Ray Fenwick - Keep America Beautiful, Get A Haircut 1971

A definitive British rock journeyman, guitarist Ray Fenwick has played with numerous famous acts, though even most serious collectors would be hard pressed to identify him. He replaced future Yesguitarist Steve Howe in the Syndicates in the mid-'60s, and played a wild freakbeat solo on their single "Crawdaddy Simone," which comprised some of the most adventurous guitar work of the British Invasion era. He served time in Dutch groups After Tea and the Tee Set (who would later make the U.S. Top Five with "Ma Belle Amie") before joining the post-Stevie Winwood lineup of the Spencer Davis Group in the late '60s. There were also stints in the Guitar Orchestra with future Procol Harumlead guitarist Mick Grabham; Fancy, who had two Top 20 hits in the U.S. in 1974; the Ian Gillan Band; and, in the 1980s, Forcefield, which also featured Jan Akkerman and Cozy Powell. Fenwick also did a lot of work as a sessionman and producer. And, finally, he made one solo album in 1971, Keep America Beautiful, Get a Haircut, a run-of-the-mill mix of the era's popular hard rock/progressive-rock styles.
Fenwick's only solo album, recorded with Elton John's rhythm section (Dee Murray on bass and Nigel Olsson on drums), touches on a lot of facets of British rock circa 1970 -- Traffic-like folk-rock, country-rock, Paul McCartney-ish melodic bits, and rumbling, pedestrian boogie -- without really getting anywhere. Much of the material was inspired by his travels in the U.S., and there are some quasi-suites supposed to reflect journeying through the American landscape, but the execution is unremarkable. The 1997 CD reissue adds five bonus tracks. AMG.

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