Search - Stone the Crows :: BBC Sessions 1969-70

RADIO SESSIONS--1969-72

Stuart Jefferson | San Diego,Ca | 08/07/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Two discs 60 and 50 minutes each approximately. The sound is good if slightly flat,but is still warm and immediate. These are tracks recorded by the BBC for radio broadcast. They feature three versions of STONE THE CROWS. The first disc is Maggie Bell-vocals (that's putting it mildly-wow!),the late Les Harvey-guitar,Jim Dewar-bass and vocals (who played in LULU AND THE LUVVERS and later with Robin Trower), Colin Allen-drums (who played with John Mayall),and John McGuinness-keyboards (MCGUINNESS/FLINT-?). Disc two tracks 3-7 include Ronnie Leahy-keyboards,and Steve Thompson-bass (also with John Mayall),replacing McGuinness and Dewar. Tracks 8-10 (after the death of Harvey) have the underrated Jimmy (THUNDERCLAP NEWMAN) McCulloch-guitar,and Leahy and Thompson.

This is another one of those bands (like FAMILY) that have a small but rabid group of listeners. Its no secret that for a few years Maggie Bell was considered one of the best vocalists in Britain. And for good reason. She was capable of belting out blues,rock,or any combination thereof. If listeners are familiar with Lydia Pense (COLD BLOOD) or Tracy Nelson (MOTHER EARTH),Bell's voice is similar. When she and Dewar sang together it was quite something. Les Harvey was a fairly ferocious guitarist,whether filling in behind Bell or playing lead out front. The rhythm section was tight and powerful. All of this added up to a true powerhouse band that never let up,especially live. No less than the late legendary Peter Grant (LED ZEPPELIN,BAD COMPANY) managed the band and renamed them from their original name-POWER. While Grant was known in the music industry as a bit of a bully when it came to his groups interests-he certainly knew talent when he heard it.STONE THE CROWS certainly deserved his managerial talents.



The first disc has a bit of a "prog-rock" sound with a blues/rock arrangement underpinning,while the second disc has a bit more of a bluesy feel. However,don't think that prog means YES (who I like) music-far from it. Bell's voice and Harvey's slightly dirty guitar are front and center. The musicianship is always top level no matter what the tempo of the songs might be. For Dewar fans,two great tracks are disc one tracks two and five. The first is a slow tune with both Dewar and Bell trading vocals,along with some heartfelt guitar sounding a bit like Peter Green of the original FLEETWOOD MAC,while the second track has both their voices in a call-and-response thing which is very effective. The arrangements on several of this first (1969-70) era of the band (listen to "Freedom Road") is where the prog title comes into play. The songs are mostly originals by various band members,with a Dylan tune ("Hollis Brown") and a couple of well known ("Goin" Down",and "Penicillin Blues") blues songs.



With this level of musicianship and Bell's vocals,its still a mystery as to why this group never broke into the big-time. The notes (by Colin Allen) give a short but effective insight into the band at this time. No doubt Les Harvey's death had a lot to do with the band never reaching the level they so richly deserved. Thankfully we have this collection of tracks from BBC Radio to remind us of what we missed from an era of incredible music."