David Clayton-Thomas - David Clayton-Thomas 1973

By the early '70s, Canadian David Clayton-Thomas had decided that enough was enough and split with Blood, Sweat & Tears to go the solo route with 1972's David Clayton-Thomas. Aided and abetted by wide ranges of studio help, including some of his former bandmates, much of what lies within these grooves sounds very much like his old band. It includes "Magnificent Sanctuary Band" and "Sing a Song," and with it sounding so similar to BS&T, one might wonder why Thomas chose the solo route, but by doing so, he is in charge and doesn't have to rely on others to choose which songs he sings. A competent addition to the big-band rock sound so popular in the early and mid-'70s. AMG.

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Ashman Reynolds - Stop Off 1972

Vocal duo of Aliki Ashman and Harry Reynolds aka Jack Reynolds (7) who was also briefly involved in the Silver Metre band of Leigh Stephens for whom Ashman also guested on his 2nd solo LP. Ashman Reynolds performed two sets for the BBC in July 1972 (viz. Johnnie Walkers Lunchtime Show broadcast the 3rd and a John Peel Session broadcast the 14th). Further members of Ashman Reynolds are: Bob Weston (electric guitar, steel guitar), Keith Boyce (drums), Mickey Keen (electric guitar, acoustic guitar), Rod Edwards (piano, organ, harmonium, vocals, acoustic guitar). Additional vocals were provided by session singers Madeline Bell and Liza Strike.

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Black Artists Group - In Paris, Aries 1973

BAG's neighborhood roots ran deep in the city's Black community: Lake and trumpeters Lester Bowie and LeFlore all studied together in the Sumner High School's jazz program. They continued their jazz education at Lincoln University alongside Hemphill. All played music in clubs, churches, and auditoriums in St. Louis throughout the '60s. The musicians collectively experienced frustration with the lack of performance or recording opportunities due to racism. They were also in deep dialogue with Black actors who had been marginalized in the theater. These two groups began collaborating on artistic productions around the Laclede Town housing development, as well as the Berea Church.

The group of collaborating players and actors found creative and organizational inspiration in Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians -- Lester Bowie became a member of AACM when he joined the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Together, these groups co-founded the Black Artists Group, unique for its interdisciplinary collaboration and inclusion; the founders recruited artists from dance, visual arts, and creative writing.

In 1968, "The Black Artists Group, Inc." was incorporated as a nonprofit organization. Their administrators wrote grant proposals and received funding from both the Danforth and Rockefeller Foundations. In July 1969, the group leased a building at 2665 Washington Blvd. for the annual rent of one dollar. There they held workshops, classes, readings, dance, and theater rehearsals, and offered studio space to visual artists. This lasted for three years before many of the BAG's members (particularly but not exclusively musicians) relocated to Paris and other cities in Europe where, as the Art Ensemble revealed in 1968, American musicians were welcome. While touring, BAG recorded a concert and privately released it as In Paris, Aries 1973, their only album. They formally dissolved in 1973. Lake, Hemphill, and Bluiett formed the African Continuum, an outgrowth of BAG, in the years before they joined David Murray and formed the World Saxophone Quartet.

Many BAG artists relocated to New York and Europe during the '70s. The African Continuum organized the famed 1971 multimedia concert "Images: Sons/Ancestors" at Powell Symphony Hall -- it was delayed by a bomb threat. In 1971, Bobo Shaw, Luther Thomas, and saxophonist Jack Marshall founded the Human Arts Ensemble, an internationally celebrated musical collective that was in near constant in dialogue with BAG and AACM, and hosted many BAG musicians including both Bowies, Parran, Hemphill, Lake, Carroll, and Bluiett, as well as saxophonist Marty Ehrlich, bassist John Lindberg, and percussionist Gene Lake -- who made his recording debut at age six on HAE's debut album Whisper of Dharma.

In 2020, director Brian De Matteis unearthed the 49-minute documentary Black Artists' Group: Creation Equals Movement. It was shown on PBS and at film festivals globally. In September 2024, French indie label Wewantsounds released For Peace and Liberty, In Paris Dec 1972. BAG's second album -- and first in more than a half-century -- offers a performance (long thought lost) recorded in optimal conditions at Maison de l'ORTF (a French state radio). The tapes were unearthed from the vaults of INA (Institut National de l’Audiovisuel). The 35-minute set mixes free improvisation with spiritual jazz and funk. Released by BAG and INA, the sound was remastered from the original tapes. The package offers a 20-page booklet featuring notes from Lake, Joseph Bowie, Carroll and Bobo Shaw's and LeFlore's daughters; extensive liner notes by BAG scholar Benjamin Looker, and previously unseen photos by cult French photographer Philippe Gras. AMG.

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Sammy - Sammy 1972

It's doubtful many folks have ever heard the British band Sammy - I certainly hadn't which was kind of surprising given the band's impressive pedigree.   Drummer Mick Underwood was apparently the band's driving force, with the lineup rounded out by a collection of rock veterans including ex-Audience horn and woodwinds player Keith Gemmell, ex-Billy J. Kramer keyboardist Mick Hodgkinson, former Ginhouse guitarist Geoff Sharkey, and ex-Roy Young Band bassist Paul Simmons. Signed by Philips, the band debuted with a 1972 45 'Goo Ger Woogie' b/w 'Big Lovin' Woman' (Philips c.  While the single did little commercially, it attracted enough interest and attention for Philips management to green light an album.

Co-produced by Louie Austin and Deep Purple's Ian Gillan (not Jon Lord) and the front cover artwork was done by Philip Castle who was the man who did the artwork for the film Clockwork Orange. 1973's "Sammy" offered up a competent, if slightly worn set of mid-1970s hard rock.  

Largely penned by Sharkey and Simmons, lyrically and musically there wasn't a lot of originality going on here (kind of like the album cover) - Gemmell's sax adding occasional jazz-influenced runs to the band's blues and rock-oriented sound.  As lead singer Sharkey wasn't bad; his raw raspy voice sounded surprisingly good on tracks like 'Give Me More', their unlikely cover of 'I Ain't Never Loved a Woman (The Way That I Love You)', and 'Get Into a New Thing'.  Imagine Uriah Heep-lite with the saxes, a little more boogie and variety ('Who Do You Really Love') and you'll be in the right aural neighborhood.  

The band was actually far more impressive on their isolated stabs at more-pop oriented material like 'Sioux-Eyed Lady' and 'Jo Anne'.  Elsewhere the album spun off a UK single in the form of 'Sioux-Eyed Lady' b/w '70 Days'.  Brainless fun, it's actually not a bad effort, especially if you approach it with the right mindset. therockasteria.

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Harold Ousley - The Kid 1972

Although Harold Ousley is not a big name in the jazz world and has only recorded sporadically as a leader, the hard bop/soul-jazz musician has backed some major jazz artists over the years. Ousley (who is primarily a tenor saxophonist but has played the flute as a second instrument) was born in Chicago on January 23, 1929, and grew up in the Windy City, where he began playing professionally in the late '40s. Backing vocalists is one of his strengths -- he was playing with Billie Holiday at one point, and the late '50s found him backing fellow Chicago native Dinah Washington. Ousley also played with Gene Ammons (another Chicagoan) in the '50s, and in the '60s he was employed as a sideman on albums by Jack McDuff and George Benson. It was also during the '60s that Ousley started recording as a leader; Tenor Sax came out on Bethlehem in 1961, and he recorded some albums for Muse in the '70s (a decade that found him playing in the bands of Lionel Hampton and Count Basie). But when the CD era arrived in the late '80s, none of Ousley's albums were still in print. Ousley had just turned 71 when, in January 2000, he finally returned to the studio as a leader and recorded Grit-Gittin' Feelin' for Delmark. AMG.

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Gallagher & Lyle - Seeds 1973

Gallagher & Lyle beef up their folk-based sound from previous albums on this recording produced by Glyn Johns. The duo adds several uptempo cuts in a more rock-oriented vein, using saxophone on the opening and most rock-oriented cut, "Country Morning." Harmonicas add energy to the second song, the uptempo "A Misspent Youth," one of several songs with a social edge. Both Gallagher and Lyle have thin voices, but on songs that have an edge of melancholy, such as "Remember Then," and "The Clearings," (two of the outstanding tracks) the voice quality lends itself to good effect. Although many songs on the album deal with regret or loss, several tip the balance in favor of upbeat moods and feelings. Also, melodies and arrangements are strong throughout the album. Side One is particularly effective, with each song having a particular mood. Although Gallagher & Lyle headed more into mainstream rock production values with their next effort, this transitional effort is their best album overall. AMG.

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Amen Corner - Round 1968

Featuring their British hits "Bend Me, Shape Me" and "Gin House Blues," Amen Corner's debut album was the work of a band who didn't either really fit into any of the trends of the late '60s or qualify as one of the era's more innovative or interesting groups. They were accomplished at what they did, however, which was to offer a mix of blue-eyed soul-rock and British pop. Built around the distinctive high vocals of Andy Fairweather Low, they also had (unlike most British bands) a horn section, as well as a distinguished instrumentalist in organist Blue Weaver. The album was an erratic affair, dragged down by a cover of "Love Me Tender," a sort of vaudeville-ska hybrid in "Judge Rumpel Crassila," and some rather uninspired choices of material to interpret, like "Let the Good Times Roll" and Andy Williams' "Can't Get Used to Losing You." On the other hand, they ripped through straight-ahead blue-eyed soul like "Our Love (Is in the Pocket)" with flair, and "Something You Got" was almost like a U.K. equivalent to late-'60s Stax deep soul ballads. It offered barely any original material, a shame as a couple B-sides of the period with Fairweather Low compositions showed the kind of psychedelic pop-influenced writing more akin to a band like the late-'60s Small Faces. Fortunately, the 1990 CD added those B-sides, "Nema" and "I Know," as bonus tracks, along with two other cuts from 1967-1968 singles, "Satisnek the Job's Worth" (the B-side of "Bend Me, Shape Me") and the small British hit single "The World of Broken Hearts." AMG.

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