatch, the most-watched television series in the world with a weekly audience of over 1.1 billion viewers. But touring became his primary focus throughout the decade, both with all-star projects including Voices of Classic Rock and with his own band. JAMISON’s primarily Memphis-bred group comprised acclaimed musicians including keyboardist Hal Butler; guitarists John Roth, Jerry Riggs, Hal McCormack, and Chris Adamson; bass players Jeff Adams and Barry Dunaway; and drummers Bill Marshall and Pete Mendillo. The most stable lineup of Butler, Adamson, Adams, and Mendillo was captured live in concert in 1998, but the recordings went unreleased.
JAMISON returned to the record racks with a vengeance in the 2000s, with projects including Survivor’s 2006 album, ‘Reach’; the 2008 collaboration with Jim Peterik, ‘Crossroads Moment,’ and its 2010 companion piece ‘Extra Moments’; 2011 duo albums ‘Kimball Jamison’ with his longtime friend, Toto lead vocalist Bobby Kimball, and ‘One Man’s Trash’ with guitarist Fred Zahl; and his final solo album, 2012’s ‘Never Too Late.’ JAMISON’s triumphant first-ever UK appearance at Firefest 2010, backed by a band featuring guitarist Tommy Denander, was memorialized on the CD and DVD Live at Firefest. JAMISON performed his final show just two days before his untimely passing on September 1, 2014.
JIMI JAMISON’s family and friends have worked diligently to keep his memory and music at the forefront. Several all-star “Jam for Jimi” concerts have been staged in Memphis to raise money for JAMISON’s favorite charity, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. A stretch of Highland Street in Memphis was named “Jimi Jamison Street” in 2022. That same year, the first of several CD releases from the Jimi Jamison Archives, ‘Rock Hard,’ presented his 1990 solo debut album as it was originally intended. JAMISON was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in 2023. Memorabilia, including a fan-funded bronze bust, is on permanent display at the iconic Memphis venue, Lafayette’s Music Room. The tenth anniversary of JAMISON’s passing was acknowledged by Representative Steve Cohen in the United States House of Representatives. Jimi’s shelved 2008 country rock collaboration with Jim Peterik, entitled ‘Jimmy Wayne Jamison,’ was unvaulted at the same time. Members of JAMISON’s solo bands continue to play together in both .38 Special and Starship. A film, Resonating Voices: The Jimi Jamison Documentary, is in the early stages of development.
2025 brings the most exciting Jimi Jamison Archives release yet, one which his fans have been anticipating for 25 years: the never-before-issued live album he recorded in 1998. With a setlist drawn from Survivor, his solo career, and even a cover of The Doors’ “Riders on the Storm,” ‘1998 Live Hits’ ensures that JIMI JAMISON’s strong, clear voice will continue to thrill fans worldwide.
In 2007 MICK MASHBIR released his first solo album, Keepin’ The Vibe Alive. Mashbir, from Phoenix is a guitarist/songwriter, who in the 1970s played on 2 ALICE COOPER albums, as well as accompanying tours (1973-74), as well as Alice Cooper bandmember solo projects, and later with Flo & Eddie, and The Turtles. Mick has a new album out, digitally only (so far), titled Strungout On Strings, which includes a few tracks from his previous album, a few new ones, and some written and recorded in-between. (I’m kinda hoping for a CD (:-)) in the future). You can check out Strungout On Strings on Youtube (see link at the bottom, and give the songs a like).
Can you give me the basics on your new album? (when songs were written and recorded, title…)? I notice a few titles which were previously released as singles.
STRUNGOUT ON STRINGS is a compliation of songs recorded before and after KEEPIN’ THE VIBE ALIVE was released. It is varied in styles because as a guitar player I have played many styles beyond what I did with the ACG. I released “De La Vina”, “Now” and “Bottom Feeders” after KTVA because I wanted them to be available for all to hear. My love for guitar is not about one style. The title says it all. That’s why I’m still playing. The 12 tracks are; NOW, AMERICAN WEIRDO, BOTTOM FEEDERS, POINT DOOM, BORN TO ROCK, FLOAT, HERE IN THE FLESH, DE LA VINA, 1-900-4AGOD, MEMNOCHS BLUES, COMPASSION and HOLD ON.
Are there any special guests on this one?
“Born To Rock” featured my band the YARBLES. It was recorded at the Record Plant in LA. The drums on that track are the only live drums on the album. I programmed all the drums on the other tracks.
Is Bob Dolin (RIP) on any other tracks (aside from “Hold On”)?
Unfortunately no. The upside is that it forced me to upgrade my chops on the keys.
You included “American Weirdo” and “Hold On” from your previous album. I notice that “Hold On” plays out til the end instead of fading out. Is there anything else you altered on either track? Both make great singles btw. I always thought “American Weirdo” would’ve been a cool AC song way back.
“American Weirdo” was remixed, remastered and re-released because I felt it spoke to what is happening in America today. At heart it is a blues song, relevant in the 80’s and still relevant today.
The images in the accompanying video are symbolic of the political, economic, religious and social conflicts we as Americans are experiencing regardless of our race, chosen religion or political affiliation. The video shows it all.
“Hold On” was remixed, remastered and re-released as a tribute to Bob Dolin. His piano part in the coda was cut short by the fade out version on KTVA. I thought it was important for that to be heard in its entirety. His piano in the coda was one take. His overdubs..the cellos, violins and piano took about 3 hours. Funny thing about Bob, he really wanted to be a lead guitar player. The last time I saw him perform he playing lead guitar in a cover band!
“Hold On” is a song of struggle and hope. It helped a couple of friends of mine make it thru their dark and difficult times.
Can you comment on a few of the tracks, such as “Now” (from 2013), “Here In The Flesh”, as well as instrumentals “Point Doom”, “Float” (who’s playing keyboards on this one?)
POINT DOOM is a nod to my first band The Jaguars. We were playing Surf Instrumentals in the Arizona desert. It was written in the 90’s while I was living on Point Dume’ (Doom) in Malibu, California. The video features old school skateboarding.
NOW is auto-biographical history. I had never played a solo using the whammy-bar on my Strat so that is my first attempt. The video reflects the philosophy and reality that NOW is all we really experience in our lives. The video is a psychedelic take on time.
The lyrics of HERE IN THE FLESH were written by Curt Phillips (RIP). When I first met Curt he was in an Alice Cooper cover band so I think that’s what inspired him to write those lyrics. The lead was cut in one take on my Fostek 4 track cassette deck with my 58′ Sunburst.
FLOAT was a track that I created to jam to. I played piano and B3 organ. That guitar was my first take on the first jam. I thought “this works, this is a keeper.” COMPASSION and MEMNOCHS BLUES were both done the same way with the same results.
DE LA VINA was inspired by an Ayahuasca journey in the jungles of Los Angeles. Again, the video gives a little symbolic insight to the experience.
You’ve only put this out on Youtube so far. Will it be available on other streaming services.
It is available on about 35 other streaming services, some not available in the USA. Check out: Amazon, iTUNES, deezer, iHeart Radio, Pandora and Spotify.
Will there be downloadable or physical copies (maybe in the future)?
That all depends on the reaction to the initial YouTube release.
Who created all the videos?
All the videos were created by me. I wanted SOS to be an audio/video experience and that’s why “SOS” was initially released on YouTube. The videos are very symbolic in their nature letting the viewer interpret them as they wish.
Who created the cover art for this?
I created the art as well. It’s a nod to AI. I would never use AI for music, but since I’m not a practiced visual artist, AI is a handy tool.
There’s been a lot of activity from the original Alice Cooper group these last few years, notably the deluxe reissues of albums you played on and a live album from your time with them. I notice you were included in the extended liner notes to Muscle of Love, but didn’t see much in B$Bs. What did you think about these releases?
I am not familiar with the B$Bs reissue so I can’t really comment. I was not asked to participate so no free copy for me. ..lol
How did your inclusion (interview?) come about for the Muscle of Love release?
That was because Mike Bruce put me in touch with the incredible Jaan Uhelszki (founder/editor of CREEM magazine) who was doing the liner notes. She made sure I received a promo copy. I was impressed with the remastered sound and Alice not singing in character on “Crazy Little Child” isolated vocal…a real crooner.
In the Billion $ Babies release, Michael Bruce mentions your involvement in the early stages of what became “Raped and Freezin”. Do you recall that?
It was the first song we worked on at the first rehearsal…The Latin rave up at the end was our nod to the instrumental “TEQUILA”.
Have you kept in touch with any of the AC guys in recent years?
I saw Mike Bruce about 10 years ago if that counts as recent. He is the only person in the band that made any effort to stay connected.
Have you heard the new AC band album (any thoughts on it)?
I thought the relaxed, not so polished production that killed the feel of most of ACs solo stuff, really made it sound like ACG groups early records. I notice on Wiki there were 5 additional guitar players which dissapointed but didn’t suprise me.
What else are you up to these days? (still play live much?)
I’m writing and recording new material. I no longer gig.
Singer Peter Goalby is mainly known for years during the 80s fronting Uriah Heep, with whom he recorded 3 albums, and prior to that a few years with Trapeze, where he recorded one studio and one live album. But in-between there, very briefly, Peter was chosen to sing for another, bigger band, at the time. His time with Rainbow didn’t last long, and he’s often (if at all) merely mentioned as a footnote as someone who auditioned for the band. Goalby’s story of that time, and his first ever detailed recollection of that period is a very fascinating read. Peter recalled it all to myself and Peter Kerr (Rock Daydream Nation). The 3rd part of this article contains questions (from Peter Kerr & myself), answered by PG.
Please note, Peter has wanted to tell this story for a long time. I know he has a very good memory of his career, and fine details. This is his account being told for the first time. It was a long time ago, and it came at very busy period in his career, while he was still with Trapeze. He would soon record a project later in 1980 under the name ‘Destiny’, followed by Trapeze tours and a live album. By late ’81 he was ready to step into the role of lead singer for Uriah Heep. Ironically, the 1982 album Abominog, a fantastic album, was comparable in direction (that American Hard-rock/AOR) to what Rainbow was also recording during the early 80s with Joe Lynn Turner. So, frankly, I don’t see how Peter wouldn’t have been a good fit for that band, but oh well….On to Peter’s story….
My Audition / Initiation
The day before New Years Eve, sitting in my unfurnished flat (apartment) in Wolverhampton phone rings – “Hello is that Pete?” , I said yes, it is. “Pete this is Ritchie Blackmore “, Fuck off I said, who is this? I thought John Thomas from the band Budgie; he was a prankster.” Pete, its Ritchie really (LOL) “He said I “got your number from…” I can’t remember who he said but I thought, ‘Oh Its Ritchie alright’.
“Would you be interested in joining my band, Rainbow? I have heard a lot of great things about you and your work with Trapeze. Mel Galley is gonna hate me even more if I steal you That will be twice.”
We chatted for a few minutes and then he asked, ‘do I have anything I can play to him?’ I said I have a copy of the new Trapeze album Hold On, “I can play you a track down the Phone(?)” I played him “Don’t Break My Heart Again” (phone to the speaker). It’s 6 minutes long, I thought he will have hung up by the end. “Are you still there?”, I said. “Very much so. Would you like to come to New York? “, I said ‘yes when’. “Tomorrow”, he said.
I was told to arrive at Euston Train station. I would be met and taken to the Airport. I was given a ticket and some money and put on a plane
(In New York) I was detained at the Airport upon arriving and taken to a back room where I was questioned and my luggage searched. They thought I was trying to work in the U.S I said I was there for an audition. I was asked who the band was. I said Rainbow. One of the security guys said Ritchie Blackmore(?), “then re pack your case you can go”.
I was met by a member of the Rainbow crew and taken to the Holiday Inn, Connecticut. I was there on my own for 2 days waiting for someone to greet me. I spent New Years Eve on my own, well me and the barman in the hotel.
Next evening I was in the Bar and who should walk in – Cozy Powell (LOL). Then in walks Don Airey (LOL). WE all got on great from the off. I had met Cozy before.
I said, ‘where is Ritchie?’, I was told he lives next door to the hotel. So, I had been left on my own for 2 days with Ritchie living next door celebrating the New Year. I was starting to get the picture and the way they all spoke of Ritchie, he was the Boss for shit sure.
Ritchie walked in the bar with his then very large breasted girlfriend, and we spent the evening talking – me, Ritchie, Don, and Cozy. I can’t remember when Glover arrived.
We arranged to meet for rehearsals next morning.
Down To Earth (with a Bang) LOL
I arrived at the Geneva; the place was incredible with a Moat and a Drawbridge, WoW.
Don arrived soon after me, we got on so well it was all fantastic. There was a guy called Jack Green there he was the new bass player, as Roger Glover was producing Down To Earth he was not playing – only producing. There was a mobile Recording Studio outside belonging to Jethro Tull. All the band gear was set up in the Dining Hall which was the size of a banquet Hall.
Cozy arrived, he was such a compete gentleman, he was such a complete person he really was great.
We were all there for a couple of days before Ritchie arrived with the girlfriend. He spent a few days in his room only coming out to have meals. We had a Cook living in with us. From time-to-time Ritchie would come out and ask me and Jack to write some lyrics for an idea he would have. Then he would say forget that one. “Can you do some words for this?” That would be another Idea he would be playing. I was finding it frustrating as we did not seem to be doing much at all. I used to have a play on Don’s Hammond organ to pass the time. We were all just waiting for Ritchie. After a few days Ritchie had come up with some riffs. One night about 10.30 to 11pm I was going to bed and was told Richie wants to rehearse now. I foolishly said I was about to go to bed. Never mind. We went down into the Dining Hall They all started jamming led by Ritchie showing them the ideas he had. I was expected to just sing something over them. Something I had never done before. I was used to having a structured song to sing knowing the melody etc. I just looked at Don thinking ‘what the fuck does he want’. So, I started warbling some nonsense. So, we did this for some time. Don was looking at me and encouraging me to sing anything by pretending he was singing. I found this all a bit bizarre. Next morning there was a bad atmosphere from the off. I did not see Ritchie at all. Roger said “can we talk in your room”. I said of course.
Roger said Ritchie is not happy. I said neither am I. I don’t know what he wants I am not used to working like this. Roger said you are fired. I said couldn’t Ritchie face me and Fire me himself.
Roger said I will take you to the airport now. So, I went and told the guys I was fired they were shocked. Ritchie did not even come to say goodbye. He did send me a message through Roger, he said You Know that riff you have been playing on the Hammond could you show Don how it goes before you leave? On the way to the Airport Roger said did I know any good bass players as Ritchie was not happy with Jack Green either
I was given no reason other than Ritchie was not happy.
It later transpired he was not happy with my vocal range he said my top note was an A which is not true as the world can hear on the Heep albums I did.
I did not apply for the job in Rainbow I was invited by Ritchie Blackmore after listening to me singing “Don’t Break My Heart Again” by TRAPEZE I made no claims about my vocal range.
I am very happy to finally tell the true version of my very very brief time in such a great band
Peter Goalby 09-09-2025
Did you talk for a while with Ritchie before having a sing?
It was all quite natural mainly down to Cozy being such a great and honest guy (what a lovely man)
What was he like?
Ritchie enjoyed being Ritchie and enjoying being number uno.
Were there any band members at this first meeting? Describe the rehearsal with the band? What songs did you play? Any of your originals or non-Rainbow songs were played?
A tiny rehearsal room. I was stood facing Cozy when he hit his bass drums My jeans blew back at the ankles LOL, He was making me laugh to make me feel at home. In fact, Don was the same very friendly as if they were relieved, they had got me there.
WE did “Long Live Rock and Roll”, I enjoyed that, not too many words LOL
I think Cozy said “we have this song demo with a girl singer”. He said Ritchie does not like it, but the record company want us to do it as a single. I said it’s a great song. I think. We ran through it. I can not remember what else we did. I kept thinking this is me singing with Rainbow LOL.
Did you get a good vibe as to how things were going?
I got great feedback from the guys they were talking like it was a done deal. Like I said I felt they were relieved they had a singer. Ritchie was very reserved I think that’s how he liked people to see him.
What was said at the end of the play through?
All very positive but what was weird is It was as though I was in, but no one said You are our new singer. I was given a plane ticket and told Bruce Payne (manager) would contact me, which he did when I got home. I was put on the payroll. I think it was £2000 per month. Little knowing it was to last only 2 months at that time. Bruce said we were to do a demo of “Since You Been Gone” at Roger Glover’s house, which we did. I remember Ritchie playing the wrong chords when we were recording LOL.
Then the recording date for the album was announced and I went off to Geneva to the chateau.
Did you think you would be offered the role?
Of course. I would have been great in that band
I am curious – Had you told anyone on your side (bandmates, management) that you were off to NY to possibly join Rainbow(?)
I did not have time; I was called and then the next morning I was on a plane. I only told my wife, I don’t think she believed me at first. And Then I told her I got the Job then a couple of months later I told her I was FIRED LOL
What were you up to when Ritchie called? Was there a Trapeze tour being planned or any other recordings?
I was in my apartment (flat) with no furniture I can’t remember what was happening with Trapeze. I had just got the first copy of “Hold On”, the Trapeze album. Thank you, Mel, for writing the song that got me in and out of Rainbow LOL.
Considering Ritchie was concerned about image (i.e. he hated Graham Bonnet’s short hair and choice of clothes). Did any appearance or image stuff come up?
No, he knows a star when he sees one LOL.
Was your audition or time with the band given any press treatment? Ie: photos taken, bios written, or mention in the press?
Only my local town paper; I was on the front cover if I remember correctly.
Did you really get to talk to Ritchie much at all? (Even in the bar) And was it all business?
I did talk to him, yes, I did get on with him socially. But then again, I get on well with everybody.
“And we had a singer called Pete Goalby, who did great things with Uriah Heep, but he didn’t quite get what Ritchie was going on about” – Don Airey (Rolling Stone)
“I was the one who helped talk Ritchie into doing it. His manager Bruce Payne NEEDED A HIT SINGLE. We did a demo at Roger’s house with Jethro Tulls’ Mobile.” – PG
PETER GOALBY & GRAHAM BONNET
There is one song that ironically both Peter Goalby and Graham Bonnet sang, and that is a cover of Paul Bliss’ “That’s The Way That It Is”, which I’ve put below. The song appeared on Bonnet’s 1981 album Line Up, as well as Uriah Heep’s 1982 album Abominog, and released as a single in both cases. Interestingly, Bonnet also covered Argent’s “Liar” (written by Russ Ballard) on that album, while Goalby had sang the song years earlier as a demo for his band Fable! Abominog would instead feature a different Russ Ballard track, “On The Rebound”.
I could not find any songs that both Goalby and Bonnet’s successor in Rainbow – Joe Lynn Turner both sang, but both Heep (w/ Peter Goalby) and Rainbow (w/ JLT) both took a similar direction in the 80s, which is discussed with Martin Popoff in an episode of History In 5 Songs – https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/history5songs?selected=PAN4285683323
Goalby’s post-Heep solo recordings are also much more in the 80s AOR style that would’ve definitely suited either Foreigner or Rainbow in that decade (Ironically, Goalby’s name came up when Foreigner was looking for a singer when Lou Gramm left the first time, but not bigger discussions or offers came about). But check out tracks like “Take Another Look”, “Waiting For An Angel“, or “It’s Just My Heart Breaking” and “Show Some Emotion” (from his upcoming 3rd album), they would sit comfortably on an 80s Foreigner or Rainbow album, IMO. As for the one ‘new’ song that Goalby sang with Rainbow, “Since You Been Gone”, no recording from those rehearsals exists, but both Bonnet and it’s writer, Russ Ballard, both have new versions of it in 2025.
My friend Boris Shnitzer from Israel has been a lifelong Uriah Heep fan. What is most interesting about Boris’ huge Heep collection is his focus on collecting variants of his favorite Heep album – Salisbury (the band’s second album, from 1971). It’s Boris’ Salisbury collection that got me wondering how one gets in to such an extreme collection of one album. Heck, I know many Heep fans have multiples of various favorites, and I people who know think I’m ridiculous having about 20+ copies of Demons And Wizards, but clearly I am small-time! Boris discusses his Heep and specifically, his Salisbury collection below. And in his latest emails, Boris has since gained 2 more unique vinyl copies of Salisbury!
How and why did you start collecting Salisbury variants?
I had this idea to frame the Live 73 inserts to put on a wall. So, I bought a few copies of the album, and I basically figured out that there are different releases. Before that I had all Heep albums, but one copy was good enough for me😉 So I started to buy some other copies of Heep albums, and got infected by the collecting virus. For several years I bought all things Heep, vinyls, various compilations, CDs, cassettes, posters, whatever. At some point I saw I don’t have too many copies of Salisbury, and since it is my favorite album, I decided to concentrate on it. The idea was not to have as many as possible copies, but as many as possible different releases, noy only vinyl, but also CDs, cassettes, 8-tracks,7-in. I would ask sellers to provide info on the albums, so I can figure out if it’s something I don’t have already.
Why (presumably) is this your favorite Heep album? and is it the only one you collect to this extreme?
Salisbury is my favorite Heep album because it was the first Heep album I bought when I was 16, and it made me a Heep fan. Something on that album hooked me on the first listen. I even started to learn English more seriously because I wanted to understand the lyrics.
It is the only one I collect to this extreme, thou I do have 20-25 copies of some other Heep albums, practically at least several copies of each album.
How many copies do you have (LP, CD, cassette, 8-track, reel to reel?)?
148 different copies on LPs (various countries, various years, various labels, etc.). 25 copies on CD, 24 cassettes, 6 8-tracks, 18 7in singles.
As far as I know Salisbury was not released on reel to reel. I think only Live 73 and Sweet Freedom were released on RtR. I have the Live 73 one, but never came across the SF.
Can you pick a favorite copy of the album from your collection (either for $ value or for personal reason) ?
I don’t really look at it from a favorite point of view. I would say the favorite copy is the first one I bought, an Israeli pressing from 1973, which made me a Heep fan.
What is the rarest copy of Salisbury you have?
I don’t know. Not sure what might be considered as a rarest one. Maybe the Vertigo mono pressing from Colombia. Probably the rarest are the ones I don’t have😉
Is there many more variants (in all formats you’re still looking for)? and is there a ‘holy grail’ copy of Salisbury that you still would like to find?
I wish I knew for sure. I suspect there are some more, like Yugoslavian or Turkish, other Heep albums were released in those countries, but I never encountered a Salisbury. Maybe more from South America.
A holy grail? I don’t look at collecting so zealously😉 Maybe the 17inch metal master, I saw it once, but wasn’t able to buy it. I guess it’s a lost cause😉
* Thanks to Boris for his replies, photos, And the Heep LPs from Israel I received a few months back, great additions to my collection.
Canadian rock writer Tim Durling has a brand new book available . A Beginner’s Companion to FLEETWOOD MAC. Durling looks over and reviews the band’s entire catalogue, which dates back to the late 60s, long before Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham arrived for the most successful period of the from mid to late 70s. Says Tim – “I tried to cover every original Fleetwood Mac song, which was really confusing in the 1967-69 period but I think I managed it… The idea behind this book is to help the curious new listeners navigate the catalogue.”
The book also includes a list of 100 Fleetwood Mac covers by 100 different artists, as well as a forward by Pete Pardo, and a cool cover drawing by Sally Ann Morgan.
Available in paperback, totaling 151 pages, and available on Amazon for a mere $21 (Canadian) now
LISTEN CAREFULLY TO THE SOUND.
Fleetwood Mac: a band with several distinct lives. The hard driving blues of the Peter Green-led lineup. The dreamy soft rock that defined the Bob Welch era of the early Seventies. The turbulent but undeniably potent chemistry of the Buckingham/Nicks years. It all adds up to a confusing but ultimately rewarding catalogue of music.
But where does one begin? The Sound That Haunts You is author Tim Durling’s attempt to direct the curious listener from the band’s late Sixties beginnings through their more recent recordings in the 21st Century.
Each of the Mac’s studio albums is analyzed and summarized.
You’ll also discover the sheer breadth of artists who were enchanted by Fleetwood Mac’s music enough to cover their songs. Featuring a foreword by Sea of Tranquility host Pete Pardo.
How does a new listener begin to find their way through such a varied and complicated catalogue? Durling provides an easy-reading road map through the band’s 1968 debut album all the way through 2003’s Say You Will, and beyond! Featuring lovely hand-drawn artwork, and photos from the author’s own collection, The Sound That Haunts You is the perfect companion to sitting by your preferred music source, listening to Fleetwood Mac.
Whether you are a longtime fan or a curious newcomer, this book is for you.
GREG T WALKER is best known as a founding member of the classic Southern rock band (and highly underrated) BLACKFOOT, with whom he recorded and toured with from the 70s to mid 80s. And in the very early days he was also a part of LYNYRD SKYNYRD. When Blackfoot broke up, Greg went on to various other projects, with his most recent being a brand new album with TWO WOLF. The band’s self titled debut comes after a decade of Greg keeping the band going. If you like Southern Rock, I cannot recommend this enough. Two Wolf is a heavier rockin’ band, even to Blackfoot. The album (available on CD and now LP) even includes a few Blackfoot remakes.
I was happy to talk to Greg about Two Wolf and their new album, as well as going back to talk about his Blackfoot days. Hope you enjoy the read. It was one of my favorite interviews I’ve ever done; Greg was a pleasure to talk with, and I hope to see the band sometime up this way.
*Please check out the links at the end of the interview. I have included links to songs in the text, highlighted.
Can tell me a bit about the band, you guys have been going for a bit, haven’t you? You had an EP in 2017?
I formed Two Wolf in 2015, and Lance (Lopez) was in the original lineup. He only lasted about two months because he had some prior commitments, and then we brought Chris Bell in, and he also had some commitments. So, it was a couple years. We were just a three-piece, and then we got Chris and Lance both back in the band at the same time, and that was the magic. That’s what I wanted. So, that’s Two Wolf today.
And Lance, he co-wrote most of the stuff, and he’s quite a guitar player, and, it’s a very heavy album to what I expected, in comparison to the Blackfoot stuff.
Yeah, it’s at least as heavy as the heavy Blackfoot stuff. Lance wrote two or three of the songs; I co-wrote, as Chris Bell and myself did, you know, we all contributed to it. And we did three Blackfoot covers, as you can see. I really was hoping maybe one, two at the most, but Chris and Lance really love the Blackfoot catalog, and especially as guitar players, that guitar-driven band. So, we wound up with three, and it turned out to be a blessing.
Are those three regulars in your set list?
Yes, they are.
Can you tell me a bit about how you met Lance? I know he’s a good bit younger than the rest of you guys, I think, and he had his own gig going for a while there.
I actually met him through a drummer friend, who was the first drummer in Two Wolf, and he said, “I know this guy that’s a blistering guitar player”. So, that’s how I met Lance. It was through the drummer at the time.
How long has this album been in the works? How long have you guys been writing, and how long was the recording process?
It took about a year. We made four trips into the studio. We didn’t have a record deal, we just wanted to do an album and have it ready in case. And then we submitted it to Cleopatra, and they instantly said, “we love it”, and boom, it’s a done deal.
Can tell me a bit about the album artwork? Who did that and what kind of inspired it?
That is a girl named Sophie Armatol. She lives in France. I had met her when I was over there several times, and I saw her work, and I said, “oh, you’re just wonderful as an artist”. So, we gave her the initial concept. We definitely wanted wolves involved. She sent a bunch of sketches, and then we wound up with the one that’s on the cover now.
Can you tell me a bit about some of the songs? What stands out for you, and does everything kind of get rotated into the set list from this album?
We do every song on the new record. And some additional Blackfoot songs that are personal favorites. But you definitely will hear every song on that record, we do every single one.
Do you have any favorites of your own? Things you like doing, and things you’re kind of happiest with the way they turned out?
As in, you know, the original days, “Diary of a Working Man”. I love that song, always did, and we never played it live back in the d ay, not one single time. But we’ve been playing that song in the set for several years. So, we recorded it, and, and it came out really great. So, that’s among the favorites, but I couldn’t really pick one favorite. I love them all. We put our hearts and souls into every song, no matter who wrote it. So, we’re real happy with the way it turned out.
I like “Too Hard To Handle” and “Keep On Moving”, I think, is the single!?
“Keep On Moving”, yeah, that was one of my tracks that I always thought that was a B song. You know, it’s just a fun rocker; it wasn’t Beethoven, that’s for sure. But the guys love that song, and it actually came out real good, and that is the single.
Obviously, people want to hear some Blackfoot stuff, but you guys got your own thing, your own album. How is the response to that stuff?
It’s just going great. We got incredible reviews, response on every format, and hope I don’t jinx myself. Nobody’s said anything bad yet.
So, it’s out on CD and vinyl(?)
Vinyl comes out October 17th.
Did you guys have much stuff left over that you might already have the beginning of something new…?
Well, like I say, we’ve made four trips into the studio. We generally would do like four at a time. It’s interesting, I remember years ago, vinyl, you could have 45, 50 minutes on it, and now they say it’s like 20 minutes per side, and you can’t exceed that. I’m like, what changed!? I don’t know. That’s it. We did an album’s worth of songs, and then we got the deal, and then we started playing a lot more live, and we didn’t have a chance to go back in the studio. But we will soon, because even at the end of the original recording, we were already talking about, can’t wait to start on number two. You always want one more album.
Can you tell me a bit about some of the songs that you had a hand in writing? Was there any ideas or songs that had been sitting around for a while, for years, maybe?
“Keep On Moving” was, solely my composition. “Great Spirit” was started by a friend of mine in Montana, who I’ve known since the 70s, and he had the basic concept for that, and we joined up and finished it. “Traveler” was a song that we actually had played in the Blackfoot years, that was written by myself and our drummer Jackson (Spires). No big story there, it’s just, I had an idea, I played it, and he got on the drums, and then he helped me write the lyrics to it. And “Great Spirit”, most of the lyrics were from my friend in Montana, and I added to that, like a bridge and so forth, but I co-wrote those two, but “Keep on Moving” was one of my sole compositions. Again, I didn’t think it would ever be on the record, but I loved it.
Two Wolf, 2017 5-song EP. (cove art – Sophie Armatol)
I want to talk a little bit about some of the Blackfoot stuff as well. Do you still keep in touch with Charlie?
Yeah, I do. Charlie lives about a little over an hour from me. He lives just east of Gainesville, Florida. We stay in touch. He, oh my God, he still plays like he did years ago. His back problems have stopped him from playing live. I mean, he can stand up, maybe two or three songs, and then he’s got to sit down. It’s his spine, it’s been bothering him for years and years, but he came over here back in March, and a drummer came over. I met my drummer through Charlie, actually, and Charlie walked in and said, I want to play 10 Blackfoot songs, so we went out the studio, and I just had chill bumps listening to him play. It still sounded like the day we recorded it. He hasn’t lost anything. That guy can take a $50 guitar and a $50 amp, and he sounds like a Les Paul through a Marshall. I don’t know how he does it. It’s all in his fingers, I think.
In the beginning, you and Rickey were both briefly with Lynyrd Skynyrd, but you went off and obviously started the Blackfoot album, so how did the whole first album come about, because you guys went through a lot of changes there, and you never had a keyboard player in the beginning, either. That’s the other thing, as far as the Southern rock bands that had…
No, we didn’t. I played a couple little bitty piano parts, but you don’t really hear them on the earlier albums. But, we’d known the Skynyrd boys for a long time before we ever joined the band, in Florida. So we were friends, and Ricky joined first, and I came in three months later, I think it was, on bass, and at the time. It was going to be permanent, at least we signed a management contract and recording, but that music didn’t come out for two or three years after we originally recorded it, because we had already left the band. What I wanted to do was reform Blackfoot. I told Ricky that I just feel this urge to go back and pick up where we left off. We need to finish what we started. And, Jackson was another childhood friend from kindergarten, so, we were the nucleus, because we grew up since little bitty kids. But he agreed, so we put the band back together, and fortunately, because of our time at Muscle Shoals with Skynyrd, they said, send us a demo tape, so we did, you know, reel to reel. And they liked it enough, and they said, if you can get down to Alabama, we will record you and see if we can get you a deal. And they did. So, that was No Reservations. It came out, and…it did sell, I don’t know, 30 or 40,000 copies, maybe. And the next year we did Flyin’ High, on the Epic label. And same thing, it just came out and went at the same time. And then we went three years without a label, and then we hooked up with a guy who’s sister worked at Warner Brothers, on the Atco label, and so we recorded Strikes with a mobile unit, and signed us to a deal, and Strikes came out, and we became a 10-year overnight success. You know, it’s like a brand new band, but I said, Yeah, we’ve been together 10 years, but that went gold quickly, and then Platinum, and that set the tone for the years to follow.
Now, that was probably the band’s biggest album, I believe, right?
Yes.
I love the logo on the Flyin’ High album! What did you actually think of those first two albums? Is anything that stands out for you or that you particularly liked?
I always liked all of them. We would mutually agree on which songs to put on the record. We recorded more, and there were songs left over. I haven’t listened to that record in a long, long time. There’s some funny stuff on it, there’s some good stuff on it, anything in between.
Strikes is like an easy favorite for me. I still hear “Highway Song” on the radio from Buffalo once in a while, but you did the two covers on there, which was interesting. “I Got A Line On You” and “Wishing Well”, which I thought was a great cover. Was it your own ideas to do those covers, or was it kind of suggested?
Yeah, we had done both of those songs in our early club days. And it was just personal favorites.
Matter of fact, I think we did a third cover was “Pay My Dues”, an old Blues Image song; another personal favorite. In fact, we were in the studio warming up, and the mobile unit was out back, and we were just getting everything tuned, and we started playing that song, and the opening chord, you just hit it and let it ring, and the engineer just quickly hit the button. We didn’t know it. So we did the song, and we finished, and we said, “Okay, we’re warmed up, we’re ready to go, let’s start recording”. He said, “I think you need to come in and listen to that”. We said, “Listen to what? He said, “I just recorded your warm-up song”, and it made the album. I mean, who would have thought!?
Well, I think this album is a very consistent album for me. I really like the cover of “Wishing Well”, and obviously “Train, Train”, and “Highway Song”.
And then you did, like, these two albums, Marauder and Tomcattin’, which were both excellent albums, but they really didn’t kind of put you guys over the top.
No, they both went gold, but they didn’t have the sales that Strikes did. Tomcattin’, I love that record. That was like on steroids, so to speak. That’s a heavy record, and Europe really embraced it. They loved it over there.
You guys had a bigger following over there. Is that correct? Like, from the stuff I see in the UK press and that, from that time?
Yeah. I mean, there were periods that we may have done better over there, as opposed to over here, that we played here a lot more, of course. But we did a lot of tours over there. We did all the big festivals, you know, Reading and Donington, Monsters of Rock. And, we were playing with Deep Purple and ACDC, and we got to be friends that led to later tours over here. We played with AC/DC, a tour with Bon Scott. And then when Brian came in after Bon passed away, we did another tour with AC/DC. I love those guys. They still do what they do, and they do it great.
Now, this album (hold up Highway Song Live), I don’t think this one got released over here, the live album.
I think they released like 10,000 copies is all, which really upset us because it was a political thing going on with the Atco label in England, in London; a personal vendetta that I won’t go into. But they sent 10,000 copies over. That album would have sold great had it been released, and at the numbers that the others had, because everybody loved live albums at that time. That’s a blistering album.
I have the King Biscuit Flower Hour one that came out years ago. I think that’s from ’84. And I have this (I hold up the 4-CD Gimme Gimme Gimme set), it’s a bootleg, but it’s got all the radio shows gathered on this.
Oh yeah. I don’t remember what’s on that, but yeah, I’ve got a copy of it.
It’s all gathered radio shows that you guys did over the years.
And some of the bootlegs, they look legitimate, but they’re really bootlegs.
So what changed as far as, you know, did you guys think you need to bring in a keyboard player or was it kind of the record company thought you needed one?
I think it was more from the record company at that time hair bands were gaining popularity. They started kind of taking over and it’s like, “You guys need to get with the modern era, change your hairstyle, change your stage clothing”. And I said, “We’re not going to wear a spandex. I can tell you.” (haha).. that was just not in our DNA. But yeah, it was grabbing at straws from the record company. And in the end, by the time we got to Vertical Smiles, that was a kiss of death, and we couldn’t do anything right in their opinion. So the album came out and just went to the bottom.
Did you initially think it was a good idea or do you think it was a bad idea from the start?
I know Jackson and I were not really in favor of a keyboard player, because we were a guitar driven band. But, you kind of get backed against the wall and it’s either “you got to do something or we’re not going to give you support”, you know, the record company. So we called John Lord and he said, “If you’d have called me two weeks ago, I would have been on the next plane to America…I just signed on with a new band called Whitesnake”. So then we got in touch with Ken Hensley and then he’s the one that came in. Ken was a brilliant musician, a hell of a cat to hang out with, very, very talented guy, played really great slide guitar, which I didn’t know until he joined the band. I said “My favorite Uriah Heep album was that one with the mirror on the front”. He said, “Look At Yourself” – “Man, that guitar playing is brilliant”. He goes, “Oh, thank you”. And I said, “What do you mean, thank you? He said, “That was me”. I said, “You played slide?” He said, “Every song that had slide, that was me”. So he turned out to be a real talent. He was a great vocalist, player. Yeah, he’s got the package. But he didn’t stay until the end. He left. You know, the band eventually broke up.
Have you ever heard the album Toe Fat, that he did?
Yes.
And then there’s an album called Weed. So, he did a lot of interesting stuff outside of Uriah Heep that was all guitar stuff.
He did.
So now Siogo is one I really liked. I get that it steers away from the Southern rock sound, but it still has a lot of great commercial rock songs. “Teenage Idol” was good, but, kind of probably lyrically timely, for that era. “Heart’s Grown Cold”, “Crossfire” and the one that Ken brought in, “Send Me An Angel“. The one I really like is the track “Sail Away”. Do you remember that one?
Yeah.
Do you recall who came up with that (Sail Away), like the riff and how that song came about?
I kind of think that was Kenny’s original idea, that we built on… I think, I’m pretty sure.
Yeah, because I think it’s co-credited to a few of you guys on the album.
That’s when MTV really took hold of the business. Everybody was forced to do videos. So the hair-bands, they were younger and they adapted very well, but for us it looked cheesy. I mean, I look at those videos today and I just laugh. I’m like, Oh, my God! We’re musicians, not actors.
That video of “Teenage Idol” with Rickey just walking along, meeting people, and you guys didn’t come in til the end. (lol…Greg shakes head). But, I thought this was a great album.
And then, obviously you had this (Vertical Smiles), which kind of turned out to be a disaster. Did you guys get a lot of grief for the cover? (I hold up cover)
(laughs) I don’t remember now, it’s been so many years, why we came up with that cover. It was mostly our snapshots. And I know that the female part of Atco Records at the time when they saw that cover, oh, it made them so mad. They were like, “You male chauvinist pigs!” We were like, “it’s just an album cover”. Of course, the title, if you don’t figure it out, I guess you still live in a cave. but they got it. And…Yeah, that was the kiss of death.
And there was obviously a story behind the title for that one as well (Siogo).
Yeah, we won’t go into that. Our road crew came up with with that, and it was on their bus. They had a big cardboard thing in the front lounge of the bus that said S.I.O.G.O., but for each letter, there was a word below it. We laughed at it at the time, and it wound up being an album name. So Ricky was doing an interview one time and asking what it stood for. And he just didn’t even think he just spit it out. And why!? Oh, my God. You know, you couldn’t edit back then like you can now. But it is what it is.
I watched a clip from on YouTube this morning was a little video of you guys interviewed, all in the studio with Eddie Offord. It was MTV. It was like a three or four minute interview, and Ricky did most of the talking…So Charlie was there in the studio while you guys were doing Vertical Smiles. And he left at some point during that.
Yeah. Before it was finished he left. He was just kind of tired of the game, the politics. So, you know, Kenny was in the band and because Kenny played guitar, he couldn’t duplicate what Charlie did, of course, but he was good enough that we pulled it off. And it worked great. And then when Kenny left, we got Bobby Barth in the band from Axe. Bobby lives about four miles down the road from me now. So, you know, we had our hurdles, but we we kept going.
Now there’s some covers on this album, which I assume weren’t all your ideas, like the Peter Cetera song and stuff like that.
Yeah. See, that was that record company pressure because anything that record companies had the publishing on, they pushed out, because they had screwed the writers out of royalties, that was very common back then. We worked it up and we thought, OK, we we gave it a little bit of a harder edge, and I mean, it worked ok. We did it live. Yeah. And I don’t know if it helped or hurt, but that that whole album was different than what we had done up to that point.
I remember reading something from Rickey at the time (or shortly after) where he said there was three or four very heavy tracks that were removed. So I’m curious what you would recall of those songs and if they’ll ever surface?
They did not. The record company sent four of their top people down to the studio, Eddie Offord’s studio, which was an old movie theater. So they sat there in the front row. Eddie had these gigantic monitors, I mean, size of a bathroom. He had it cranked on 10. And those those guys and girls sat there and listened to the complete album, and they said, “Oh, my God, this this is a masterpiece…. You reinvented yourself…. It’s going to go straight to number one…It’s going to be a platinum selling record”. We’re all excited. So, we left the next day and said we’re going to take two weeks off, which we rarely ever did.
On the third day, Rickey calls and he said, “Are you sitting down?” And I said, “No”, “Sit down. I got something to tell you”. And I said, what? He goes “Atco just turned down side B”. And I said “What!? Three days ago they were raving about it”. So the people that were there went back to New York, and played it for the top brass, and they go “Oh no, we’ve got to replace side B.” So, that meant for us going back in the studio multiple times, doing 3 or 4 at a time. I’ve got a reel to reel tape here, it’s one of 2, and there’s 30-something songs on that tape, and the other’s got about the same. I can’t play it because it’s the quarter track tape, I think if I played it now it would just come apart. Nobody has those old machines anymore. So they got us going in, and at that point we were grasping at straws. We replaced side B with new material, and they finally agreed to it, and the record came out.
It’d be a shame if those tracks never came out, if there was a way they could come out. I think Rickey had mentioned 3 or 4 specific titles. After the band broke up, Rickey, obviously continued without you guys. You guys got the band back together without Rickey, after he’d joined Skynyrd. Was there anything you guys did with Bobby (Barth) during that time; that you recorded?
In the 90s, yeah Rickey had continued on and changed it to ‘Rickey Medlocke and Blackfoot’, but he was the only original member, of course, until he joined Skynyrd in ’96. In the meantime, Jackson got in to The Southern Rock All-Stars, Dave Hlubeck, and a couple of the ‘Hatchet guys in and out, and I did some shows with them, here and there. In 2004 I reformed Blackfoot with Jackson and Charlie, and that’s when we brought Bobby Barth in, on lead vocals and lead guitar. We did that for seven years; we had a great run. And then in 2011, on December 31st that ended. I said Ok, it’s time to put it to bed. But we got to resurrect it for seven years
Was it that ended mutually or was it Rickey that didn’t want it to keep going?
We had worked out an agreement for seven years, and we didn’t want to extend it, And Rickey wanted to revive it, his version, which he wound up doing, but he was not in the band, it was other players.
Yes, kind of bizarre.
Yeah, it is very bizarre. But it was a great seven years.
So, was there any recordings during that time? Did you go in the studio at all?
No. But we did a live record, for Cleopatra, actually. It was us, Molly Hatchet, and the Atlanta Rhythm Section, we, all 3 , did a full album, with video, and they released it. And that thing sold great! It was simply called ‘Blackfoot;, because we had the rights to use the name Blackfoot. And when we signed with Cleopatra this year for the record that’s coming out in a couple if weeks (the CD is already out), they said “we worked with you guys before”, and I said “you worked with me”. And Lance had worked with them too, with his solo stuff. So, that was a live record, it’s a great record, the video, the production; everything was first class.
(Dare I ask), Do you talk to Rickey at all still?
Not at all! He’s been doing his Skynyrd thing all these years. The last time I saw him was 2005, when Jackson was on a ventilator. He came to the hospital, and we caught up then, and talked, and I haven’t talked to him since. But I wish him well. I think he’s doing a great job and has had a great career with Skynyrd; I hope he stays with them another fifty years!
Is there anything, other than the Vertical Smiles tracks, that might be in the vaults, that you guys could ever discuss putting out?
We always had songs leftover, with the first record No Reservations, we always had six, seven, or eight songs leftover record after record. I don’t know where they are, or who’s got the masters. There’s probably enough for three full double sided albums worth of tracks. And it wasn’t like they’re throwaway tracks, we would do a lot of songs, and you kind of had to put all the titles in to a hat, and do like this (covers his eyes), reach in and grab a piece of paper. No real B songs at all.
Do you guys, Two Wolf ever play up this way?
We were in Syracuse a week and a half ago, at a place called ‘Sharky’s‘. It’s a big covered pavilion. It was in the 70s in the day, but when we got on by dark it had dropped to 55, so the tuning was bad (haha), the guitars were going out of tune. But it was beautiful up there; the leaves were turning, it’s was bright and sunny..
(we finish up talking of the band’s upcoming shows in North Carolina, south Florida, and I suggest that the band comes up across the border sometime, which Greg says he’d Love to!).
ACE FREHLEY was the original and legendary guitarist, who would come across as the coolest member of KISS. His passing yesterday came as a shock to many. Though not with Kiss since 1982, save for a few reunion tours and an album (late 90s), Ace remained in the spotlight , larger than life. Not the biggest writer while in the band during it’s first decade, he did come up with classics like “Cold Gin”, “Strange Ways”, and “Shock Me”. His 1978 solo album was the best (and highest seller) of the band members 4 solo solo albums released at the same time, featuring the hit single, his version of Russ Ballard’s “New York Groove”. But when he left the band in ‘8282, Frehley proved he wasn’t done, his album’s Frehley’s Comet and Second Sighting (as Frehley’s Comet), were as good as or Better than anything the band did in that decade without him. Surely songs like “Rock Soldiers” and “Insane” would’ve been standouts in Kiss’ 80s catalogue. While not busy recording in the 90s (like many older acts), Ace got more serious in the post-2000s. and while his former band gave up recording new material after 2012, Frehley picked it up, recording 6 albums since 2009’s Anomaly, and including 2 albums of cover songs. His last album was last year’s 10 000 Volts, which featured the title track and “Walkin’ On The Moon”. Heck, I’ve yet to pick that one up.
But, going through these this morning, I am picking 2018’s Spaceman. For me, I find Spaceman to be the most solid thing Ace recorded over the past few decades. And though I was never a fan of his vocals, it’s not too bad here, and suits these songs perfectly. Favorites include “Rockin With The Boys”, “Pursuit Of Rock And Roll” and ” Without You I’m Nothing” (co-written w/ Gene Simmons). Heck, I even liked Ace’s take of the Eddie Money hit “I Wanna Go Back”. This was a really good album, full of big riffs and solos, great sounding, and there’s no skip-over cuts for me! I did get the CD and the limited picture-disc LP at the time (Record Store Day, w/ poster).
ATOMIC ROOSTER, the legendary British progressive band was founded and lead by Hammond organ player and songwriter Vincent Crane. The band went through several changes during their run from 1970-1974, with guitarist Steve “Boltz” Bolton joining for the album ‘Made In America’, which also featured singer Chris Farlowe and drummer Ric Parnell. Bolton left before the next album while Crane carried on until the band split. Crane would resurrect the band periodically, in 1980 and again in 1983.
Nearly a decade ago Steve Bolton resurrected ATOMIC ROOSTER, originally with singer Pete French (who sang on the ‘In Hearing Of’ album). In recent years French dropped out of the band, which has carried on as a 4-piece, which (besides Bolton), includes drummer Paul Everett, bass player Shugg Millage, and keyboard player/vocalist Adrian Gaultrey. The band has released a brand new album, Circle The Sun, which is recommended to not only Rooster fans, but also to fans of 70s heavy Hammond driven rock.
Below is my interview with Steve Bolton and Paul Everett discussing the new album, as well as the reformation of the band and happenings over recent years, as well as some cool recollections from Boltz about his early days with Atomic Rooster, as well as touring with THE WHO. This was a long one, so apologies for taking a while to get this edited and up, but hope you enjoy the read, and check out the links below, and check out Circle The Sun (on Cherry Red).
(We started out talking about the band’s merch ..)
Is there a vinyl copy of the album?
Paul: There will be a vinyl. The vinyl will be landing mid-October, but not through Cherry Red. Basically it’s coming direct from the band, but that will be available. There will be a link on the social media within the next couple of weeks.
The band came back together in 2016, and Pete (French) was a part of that for a number of years.
Steve: OK, about 2016, I got a call from a guy that’s an agent in the UK saying he’d been asked if he could get an Atomic Rooster tribute act, because tribute acts are a big deal. And he said, “well, I can probably do better than that”. So, he contacted me and said, how do you fancy a reformed Atomic Rooster? I said, well, yeah, there are a few issues that we need to get the clearance from the late Vincent Crane’s wife, Jeannie, which we did. She gave us full permission to use the name and to press on and keep the music alive and do new material. So, I contacted Rick Parnell, who was living in the States, who was the drummer in Rooster, then he subsequently died. But that’s another story. But it proved a bit difficult because he was in the States and it was all a bit tricky. So as far as the vocals go, there were two people still alive. One was Chris Farlowe and the other was Pete French. So, I contacted Pete French and he was up for it. Then we eventually ended up with this lineup we have now. Paul, how long has this actual lineup been now, with Adrian, Shugg and you?
Paul:- I joined just before Covid. And then with the current lineup as the four piece as it has been since 2023.
So, you kind of answered how the whole Atomic Rooster reunion came about. And you initially had Pete in there for a number of years, and he left.
Well, I just want to say I’ve done many things since my original time in Atomic Rooster. Yeah. When I was just knee high to a grasshopper, I was in Rooster for about 18 months. First third of that was with Pete French, and then the last two thirds was with Chris Farlowe. So, it’s something that had been sort of behind me and people were asking me a lot about Atomic Rooster and I really it was something I did in the past. You know, you move on. I’ve done lots of other things, quite important things, but this kept coming. So, when it was put to me, I thought, why not!?
It’s interesting, Atomic Rooster over here, I don’t know how much you guys toured over here in the early days. But it’s still kind of a lesser known, those albums are kind of hard to find. So, what are the crowds like when you guys play in the UK? Because I know the band had a couple of hits in the early days there and you had a good following.
Paul: It varies. In the UK we do good numbers; In Eastern Europe we do really good numbers. So, the last festival show we played, what three weeks ago(?) in the in the Czechia, there was about 12,000 people. That’s a festival show, so I’m not saying all the people came to see us, but…
Steve: Can I just say here, that this festival, we were kind of told it was it was a heavy metal festival – which we’re not, to be quite honest. And Arthur Brown, God bless him, Arthur’s still going strong. He couldn’t do it for one reason or another, so they asked us. We flew over there, and normally it goes like this – we get somewhere and we go to a hotel and chill out. But on this occasion, (we didn’t. I’m up at three o’clock in the morning. I’m sure Paul and the guys were). And so we got to Czech Republic to Prague early in the morning, early Saturday morning. We drove to this festival, which was in this beautiful town. And it turned out it was a death metal festival. It was like “Oh, OK!” We’re not only not heavy metal, but we’re also definitely not death metal, you know what I mean? So anyway, so it was such a great vibe. It was such a fantastic vibe at this place. There weren’t any bad vibes or anything. And it’s just absolutely rammed in this old fort outside, three different stages, all huge stages; the main stage and then a couple of lesser stages, which we were on. But it was still quite a big stage. So, we just soaked it in. We just stayed there all day; none of us had any sleep, but we just wandered around and met people, and we soaked in the vibe.
So when we had we had a chance to set the gear up, (most of which is what all of it was borrowed, hired, rented gear for the show), but the band before us, I believe, were a Japanese death metal band who’d been going for donkey’s years and they filled the field out, 10,000 people or so with them. And then when they finished, the field emptied! I said to Adrian, as we were setting our gear up on the stage, “My God, look, the field’s empty.” But by the time our first number, we saw the pit, the field got absolutely rammed. And you know what!? They absolutely loved us. It was just fantastic. It was so great. We could not have gone better. And it shows you that we were genre bending.
It’s interesting because I think Atomic Rooster is one of those bands that the name and the image from the early days, people have kind of misconstrued what the band was about. And they kind of lumped them in with heavy bands. And, Made in England, the album you were on is probably the most unusual of the five there. It’s a little more funk and a little bit. Do you get, especially in England, a lot of diehard fans from the old days that come out with their albums and stuff?
Paul: Yeah, there’s lots of them. Lots, and lots. And they’re very proud, because obviously, if you’re aware of that record Made In England, the original vinyl is now quite a collector’s piece with the denim sleeve. So, people who turn up with one of them are really, really happy with it.
Yeah, I don’t have that one; I’ve got this (hold up Canadian LP)
Steve: There’s a story about that because Vincent Crane, God bless him, he was such a sweet bloke. I remember him saying bright eyed and bushy tailed. “I’m going to call the album Made in England, because of the American market”.
He so desperately wanted to break into the American market. And you know what!? I’m going to we’re going to release in real denim covers, three or four different colored denim joint, purple, gray color. And so we saw it. But by the time it got released in America, they deemed that was going to be too expensive. And just to this, this cover here, the one you’ve got with Big Ben and the House of Parliament. And so it didn’t backfire, but it didn’t go according to plan. Never mind things happen.
So that was the only album you were on. But the next album, you weren’t on anything from that, right?
Steve: No, I just as I said, I was in the band for 18 months.
I want to go back to where we are now. So, the set list, does it really kind of cover the whole five album run of the band during the 70s? Or is there a lot of new stuff as well?
Paul: Yes. With the set currently is probably, with the new record coming out, is probably in a 60/40 split in favor of the new album. But we change the set quite regularly. Sometimes halfway through the gig. So, we do play something from all the older albums. We do now, we never used to. But now we would because, the line that we have and the mentality between the band, like we never used to play songs off Made in England up until recent years. But now we can do that and we can do some of the other stuff off the very first record. But previously, the majority of the set was based around the In Hearing Of album, which, there’s only so many songs on one album. So, it gets a bit tiresome playing the same stuff. But now the set is fresh…We play loads of back catalog and more importantly, the new tunes fit in there like a glove.
Steve: When you have a singer that I mean, this happens a lot, a singer that doesn’t play an instrument, for example, then it’s very difficult for the band to go off. And now we’re in a position where we can look at each other and go off on a tangent. We can paint ourselves into a corner but come out of it. And I feel that there’s such a joyous vibe on stage, in a gothic sense, that people pick up on that, and it’s just a great thing. We’re really excited.
And the new album just we’re really excited about it because of the way it came together. We didn’t kind of plan it directly, “Now we’re going to put this this time aside to record a new album”. It was a case of we got together some weird twist of fate because half the guys live up north and I live down south. But we got together and we had a quick rehearsal and we looked at each other and Adrian says, “well, I know this guy who’s got a studio in Lincolnshire. So, we ended up in that. We did like five tracks and then we went back a couple of months later and did another five tracks. And bingo – we had an album, new original stuff. And we got a new mental head on, we were like embracing this Edgar Allan Poe gothic going on, like a B-movie gothic thing. And that’s and that’s really freed us up… because a lot of the older stuff. I mean, Vincent Crane had problems, mental problems, and it is apparent in a lot of the songs, a lot of this doom, death and doom and death walks behind you. I would say about four or five years ago, it was starting to get on my nerves, thinking, I said to my wife, “I can’t I can’t handle doing this much longer, because it’s like really depressing”, but then when we became a four piece, all of a sudden, it was like a light bulb had gone on, and we all went, “let’s embrace this”. So now we go on, and we totally living the music. And it’s a great thing. That was the whole vibe for the new album.
Can I ask like, you and Adrian, do you are you to handle the vocals on the new album?
Yes. Adrian is the lead vocalist. Adrian is such a talented guy; he plays, he’s an unbelievable vocalist. There are 10 songs, I wrote five of them, of which I sing the five songs.
But the majority of the stuff, including the older stuff, Adrian is the lead vocalist. I mean, I’m not the lead vocalist in Atomic Rooster. I occasionally sing lead vocal.
I haven’t seen the performance or the writing credit. So, I didn’t know that. I was going to ask you about Adrian, where you found him, because it’s almost like on the new album, you guys went back to that classic kind of heavier, progressive Atomic Rooster sound. It’s got that kind of the wild organ sound and the interplay between the guitar and organ.
Steve: people say that; they say it was like they were transported back, to the early 70s. And people are wigging out, I mean, just get getting real gone. And there’s so many of these old prog bands that get back together.and it’s just they stand there, and they just play the stuff as was. And this is, although I’m saying it myself, this new version of Rooster is like a living organic thing that pulsates, and every gig is different. even though we might play the same set, every gig is different. And to me, that’s a beautiful thing.
Yeah, well, it definitely has that sound. Vincent Crane had that distinctive organ sound, like when you listen to those old albums. And I think with Adrian, you’ve kind of got that sound.
Steve: Adrian is a child of the 70s, but he’s just born in the wrong era. This is great for us. He knows exactly all the history of the music that I grew up with, for example, he knows everything, which is fantastic.
Paul: He’s a walking encyclopedia of music, and musical instruments, and just he completely embraces that entire lifestyle. And kind of that era, the 70s is his thing.
Steve: It could not have been anybody else but Adrian.
Paul: Me personally, me and Adrian have been friends since like our late teens, and that’s how I ended up in the band, Adrian was in the band prior to me. So, the band’s never gone searching for members. It’s always been, “I know the guy, I know the right fit”. And that’s, and honestly, when we’re on tour, we’re on the road, it’s the easiest thing in the world. It’s like everyone just gets along, there’s no arguments, it’s just four friends just traveling around playing music by the like.
Steve: Can I just say about recording the album, the guy that recorded it, a guy called Phil Wilson. A good friend of Adrian’s, and he’s in cahoots with this guy, and they own the studio. It was perfect for us. It was a studio in a forest, deep in a forest, and we just drive up there and we go in there and there’s a big, huge playing area where we could set up and play and record it. And that’s what we did, straight to tape. Vocals, obviously, were added on later. And very few, all the guitar solos, all the organ solos, everything was live in the same room, which is great. And Phil, and I’d heard through Adrian, he was a fan of mine. Everything was just right.. And I walked it and I said to Phil, and Phil pointed out to me later, he said, “the first thing you said to me was make it as gothic as possible”. And we didn’t have to say anything to Phil. We didn’t have to say a thing. He just recorded it exactly how he wanted it.
Paul: I do think the album reflects, a bit of a Jerry Lee Lewis type of vibe. There wasn’t many takes and we could have, we could have spent months, you know, pre-production and that, but we wanted to be live, as live and as raw as you can make a studio album. So it does have that feeling to it. Like every musician in the world, you listen back to something, you go, “maybe I wouldn’t have done this and I wouldn’t have done that”. When you listen to the album as a continuous piece, I think it makes sense as a journey.
Steve: And that was the way we played it then. We might not play it like that tomorrow, which is the way we are live, you know. Yeah, we played it like that yesterday, but tomorrow it’s different. If it wasn’t, we’d get bored.
I want to ask Paul, what sort of stuff did you grow up on? Because I think to myself with the four of you guys, where somebody would find, (and you kind of answered it already), but where somebody would find like-minded guys that want to join a band that was defunct 50 years ago, pretty much.
Paul: Being from the city I’m from, music is, well, it’s everywhere. It’s just piled up on, you know, there’s gigs and musicians in every genre you can think of. So obviously being from Liverpool, you’re very quickly exposed to the 60s. The Beatles thing here is kind of, well, it’s massive. And then very quickly, I grew up playing in bands that were around in the 60s. All the Merseybeat bands, I played in quite a few of them.
And then just through them, them being older in the 60s, and then introducing you to bands like bands like Traffic and people like that. And then that just goes on to someone else. And then when you start getting around to like Little Feet and The Band. and people like that, you very quickly realize who else is into that and who isn’t.
And Adrian grew up probably about eight to ten miles away from me, in a seaside town just up. And he was just, the band I was in when we were at school and the band he was in, we’d play the same shows. And it was very, you just chat and it would be very quickly become, you get it, you’re not trying to play… The rock when I was a teenager was things like, I like it, but it’s not stuff we tried to play. It was like, you know, bands like Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park and Sum 41, that kind of thing. So, it’s very quickly you establish who else is into that older vibe.
Without going down the mainstream route of, you know, obviously everyone loves Purple and Zeppelin and people like that. Well, it’s fine that people actually like slightly more underground thing. And then the Rooster thing was a band I was always aware of from the Death Walks Behind You album, because I was big into Sabbath, so it kind of comes hand in hand. But even though Adrian was playing in the band, I didn’t know the band had reformed. That was something I wasn’t aware of until a couple of years down the line. And then I played a gig with Adrian and Shugg (the bass player), playing some of Adrian’s other material. And that’s when the conversation was struck, would I be interested in coming because the previous drummer just, people move along, life changes, things happen. So, they were like, “would you be interested in coming on board?” That’s pretty much how I got to the point of sitting here.
So, have you familiarized yourself with the whole catalog by now?
Paul: Yeah, so a lot of it. And not even that, also, the individual drummers and their individual styles and who did what, because obviously, if anyone is a fan of Rooster, they’ve had more personnel than some football teams. So, it takes a little while to get your head around it, you know. And obviously, Steve knows this more than I do, but the different feels on the different records. Like in the live set, off the Maiden in England album, we play “People You Can’t Trust”; playing that compared to “Sleeping For Years” or “Death Walks Behind You” is two different sets of tools.
Even the Made in England album, Ric Parnell’s “All In Satan’s Name” was kind of…
Paul: That was the very first song I learned from Rooster for the first rehearsal, the first day I ever met Steve was “All In Satan’s Name”. That was the first one.
Steve: I remember that. So, when Ric wrote that song, Rick doesn’t play an instrument apart from the drums. We shared a flat together. He was my sort of my ‘guru’ because I was straight from Manchester, where I’m from originally, green behind the ears. I came down to London. Within a few months, I get a job in Atomic Rooster. I think, how did this happen? And we go to the States once; we go to the States twice, and everything that that sort of touring in America at that time, 1971, you can imagine what it was like. So, I come back and I’m like, I’ve been experienced and the whole thing. So, I ended up then moving in with Ric. And he wrote that “All In Satan’s Name”, and he had all the riffs in his head. He would like sing the riffs, a bit like when Captain Beefheart did to the Magic Band. He would sing the riffs, and I’d have to try and work out what he meant. But by the time the song came together…I love that song. But we don’t actually do it, do we, Paul!?
Paul: No. We rehearsed it for the when I very first joined the band. But the breaks were kind of put on it by certain personnel in the band at that time.
Steve: Yeah, let’s do it! It’s great. It was great live at the BBC Theatre, in central London. And I can actually, you know, you can’t remember shit that happened a million years ago, but you can remember one thing. I can remember pulling up with Ric. Between us we had a small Ford Anglia car with big wheels on. We pulled up in central London; in those days you drive into central London, park your car and we fell out into the studio. There’s an audience, and we got on stage and played. I can remember it as though it’s yesterday. But yeah, it was a great live version.
Ric was a bit of a character. I think I corresponded with him a bit there years ago and he had he had told me how he was offered the gig in Uriah Heep and then he didn’t take it for musical differences or whatever, then he joined Atomic Rooster next.
Paul: I think from my personal perspective, Ric was a phenomenal drummer and his playing style, I believe Rooster was the right choice for him rather than Uriah Heep.
So, the new album, can you guys can talk a bit about some of the songs and what stands out for you, what came out first, what got written first…
Paul: Steve can do his bit and I know some of the information from Adrian’s side, but I can make my best attempt of putting it in some sort of chronological order.
Steve: A track called “Rebel Devil”. I guess I was taking that “Devil’s Answer”, that sort of dark side of Rooster – “Rebel Devil”. But it just came. My wife and I went camping. We rented this cottage for a couple of days and I took a little parlor guitar, and we sat down while Louise was setting up and I just wrote it. And it’s one of those songs that just came out. And then I modified the lyrics. There’s a song called “Never To Lose”, which was a song of mine, which is on a B-side of a 70s Rooster single record. It was a B side, “Stand By Me”. We modified it and it became this new version. And, what else…(?) Oh, “Pillow”…
Paul: How “Pillow” ended up as the recorded version we have…the format we have was basically Shugg couldn’t make the set up day at the studio, and we had an evening free, and we set up a little drum machine, and we just programmed the little beat into it, and that’s how “Pillow” came out, because one of the bandmembers was late.
Steve: And I’s scary.
Paul: Yeah. And obviously you (Steve) had it down and had different versions or ideas in your head, but I don’t think you or me, or anyone expected it to come out as the version that’s on the record.
Steve: The whole thing was…there no effort. You know, when you don’t feel any resistance in forward motion… I was slightly concerned because I know what a great musician Adrian is. So, when Adrian said I’ve got this tune, it’s a bit mental, I’m thinking “oh shit”, because I’ve got to learn this, because he’s a great player and I might be out of my depth (lol). It’s like anything, when you hear a track, until you get to play it you don’t know if it’s in your possibilities.
Is “Fly Or Die” yours or Adrian’s?
Steve: It’s Adrian’s.
Leading off the album, you can definitely ‘get’ that it’s Atomic Rooster.
Paul: That was the one that was put together the morning of, or the day before we went in. Adrian said “I’ve got an idea”….just a few smalls parts. He hardly had a framework for it, but it wasn’t something that had been mapped out previously or he had a complete working version for it. The version you hear on the record was just developed, they must’ve been 4 takes of it; it’s just us playing it in the room, and that’s just what come out.
Steve: And Safe Haven studios is deep in a forest, in Lincolnshire, but my sister in law lives like 25 miles down the road, so I stayed there rather than forking out for a hotel. And everyday when I drove at 8 o’clock in the morning, from her house to the studio, I would be writing lyrics and solidifying ideas for the songs. I’d pull over and have to just scribble shit down. So, by the time I got to the studio I said “right, let’s do it!”. It was great fun.
How did the song “Circle The Sun” develop in to being the title track?
Steve: It was a song I wrote, and it was deliberately, lyrically, kind of an antidote to “Black Snake”, which is the famous Rooster track (“black snake, living in a black hole..”). So, this was like coming out, and into the sun, embracing life and being out.. So, this was like an antidote to “Black Snake”, in my head. It just seemed, I think between us, we thought it was a suitable title. And the artwork was my wife’s son, who lives in Italy. He’s an artist, this is what he does, so I put it to him, “could you possibly come up with some ideas?”. And he came up with that rooster, and at first I looked at it…and then I got it. So, he’s been great.
It (the cover) is very catchy, it’s very bright, it immediately sinks in. So, I’m glad that there’s 10 tracks on here, because you get some new albums and they’ve got 14 or 15 tracks, and I’m usually out after 9 or 10 songs.
Steve: I’m like that with a live band, even if I love the band, I’m like 40 minutes max, and I want to go…
Paul: I got invited last night to go see Bryan Adams in Liverpool…And he’s playing his new album, he’s come away from his label…and he’s playing really good, and obviously he’s got to play the new album, it’s self-published – it’s him putting it out, But after like 6 songs I get it – the album’s great, but unless the album changes drastically through it and keeps you on your toes. You’ve only got so much listening capacity before you go “I get the vibe, that’s it, I’m done”.
I’m like that with albums. I like the old style of 20 minutes on each side, and that’s it.
Steve: Frank Zappa would always have like 11 or 12 minutes on a side, which is nothing when you think about it, but he said he gets maximum level with the less that you have on a vinyl album, each side.
Also, it’s like going to see a band live, and youguys talked about putting a lot of the new songs in the live show, where as with , especially the older bands, put out a new album and you go to the show and they play 1 or 2 songs from it; what was the sense of putting out an album if you’re not going to play it live.
Paul: I think, especially with this record, the set alters quite a lot, but we’ve been careful, and I don’t think it’s intentional, it’s just that we’re aware of the legacy of the band and pushing it forward. The material sits quite well with the old material, so in the set, if you don’t purposely tell the audience ‘this is a new track’…
Steve: Exactly. Someone said they wouldn’t know if you didn’t say it’s from a new album, they would just assume…
Paul: Especially with tracks like “Fly Or Die” or “No More”, they definitely have that early 70s organ driven, gothic, proto-metal thing going on, and it’s kind of .. like we played the track “No More” at the festival in the Czech Republic, and to look up from the drum kit and see people having a circle pit going on to an Atomic Rooster song was kind of surreal
It’s interesting, because if you take a band that’s ‘hits’ band, like Foreigner, that plays the same 12 songs, if they ever changed that, people would be like “what is this?”
So, what of all the 10 tracks are you guys going to eventually get to be playing, all of them?
Paul: Yeah. We play most of them live at the moment with the exceptions…
Steve: We probably won’t play “Pillow”. We sometimes have been using it to go on stage with, to set the mood, the dark, you know, Phantom of the Opera, (the original version, not the Andrew Lloyd Webber version), but you never know.
Paul: “Pillow” would be the one that it’d take a bit more, just from my point of view, it’d involve bringing electronics onto the stage and that kind of thing. And the vibe of the band is like we still want a Hammond and a Leslie and a 1960s Ludwig drum kit. And, electronics on the stage isn’t really the thing. But, you know, we never say never.
So, we will eventually play everything off the new album. The one for me that is kind of difficult to play, but we do play it is “Blow That Mind”., because there is two drummers on that track. It was an idea that came after hours. We’d stopped tracking for the day, we’d all sat around and had a drink and it was like, “Oh, let’s try this”. And the guy who produced the record, Phil, is also a drummer, and we’ve known each other for quite a while. We played it, but we did it with no click, and it was all live with two drummers that never played together before. So it was it was an experiment.
Steve: The Allman Brothers did that.
Paul: Yeah, well, that was the whole idea is that the Allman Brothers, and but then trying to obviously the parts aren’t overly complicated but trying to replicate that feel on your own live… sometimes can become a bit much without overplaying. So that one, for me is the one where every night I think,’ right, this is it. This is this is this is showtime’.
You guys had a single out last year. And I also found I also came across a there was a live in studio recording there from two years ago.
Paul: Basically how it worked was we finished the record. And then we were quite lucky, a few different labels came knocking at the door. What we wanted was a company that will have a feeling for the band already. Like Cherry Red have some of the other catalog, one of the other labels who came our way, have some of the rest of the catalog. And there was two or three others. So, we held off for a while, but obviously we were out touring. We had to have something new to sell, so we put two of them an EP, as a single and then took some live tracks that were recorded at a place in Germany called Kolossal, just to give it a bump to make it a full CD to sell on the merch table. But they were only ever available at shows. Then then 40 copies was what we had left over, then got sold through Facebook market, social media just to put them up for sale. First come first serve.
Steve: I don’t think those tracks that are on that that that single or EP, they’re not mastered, are they?
Paul: No, they are mastered. They are mastered technically, but they’re not done to the quality of what the albums that come out because they weren’t the final mixes. They were mixed and quickly mastered just for merch market rather than mass. And then as of I don’t think Steve knows this yet, we’ll have a new double album available come end of October as well. It’s called “Completely Live”, it was recorded in Scotland last year.
Steve: I haven’t heard this.
Paul: It’s sometimes how things like move for when we’re preparing for a tour. You need more product.
And obviously it helps to reintroduce the band in that.
Paul: It does. It’s a good quality live album. It was a show with a great vibe. So that will be that ‘should be’ out end of October.
And that’s coming out through Cherry Red as well?
Paul: No, it’s not. The only thing that is currently coming out via Cherry Red at this moment is the Circle of the Sun album on CD. IIn a nutshell, it’s the first album in 40 years. They don’t know what it’s going to do. And we like them as a label and Mark from East Terek and John from Cherry Red and Matt, the press guy, are all great guys, so when we spoke to them, we felt that was the right place for the album to sit. With their other roster of artists and things like that, the Rooster name, it doesn’t stick out – it sits in there nicely and it’s kind of at home with friends
So, the live album, when what is that coming out on?
Paul: It will be self-published by the band, so it will be a merch album and then eventually it will end up when the new eShop is set up, it’ll end up on there as well.
OK, so you guys are going to set up an online shop for like shirts?
Paul: Yeah, It’s in the works at the moment. But yeah, I don’t know.
Steve: Not only is Paul a fabulous drummer, he’s the business engine of this band. Paul gets the stuff done.
Has recording this new album kind of spurred you guys on that, you might want to start thinking beyond this album already?
Paul: Yeah, most definitely. I could tell you, this new album, I wasn’t even the band, this album should have happened many years ago. It didn’t for one reason or another. Some of the material, I know from Adrian’s point of view, he had some of the ideas already and then certain people would often put barriers in the way. And then once them barriers have been removed, the freedom was there. So, yeah, we’ve already spoken about another record after this one. But like everything is kind of let’s just get this one out first and then see where we’re up to. But I do believe another one will happen as of when and on what label; hopefully it’ll be on Cherry Red. But, we’ll just get this one out first and see what it brings. And hopefully the other thing for you and your guys, hopefully we will come Stateside at some point in the next year.
Yeah, I was going to ask that. I know a lot of the older bands have been here for years..
Paul: There was a full a full US and Canadian tour booked – Full, all done, sorted for 2022, and then again, certain barriers were put in the way and pulled out very, very last minute. And then, we’d been in contact with the promoter again and we were due, and it was booked again. But we should be we should be in the States right now. But Adrian’s wife’s due to give birth. So that got rescheduled but rescheduled till when yet is another matter.
Are you looking at, obviously like when the older bands come over, you’re looking at a package tour with at least one or two other bands!?
Paul: In the first instance, it wasn’t and how it was working was there was two or three festivals that wanted the band. So, it was already worthwhile running the tour. When it was rescheduled, it was going to just be us, but that is kind of all up to the promoter, however they feel it would do on it’s own or, but hopefully we’ll get to do it. And that is a conversation I’m very much involved in at the moment.
Steve, I was wondering if I can ask you a bit about the 70s era there. In your viewpoint, why the band kind of changed regularly, and you were there for the one album. What do you think was kind of the lack of success or the whole lack of consistency with Atomic Rooster?
Steve: I’m living in Manchester, that’s where I’m from. And I used to go and see bands at the University of Manchester, because they had a stage and they had visiting bands. And I remember distinctly going to The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. It was Vincent Crane, you know, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown – Vincent Crane, Carl Palmer on drums and the bass player. And I’m just spellbound. I’m looking at this, you know, Arthur’s got the flaming headdress on. Vincent, it’s just like a demon on the Hammond organ. I remember he obviously a blow lamp and melted the keys on the Hammond, so they were like dripping like candle wax. And never did it cross my tiny mind that like two years later, I’d be in London playing with Vincent Crane in Atomic Rooster. So that’s what happened. That happened with The Who as well. I used to go and see The Who and then I ended up playing with them. Anyway, so with Rooster, I was aware of Atomic Rooster, and then the singles “Tomorrow Night” and “Devil’s Answer”. And I remember when I joined, it was great. I’m straight from Manchester to London. I joined the band. And there was a bit of controversy about the new sound of Rooster, because I wasn’t playing like John Cann, that sort of like, in my mind, maybe over the top guitar. You love it, I hate it, but whatever. But you know, and I think when I left, I think it sort of went downhill then. Were you asking about what happened to Rooster and how it fizzled out!?
Yeah, kind of like, that the band never kept a consistent lineup, which is probably the main issue, but there was never that major success to keep the band going.
Steve: Vincent, as I said before, had mental problems. It was difficult for him, I think. I had conversations with him, and he wanted the band to be, he was into James Brown a lot. And if you listen to the first Crazy World of Arthur Brown, they do a track called “I Got Money”, which is a frantic track, but it’s a James Brown track. And Vincent wanted it to be more like James Brown. I mean, really, that wasn’t going to happen. So, he would get horns on tracks, I think “Save Me” has got horns on it and stuff.
Paul: One of the versions of “Devil’s Answer” has got horns as well, hasn’t it!?
Steve: But it’s like English session musician horns of the period, so they’re not snappy like James Brown. But that’s what he always wanted. And when I auditioned for the band, I think he saw that I have a certain amount of funk in there, and he could use that. He didn’t want an over-domineering guitar player as John Cann had been. It was tricky at first, because there’s always a bit of flack, you know, from fans about, “Oh, this New Direction – don’t like it”, and everything. It ended up as a good band. It was tricky when Pete French left, but he got poached by Carmine Appice and Cactus. That was his big thing, so he floated off and joined Cactus for a while. And then Chris Farlowe came in the band. And I mean, Chris, Chris is great. But to me, I was a little bit young…we did the Made in England album with Chris. And I was pleased, I think I got two songs on there.
I had that on yesterday. I noticed the production; you got the horns and some stuff like that on that album. It’s definitely not as heavy of a guitar and organ album.
Steve: I would occasionally be having a jam in the Speakeasy or something. I remember once this was like, a year or two after I’d left Rooster, and Vincent coming up “Bolton, what are you up to?” It really distressed me when I read about, you know, he committed suicide. He was a sweet guy.
Had you kept in touch with him in later years?
Steve: No, as I said, only a couple of times subsequently after I left Rooster I ran into him a couple of times. He joined a band Dexy’s Midnight Runners. I think he joined them for one album.
It seems like an odd move.
Paul: It’s definitely an odd move. Dexy is a really good band, great musicians, but Vincent in the mix is a bit of a…seems like odd.
Steve, you went on to Headstone. I was checking that out, and I see that David Kaffinetti, from Rare Bird, he passed away a couple of months ago. He was in that.
Steve: No, Mark Ashton from Rare Bird. He was a drummer in Rare Bird and David Kaffanetti, I think he guested on a couple of tracks.When I was with Rooster, we did a gig and this kid on acoustic guitar, Mark Ashton opened up for us. We hit it off, we got chatting. It was like a love affair (haha).I’ve met another bird. So that’s what happened. We formed the band Headstone.We did two great albums, but no great success. Cult albums now, apparently. And then I moved on to other stuff.Doing lots of sessions, which was my intention.
Now, you toured with Paul Young as well. Do you remember a singer named John Sloman when you were with him?
Steve: Yeah, I know, John. I was speaking to John just relatively recently. He’s a friend of Pino’s from Wales. And realize John’s got a bit of a history as he had a band Lonestar, right!?
Yeah, he put out a book a couple of years ago. It’s quite eye opening.
(a bit of chat about band’s John sang with)
Steve: John’s great…So the Paul Young band, we toured incessantly for two years. Great success. I wrote a song for Paul and that was on the quadruple platinum album, you know, and all that stuff. And that ran it’s course, and I decided to leave. Then Paul asked me back. After about a year, I was trying my own band, but he asked me back. He said, “we’ve got this guitar player, but we want you back”. So, I joined back and then we went on a world tour. He had a couple of backing vocalists, one of whom was John Sloman. John came around the world with us. And also, after that, after Paul Young band, I ended up doing some stuff with Belinda Carlisle, went on the road and John Sloman was the backing vocalist there.
And then you did the Who thing. I saw the Who in 89 in Toronto. And it’s funny seeing a band that has 4 or 5 guys on the albums, but you go see them and there’s like 8+ people on stage! How long did you work with the Who for?
Steve: Well, that was a weird one. I mean, it’s all quite current now because of what’s going on with it, what has really gone on with the Who and the little tantrums on stage and all… But that was another weird thing, I used to see the Who, the original Who, with Mooney. I saw them without Roger Daltrey – just Pete, John, and Keith Moon. We got the word, because I was a Mod, before I saw the error of my ways, I was a mod on the Manchester scene, and we got word that The Who were doing a secret gig over in Burry. So, we all piled in to cars, and went over to this ballroom, in a suburb in north Manchester called Burry. And we looked at the stage, there was a full drum kit, the Who drumkit, 2 Marshall stacks, and I remember talking to John Enthwhislte, and he said “Roger’s not singing with us tonight”. And we were like “why?” And this was at the time of “My Generation”, which was the peak Who period at the time. And I think he said “He’d done too much speed; he couldn’t make the gig.”. And years later when I was playing with The Who I was talking to John, I said “do you remember you and I had a conversation, and you told me …”, and he said “do you know what you saw? Pete has always hated Roger, so he wanted to try out some gigs without letting Roger know to see how it would go.” And all these years later, he’s still there; the lovers are still together (haha).
So, one day I got a phone call, and it’s a shit day because my wife’s leaving me, and we’ve got a young son, and I’m really down in the dumps… and this voice says “Boltz, it’s Pete Thownsend. I want you to join The Who”. It was this bizarre thing, because never in your wildest dreams would you think you’d be playing guitar for The Who! But it was good, because the Ox was still there. But I know what you’re saying because they’ve got backing vocalists, and a f**king horn section, and they didn’t need all that. And Pete, basically he wanted me to egg him on to play electric guitar again because when we first started playing that tour he was playing acoustic guitar, but as the tour progressed, he started to get the Strat out, so we were both really going for it.
Was Rabbitt (Bundrick) on that tour?
Steve: Yeah, Rabbitt was on that tour. Rabbitt was full-on on that tour! We were In production rehearsals in Saratoga Springs, and Rabbitt had been on a bender and he was late! And Pete’s like “Where the f**k’s Rabbitt? I’ll get him..”, and he dragged him out of bed. Yeah, Rabbitt was a nightmare. I remember we were in a room, there might’ve been some stuff going on (it might’ve been girls or something), but Rabbitt was just there, and we just said to Rabbitt “Will you go, Can we make this more clear – just leave.” And I’ll always remember this, when Rabbitt got to the door he turned around and said “Well, as Jerry Lee Lewis said ‘never mind!”, and I said “Did he say that?”, he said “I don’t know”, and went out the door (haha). The funny things you remember. Rabbitt’s great though; a great keyboard player.
How many tours did you do with The Who?
Steve: Just the one. We went around England, played major venues, and we went around the States. It was suppose to go on around the world, but Pete pulled the plug on it. Basically, I think he was doing it to make money for Roger and John, just as a money-maker, because we were making a lot of money on this tour. I was a bit disappointed, because, although I got paid a bunch of money for it, it wasn’t that much money after you got taxed. It was suggested to go around Europe and Australia, and that would’ve bought me a house! But it wasn’t meant to be. But, it was a great experience.
What else do you guys have on the go?
Paul: Well, Steve and I, obviously both play in multiple projects. I played with a Canadian band a couple of times, they’re called Blackie And The Rodeo Kings; I played with them a couple of times over in the UK when their drummer couldn’t tour. And I play in another original project, at the moment with one of my friend’s who is Charlie Chaplan’s grandson. We go out doing his music across Europe, and that’s pretty cool. And then home for me is I’m one of the resident guys at the Cavern Club, so I play there a couple of nights a week when I’m home, not on tour. We’re all working musicians – if you’ve got a gig, and we can get paid, I’m in. And Steve’s always got loads of projects. And Adrian plays for the actor Keifer Sutherland, he plays guitar in his band, and he plays with an American band The Fun Loving Criminals – Adrian plays 70s Leslie-Hammond organ in a mid 90s Hip-hop band; it’s quite an interesting gig. And Steve’s got his own original projects outside of the Rooster, like Deadman’s Corner…
Steve: Solo acoustic gigs…
Paul: And Shugg, the bass player, plays in a multitude of original projects; the majority are kinda like Americana, Westcoast, that sort of thing.
Steve: I’ll tell you Kevin, this new album is like a new dawn for the Rooster. We do gigs and young people are there. Young people are loving the band because they’re feeling this energy we’ve got. We’re not just a bunch of old geezers going through the motions; it’s like a new project, I think.
Paul: Yeah. A lot of bands, like Rooster, that reform, that kind of thing, and are missing some core members, and you have the same old rhetoric “Oh, that’s not them because such and such isn’t there.” And I get that, but we fully believe, that with this line-up of the band at the moment, it’s not resting on it’s laurels, we’re not sat back…
Steve: We do get people who’ve come, I wouldn’t say just to bitch, but they’ve come, and came up and said and they’re not expecting, like “what can it be” , there are certain members not there, all those preconceived thoughts…
I think the new album will a lot of that to rest because, to me, it does sound like Atomic Rooster.
Paul: It does. And as I said, the album should’ve happened a long time ago. There was barriers in the way, and then barriers crept in to the live show, it was a bit stale after a while. Now, you come to the show, you’ll never want your money back. You come to watch Atomic Rooster, and what you get is Atomic Rooster.
Originally released in 1969, On The Double was GOLDEN EARRINGS’ ambitious double album. This will be reissued November 14 on CD, including bonus tracks and booklet. *Check out the press info and link below.
Expanded edition of the band’s very first double album, released in 1969, including the Golden Earring classic ‘Just A Little Bit Of Peace In My Heart‘
Remastered for the first time from the original first-generation Phonogram Studio and Sterling Sound master tapes
Including four bonus tracks, including previously unreleased stereo mixes of ‘Dong-Dong-Di-Ki-Di-Gi ‘Dong and Wake Up-Breakfast‘!
Including a 20-page booklet with liner notes, memorabilia, and photos
Founded in 1961 by George Kooymans and Rinus Gerritsen, Dutch rock band Golden Earring (or Golden Earrings, until 1969) started off as a beat band, experimented as a psychedelic quartet and finally became a heavy rock group. Their ninth album Moontan (1973) – including their classic track Radar Love – hit the international album charts and is the band’s most successful album in the United States, being the only Golden Earring album to be certified Gold by the RIAA.
On The Double, Golden Earring(s)’ very first double album, was released in April 1969, after the band had been working on it for about a year. The two records contain nineteen songs, each with its own style. From acoustic tracks like Angelina, Judy, and Murdock 9-6182 and the robust psychedelica of Backbiting Baby and Song of a Devil’s Servant to the heavily orchestrated Just a Little Bit of Peace in My Heart, which was already released as a single in November 1968, reaching #2 in the Dutch Top 40. This song is now considered a bona fide Earring classic.
This expanded edition includes four bonus tracks: the single Dong-Dong-Di-Ki-Di-Gi Dong, with its B-side Wake Up-Breakfast, which gave the group its very first number one hit in July 1968. For the first time, the original stereo mixes of both tracks have been released. The single Where Will I Be, with the B-side It’s Alright, But I Admit It Could Be Better, was recorded by the group in New York City in May 1969 and marked the very last recording the band made with drummer Jaap Eggermont.
All tracks have been 24 bit/192 kHz remastered from the original master tapes.
This expanded CD edition of On The Double is the seventh instalment in a special series of remastered & expanded albums by Golden Earring, overseen by Red Bullet catalogue and band archivist Wouter Bessels.
TRACKLISTING:
1. Song Of A Devil’s Servant 2. Angelina 3. Pam Pam Poope Poope Loux 4. Hurry, Hurry, Hurry 5. My Baby Ruby 6. Judy 7. Goodbye Mama 8. Murdock 9-6182 9. Just A Little Bit Of Peace In My Heart 10. The Sad Story Of Sam Stone 11. High In The Sky 12. Remember My Friend 13. Time Is A Book 14. Backbiting Baby 15. I’m A Runnin’ 16. I Sing My Song 17. Mitch Mover 18. God Bless The Day 19. The Grand Piano + BONUS TRACKS 20. Dong-Dong-Di-Ki-Di-Gi Dong (stereo version) 21. Wake Up-Breakfast! (stereo version) 22. Where Will I Be 23. It’s Alright, But I Admit It Could Be Better
Wonderworld was URIAH HEEP”s seventh studio album, released in 1974.. it was the band’s 4th (and last) one featuring the “classic line up” (Mick Box, David Byron, Ken Hensley, Gary Thain, Lee Kerslake) as Gary Thain would be let go before the next one (and tragically passed away not too long after that). Wonderworld was also the band’s 2nd album for Warner Bros in North America, which likely meant big things were expected following Sweet Freedom. I am probably (and presumably) one of the many who thinks this album is full of classic Heep tracks but due to its sound – find it hard to take regularly..
Wonderworld was the 2nd Heep.album to be recorded outside of the UK, this time in Munich, Germany, and again for tax reasons. The band used German engineers Hans Menzel and Reinhold Mack (better known for working on a number of Queen and ELO albums). Some band members would later cite that the recording abroad caused a lot of the friction and less than stellar outcome.
Many songs were based around Hensley’s dreams, as the title “Wonderworld” referred to. The album’s cover art would feature the band posed as statues, a cover designed by Graham Hughes (cousin to The Who’s Roger Daltrey, and who had designed a number of Who album covers). I actually liked this cover, though Hensley, in particular did not. Asked about album covers, he once stated “I particularly dislike Wonderworld and Conquest, but nowhere near as much as I hate Toe Fat 1“. Some years ago when Ken was being acknowledged with a new statue of himself, I responded on social media if he would be re-enacting his Wonderworld pose, to which he responded in capital letters that NO, he would not be. Mick Box, who misread things, did not send in shoes for the shoot, so he is the only member barefoot on the cover.
More so than Sweet Freedom, Wonderworld saw Heep producing shorter tunes, ditching the lengthy epics, but still offering up quite a variation of tunes. The album opened with the title track, featuring a grand intro from Hensley, coming down to a soft piano before David Byron’s vocals come in softly. A near ballad that soars up and down between the verses to chorus and back, and an underrated classic in the band’s catalogue. Side one also contained 2 rockers, the classic “Suicidal Man” and “So Tired”. “Suicidal Man”, a favorite, would return to the live set in 1980, when longtime Heep fan John Sloman joined, and recommended it to be included. “So Tired” perhaps reflected the band’s state at the time, having such a non-stop recording-touring schedule at the time. It reappeared in the band’s live set in the early 2000s. The first side also includes the fan favorite “Shadows And The Wind”, which starts out soft and builds up, with the Heep choir adding a unique arrangement towards the end. “The Easy Road” ends side 1; this piano based ballad featured strings arranged by Mike Gibbs. It’s interesting (to me) that this type of ballad pre-Kiss’ huge hit “Beth”, which came a year later, and that it was never issued as a single! It did feature in the band’s live set at the time, and has been brought back periodically over the last few decades.
Side 2 opens with upbeat rocker And single, “Something Or Nothing” This is one of my favorite songs here, and a shame it doesn’t get more attention. The band adds some slower blues rock, with the guitar heavy “I Won’t Mind”; this one may have been better geared to the live show, featuring multiple guitar solos, but it kinda falls short in being an epic here. The album’s last 2 tracks are again something different in “We Got We”, and somewhat eerie (musically) closing track “Dreams”. The latter, again, was a chance where the band might’ve expanded this into something greater, like most closing tracks that came before, but instead it just ends with vocal lines mixed in from the track “Dreamer” (from the previous album), before grinding to a halt. All seeming a bit rushed, But not bad.
The single “Something For Nothing” was backed with the non-LP “What Can I Do”, a decent cut, that could’ve easily substituted for a few album cuts. The band’s 25th Anniversary box set Time Of Revelation, also included 2 outtakes from these sessions, the excellent acoustic track “Stones Throw”, as well as “Love, Hate, and Fear”, which sounds somewhat unfinished.
Despite a big promotional campaign and world tour, Wonderworld was seen as a disappointment to many fans, and is still a controversial album for some, due to the drop in sales, the aftermath of the album. It may not sit top 10 with many Heep fans (does it?), but it was the last Uriah Heep album to chart on the Billboard’s top 40 albums (only Return To Fantasy and Abominog would break the top 100). Wonderworld did reach the top 10 in a number of European countries, and #31 in Canada. It also made fans and influenced the likes of A-HA’s Morten Harket, and German guitarist/songwriter Axel Rudi Pell. The band were featured on US TV, filmed live at Shepperton studios (which was later transferred to being a live album release). Live At Shepperton featured a number of tracks from Wonderworld. A shame there was no 2nd single from this album, as the band went on break following the electric shock suffered by Gary Thain in Dallas on the Wonderworld tour, followed by his firing. But 1975 would become another very busy year for the band, between a line up change, new album, and solo projects.
WONDERWORLD – Uriah Heep – Warner Bros. W 2800 Always in demand as a top concert draw, Uriah Heep has proven over the past few years that it is indeed a viable’ recording act as well. With several Gold disks behind them, the fellows in Uriah Heep have reached a plateau of success that gets brighter and brighter with each new piece of work. Certainly this LP with its accent on strong bass and lead guitar riffs (not to mention Davey Byron’s vocals) will attract even more devotees to the Heep fold. Best cuts off this stunner are “The Easy Road,’ “Something Or Nothing,- and the mind boggling title track. (CashBox, 29-06-74)
URIAH HEEP-Warner Bros. WB 7836 SOMETHING OR NOTHING (prod. by Gerry Bron/ Bronze) (WB, ASCAP) From their “Wonderworld” of hard rock, the group’s strongest single effort since switching labels. Gutsy get -down still leaves room for quite a catchy melody riff. (Record World, 1974-08-03)
Uriah Heep/WONDERWORLD/Warner Bros. ( Past Uriah work has included some decent writing. Their power wasn’t excessive because of the substance. Here the power is empty as it drives too many songs with no reason to exist. Flabby.) (Walrus, 07-10-74)
Outsider Rock 