Five 70's Brit Rock Gems.

Widowmaker - 'Widowmaker' (1976)

Widowmaker were a bit of a supergroup whose members had previously cut their teeth in Hawkwind, Spooky Tooth, Mott The Hoople, Chicken Shack, Lindisfarne and Love Affair. Arriving on the UK scene around the time of the punk explosion assured their ticket to obscurity in their home land, although they did achieve some degree of recognition in the US. Their 1976 debut album is a bit of a fave of mine, mixing as it does rockers like On The Road, with some spine tingling softer tracks such as Pin A Rose On Me and Straight Faced Fighter. However to me the stand out cut is the anthem Leave The Kids Alone - a true lighter waver if ever there was. Widowmaker released one more album 'Too Late To Cry' in 1977 then fell apart soon after as various members went on to other projects.

Groundhogs - 'Split' (1971)

Having started out as a blues band backing the likes of John Lee Hooker in 1960's by the early 70's the Groundhogs had evolved into one of the UK's most innovative acts with the emotive and experimental guitar stylings of Tony McPhee backed up and driven on by the exciting rhythm section of bassist Peter Cruickshank and drummer Ken Pustelnik. This album, their fifth marked their high point both musically and commercially, peaking at number 5 in the UK album charts and saw them performing the track Cherry Red on Top of the Pops. The first side of this one consists of the four part Split suite, a work that describes a panic attack. The second side feature more typical 'Hogs material including the laid back Junkman and the bouncy and driven aforementioned Cherry Red - a track that was to become the bands signature number. This line up was to record one more album, the equally noteworthy 'Who Will Save The World' before Pustelnik left and the band entered an era of having a fliud line up that continues til this day.

Status Quo - 'Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon' (1970)

Before the big hit singles and after the Carnaby Street faux-psyche era Status Quo went through a bit of a transitional phase as the pseudo hippy pop songs gave way to the blues and the boogie. Marking this transition is this little gem. This is the first album to feature the trade mark boogie shuffle, but on this one its heavier, more urgent and hungrier than on any other following records. Tracks like Spinning Wheel Blues, Juniors Wailing and Is It Really Me / Gotta Go Home, are raw and aggressive slices of blues fueled energy that feature some of Mr Rossi's most impressive guitar work and sees the Coghlan / Lancaster Rhythm section at their most driving. However the ghost of the old psychedelic Quo still haunts the grooves, Roy Lynes had not yet vanished down under at this point and his wailing organ, along with tracks like Shy Fly and April, Spring, Summer and Wednesdays lend a trippy feel to break up the boogie. Add in the almost metallic feel of Daughter and you have a sound and groove that Quo never quite managed to recapture.

Stray - 'Mudanzas' (1973)

Formed around the core duo of guitarist Del Bromham and vocalist Steve Gadd, Stray were a band who never quite got the breaks they deserved. treading the fine line between bluesy hard rock and raw edged prog they put out a string of impressive albums between 1970 and their split in 1977, of which, in my min at least, this is high point. Featuring hard rockers lie As Soon As You've Grown alongside mellower moments such as Oil Fumes And Sea Air this is an LP that delivers on all fronts. Mr Bromhams guitar work is especially noteworthy and the quality of the song writing on this one is to die for. Stray reformed in the 1990's and are still gigging and recording to this day.

The Pirates - 'Out Of Their Skulls' (1978)

Originally the backing band for Johnny Kidd, backing him on all hit 1960's hit singles, The Pirates called it a day shortly after Kidds death in 1966. However a late 70's reformation lead to them being caught up in the then booming pub rock and R&B movement. With a line up of Mick Green, Johnny Spence and Frank Farley they recorded this, the first of several albums to great critical acclaim. With a live side one that includes classics and standards like Shakin' All Over, Lonesome Train and Please Don't Touch; coupled with a flip side of cracking originals and new tunes such as You Don't Own Me and Gibson, Martin, Fender this is a real gem of a hard edge rock and roll album that still sounds as fresh now as it did back in the day. The Pirates carried on, on and off until Mick Greens sad death in 2010