Albert Lee - ...and on guitar (1974)

Albert William Lee was born on 21 December 1943 Lingen, near Leominster, Herefordshire, but grew up in Blackheath, London, as a member of a Romani family. He inheritied his father's interest in music, and studied piano from the age of seven, during which time he became a fan Jerry Lee Lewis and rockabilly in general. When he was 15 he took up guitar, leaving school the following year to play music full-time, and from 1959 onwards he was with a variety of bands, playing mostly R&B, country music and rock and roll. In the early 60's he joined the stable of musicians working for manager Larry Parnes, playing behind Dickie Pride, among other stars on Parnes' roster, and his first experience of the recording studio was backing Jackie Lynton. A couple of the bands that Lee played in during this time were groups led by Mike Hurst and Neil Christian, and in both cases he replaced a departing Jimmy Page, with Ritchie Blackmore taking over from him when he left Christian to join Chris Farlowe And The Thunderbirds. He spent four years with the Thunderbirds, who became known in British musical circles as one of the best R&B bands in England, finally leaving in 1968 as he was feeling bored playing R&B, and over the next two years he passed through several bands playing behind various visiting American country stars, such as George Hamilton IV, Skeeter Davis, and Bobby Bare, and this cemented his love of country music. He passed through several groups in the late 60's, including Country Fever and Poet & The One Man Band, and after the latter's sole album was released in 1969 Lee left with Tony Colton, Ray Smith, and Pete Gavin and they formed Heads, Hands & Feet, a progressive country outfit who were England's answer to the Flying Burrito Brothers. 

It was with Heads, Hands & Feet that Lee achieved his most positive critical praise, although this didn't translate into commercial success for the band. They split up after two years, and Lee made his living as a session guitarist for the next couple of years, playing on albums by Joe Cocker, Mike d'Abo, Steve Gibbons, and David Elliott. In 1971, Lee performed with Deep Purple's keyboard player Jon Lord on the studio recording of Lord's 'Gemini Suite', as although Ritchie Blackmore had played the guitar at the first live performance of the suite in September 1970, he declined the invitation to appear on the studio version. In 1975 he was offered the chance to record a solo album with A&M Records, but a gig playing and recording with Emmylou Harris (supplying mandolin and backing vocals to her 'Luxury Liner' album, delayed the completion of his own record for a couple of years, and 'Hiding' eventually appeared in 1979. He then signed to Polydor as a solo artist, but by that time the session work was coming in fast and furious, and Lee was seemingly everywhere, playing with everyone from Jackson Browne to Bo Diddley to Herbie Mann. Lee's own solo career continued into the late 80's with 1987's 'Speechless' and 1988's 'Gagged But Not Bound' both achieving critical successes. He was also later a member of Gerry Hogan's bluegrass group Hogan's Heroes, and toured and recorded with Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings, but the busiest period of his career was undoubtably the early 70's, adding his distinctive country licks to a myriad of recordings, a selection of which are here for your enjoyment. 

Track listing

Disc One
01 Two-Timing Baby (single by Carter-Lewis And The Southerners 1961)
02 Stormy Monday Blues (Part 2) (from 'Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds' by 

                                                                               Chris Farlowe And The Thunderbirds 1966)
03 One Long Kiss (from 'Burn Up!' by Gerry Temple 1969)
04 Ride Out On The Morning (from 'Poet And The One Man Band' by 

                                                                                           Poet And The One Man Band 1969)
05 In Our Own Sweet Time (single by The Derek Lawrence Statement 1969)
06 Marjorine (from 'With A Little Help From My Friends' by Joe Cocker 1969)
07 Woman In My Life (from 'd'Abo' by Mike D'Abo 1970)
08 Guitar (from 'Gemini Suite' by Jon Lord/London Symphony Orchestra 1971)

Disc Two
01 Alright Now (from 'Short Stories' by Steve Gibbons 1971)
02 Down To My Last Dime (from 'David Elliott' by David Elliott 1972)
03 I'm A Free Man (from 'Green Bullfrog' by Green Bullfrog 1972)
04 Falling Sky (from 'Jackson Browne (Saturate Before Using)' by Jackson Browne 1972)
05 Mellow Man (from 'Balloon' by Marc Wirtz 1973)
06 Make It With You (from 'B.J. Arnau' by B.J. Arnau 1973)
07 I Waited For You (from 'E.H. In The U.K.' by Eddie Harris 1974)
08 Jack Daniels Old No. 7 (from 'Sunset Towers' by Don Everly 1974)
09 Memphis Spoon Bread And Dover Sole (from 'London Underground' by Herbie Mann 1974)
10 Whatever Mood You're In (from 'Whatever Mood You're In' by Les Walker 1974)

If anyone has a better quality copy of 'Make It With You' that they could let me have then that would help improve this album considerably. 

Gary Boyle - ...and on guitar (1973)

Gary Boyle is best known for his work with the outstanding jazz-rock band Isotope, but like so many musicians before him, he'd paid his dues in a number of lesser-known bands and with session work before he was recognised for the superb guitarist that he is. Gary Winston Boyle was born in 1941 in Patna, India, moving to the UK when he was eight, and attended the Leeds College of Music in the early 1960's. By 1965 he was backing acts such as Millie Small (of 'My Boy Lollipop' fame), and Lulu and The Luvvers, before joining The Echoes in 1966. Later that year he left The Echoes to join a new incarnation of Steampacket, the famed 'supergroup', whose line-up included Long John Baldrey, Rod Stewart, Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger, and Mickey Waller. When Steampacket folded shortly afterwards, Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll formed The Trinity with guitarist Vic Briggs, who was replaced in 1967 by Boyle, where he stayed until November, when he left to go to music college. On leaving college in 1969 he joined folk-rock band Eclection, but left in June to re-join Brian Auger in the re-named Brian Auger Trinity. By 1971 he was playing with bands like Caparius and Cirrus, and backing The Eddie Harris Group for a season at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, before joining The Mike Westbrook Band, and playing on the classic 'Metropolis' album in 1971. 
After assembling a progressive rock band for Paul Jones, including Roy Babbington, Dave McRae, Pip Pyle, and Dave Wintour, he formed Isotope in 1972, which was to take up most of his time for the next four years, before he disbanded them to form The Gary Boyle Band with the same members. In 1973, while still with Isotope, he guested on recording sessions for a dazzling variety of artists, including jazz-fusion pioneer Stomu Yamash'ta, pop singers B.J. Arnau and Lynsey De Paul, comic trio The Goodies, and folkies Bert Jansch and Doggerel Bank. In 1972 he was added to Australian band Python Lee Jackson's line-up to record some more songs which could be added to the three that had been taped with Rod Stewart as vocalist in 1969, and the 'In A Broken Dream' album was released that year to some success, following the re-release of the title track as a single, which earned the band a top 3 UK chart placing. The same year he guested on jazz singer Norma Winstone's 'Edge Of Time' album, adding his guitar to 'Erebus (Son Of Chaos)', although I've omitted that from this album, along with his appearance on Mike Westbrook's 'Metropolis' (where his only solo is very short and hardly audible) as they are both examples of extreme free jazz, and didn't really fit in with the rest of the tracks. However, I have included them as a bonus in the file in case you want to check them out yourself.    

Track listing
  
01 Isola Natale (from 'Open' by Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity 1967)
02 Black Horse (from 'Dedicated To You, But You Weren't Listening' by Keith Tippett 1971) 
03 Sweet Consolation (from 'In A Broken Dream' by Python Lee Jackson 1972)
04 Swing Song (from 'A Little Taste' by Ann Odell 1973)
05 Taking You Back (from 'Sing Songs From The Goodies' by The Goodies 1973)
06 Mama Do (from 'Surprise' by Lynsey De Paul 1973)
07 Jubilation (from 'B.J. Arnau' by B.J. Arnau 1973)
08 Rolling Nuns (from 'Freedom Is Frightening' by Stomu Yamash'ta's East Wind 1973)
09 Lullabye (from 'Silver Faces' by Doggerel Bank 1973)
10 Oh My Father (from 'Moonshine' by Bert Jansch 1973)