Savoy Brown Blues Band were formed by guitarist Kim Simmonds and harmonica player John O'Leary, following a chance meeting at Transat Imports record shop in Lisle Street, Soho, in 1965. Their name was a combination of the American blues label, Savoy Records, as they thought the word 'Savoy' sounded elegant, and to contrast this they chose the extremely plain Brown as the other half, adding Blues Band to tell listeners what they played. The original line-up included singer Brice Portius, keyboardist Trevor Jeavons, bassist Ray Chappell, drummer Leo Manning and harmonica player John O'Leary, but Jeavons was replaced by Bob Hall shortly after the band's formation, and Martin Stone was added on guitar. Not long after Stone's arrival, O'Leary left the band as a consequence of a dispute with manager Harry Simmonds, and it was this line-up which recorded the band's 1967 debut album 'Shake Down'. It was a superb collection of blues covers, and established the group at the forefront of the blues/r'n'b scene. Further line-up changes ensued, with founding members Portius, Chappell and Manning departing along with recently recruited guitarist Stone over a short period of time, and they were replaced by vocalist Chris Youlden and "Lonesome" Dave Peverett on second guitar. With the addition of drummer Roger Earl, this line-up recorded two albums in 1968, 'Getting To The Point' which came out that year, and 'Blue Matter' which was released in 1969. Both of these included much more original material, and further albums in that vein followed, with 1969's 'A Step Further' and 1970's 'Raw Sienna'. cementing their place in the late 60's blues boom, and breaking them in the States at the same time.
Following the release of 'Raw Sienna' Youlden left the band, and they recorded their next album 'Looking In' as a four-piece, after which Peverett, Stevens, and Earl left to form Foghat with guitarist Rod Price. Simmonds recruited Dave Walker on vocals, Paul Raymond on keyboards and guitars, Andy Silvester on bass, and Dave Bidwell on drums, most of whom had just left Chicken Shack, and released 'Street Corner Talking' in 1971. Despite their continued success at home, superstardom perpetually evaded them, perhaps in part because of their frequent line-up changes, but despite this their 1972 album 'Hellbound Train' was a Top 40 album for them in the US. In the late 1970's there were more line-up changes, but for most people the glory days of the band were behind them, and despite releasing many more albums for their loyal followers, the group never had the same success. In 1981 they had a surprise hit single with a cover of 70's popsters Smokie's 'Run To Me', and it became the band's highest-charting single in the United States, peaking at number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it certainly wasn't the blues. They did record some outstanding music in their heyday, and their early albums are all blues classics, so it's good to find that there are a number of singles and their b-sides from that period which did not appear on their albums, which I've collected here, along with a couple of BBC sessions, a fine live take of an otherwise unrecorded song, and that 1981 single, if you really want to hear it.
Track listing
01 Taste And Try, Before You Buy (single 1967)
02 Someday People (b-side of 'Taste And Try, Before You Buy')
03 Walking By Myself (b-side of 'Vicksburg Blues' 1968)
04 Gnome Sweet Gnome (Top Gear session 1968)
05 I Want You To Love Me (Live 1969)
06 Grits And Groceries (All Around The World) (single 1969)
07 Louisiana Blues (Top Gear session 1968)
08 Coming Down Your Way (single 1973)
09 Tell Mama (single edit 1971)
10 You'd Better Pray For The Lord To Guide You (Top Gear session 1970)
11 Blues On The Ceiling (BBC session 1971)
12 Run To Me (single 1981)
11 Blues On The Ceiling (BBC session 1971)
12 Run To Me (single 1981)
