Search - The Groundhogs :: Live at Leeds '71

The Groundhogs at Their Best

Paul of London | London, UK | 03/12/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Groundhogs were the first band I saw live, back in 1971. This comes from that era, three concise numbers, one solo guitar blues, and one jammed-out song, from when they were supporting the Rolling Stones. When Tony McPhee & Co were on good form and kept to hard blues-rock numbers they were very good; when they tried to experiment with sonic effects, well they could be awful. Fortunately, this has them at their best, solid playing and great lead guitar."

Raw, Heavier Live Perspective

317 East 32nd | Toledo, OH USA | 08/31/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I honestly don't know how I missed this band all these years, except to claim disadvantaged status as a Yank. At the urging of several friends I eventually obtained the Best of Groundhogs disc, and thoroughly enjoyed it, believing I had obtained the distilled essence of the band.



Well, hold everything. Live at Leeds offers a handful of the best Groundhogs compositions recorded as brutal (for 1971), stripped-down power-trio blasts. These performances make the studio versions sound positively genteel by comparison.



If any tune suffers for this simplification and brutalization it's the opener, "Cherry Red," best experienced in the still-heavy-but-slinkier multitracked studio vesion. From there it's one little masterpiece after another. The interpretation of "Garden" here, with its eerily poetic lyrical content delivered in Tony McPhee's earnest mumble, is one of two distinct highlights. Its topical brother, the brilliant closer "Eccentric Man," is 11-plus minutes of guitar-driven anti-social statement and alone worth the reasonable price of this release. The explosive first five seconds of this track are almost frighteningly powerful, leading into three verses of perhaps the most well-crafted blues lyrics ever to come from a British band, each followed by the concise, bellowed refrain: "They call me an eccentric man... but I don't believe them." There's an art to writing simple lyrics that can convey character, emotional state, and intent in eleven words without any suggestion of pathetic introspection. The best of the original blues masters had the knack; TS McPhee is a worthy successor, and his delivery is spot-on. "Eccentric Man" also features an extended octave-processed guitar solo that falls somewhere between Hendrix at Monterey and the heavier moments from the first Live Cream LP.



"Groundhog (Blues)," essentially a solo performance of back-porch blues by McPhee, is more electrically-charged than the incredibly authentic studio version, but still retains the air of an homage and steers entirely clear of parody.



Fans of Cream, Hendrix, Savoy Brown, John Lee Hooker or very early ZZ Top would each find something of serious blues-rock merit here. Audio quality is excellent, comparable to offical live releases from other bands from the period; this is no repackaged bootleg.



For anyone who has only heard Groundhogs studio tracks, this will be a real face-slapper and eye-opener. Righteous stuff."

Groundhogs Live at Leeds 1971

Dawn R. Schricke | USA | 04/11/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"In order to promote the album "Split", the Groundhogs were booked as support on the Rolling Stones 1971 British tour. Glybn Johns recorded five tracks from the set at Leeds. After the gig, Mick Jagger made a gift of the tape to McPhee. A promotional album was made from this tape. Only 100 copies were pressed and distributed to American radio stations. McPhee lost contact with the master tape and despite various attempts to locate it, its whereabouts still remain a mystery. The 5 songs from "Live at Leeds" were released in the 1980's album "Hoggin' The Stage" which came from one of the few original promo pressings to have surfaced. The sound is crude but the performance is genuine Groundhogs at its best, and it is an historical document, for die-hards only."