VA - Greasy Truckers Party 1972 - 3CDs - 2007
From AMG
The Greasy Truckers Party, as a double-LP set, was the Great White Whale of many a music lover's collecting efforts in the 1970s and '80s -- always talked of being sighted by others and ever-eluding the best efforts. So in 2007, some 30-plus years later, the idea that the original eight-track master tapes had survived, and could be retrieved and -- more to the point -- would be retrieved by someone who cared enough to do something with them (and, equally important, had the time and budget with which to do anything with them) seemed a remote possibility, at best. But here it is, on three very fully packed CDs, the complete sets of Man, Brinsley Schwarz, and Hawkwind (with Magic Michael & Friends thrown in for good measure), a legendary performance on a legendary night for each band. For those unaware, in the world of British underground rock, the Greasy Truckers Party, as it was billed at the London Roundhouse on February 13, 1972, looms about as large as the Monterey International Pop Festival does in American rock lore; it wasn't the biggest gig ever played by the bands involved, but for reasons of exposure, and resulting word-of-mouth, and the excerpted live album that followed, it came to define what they were capable of, and who they were. Man, who'd shown a lot of promise on their early records leading up to this event, ripped the envelope with the show they put on that night. Hawkwind, who'd enjoyed some recording success and made a big splash at the previous year's Glastonbury Fayre, was boasting a partly new lineup, with a rhythm section comprised of ex-Rocking Vicar Lemmy on bass and Simon King on drums -- they overcame some initial technical problems to do a live set that, despite being abbreviated in earlier releases of this performance, loomed large in their legend for more than a decade. And included in that set on this release is their first-ever performance of "Silver Machine," the song that -- with Lemmy shifted to lead vocals a few months later -- would propel the band to the number three spot on the U.K. singles charts. And then there was Brinsley Schwarz, who were in many ways the most improbable act on this bill -- where the other two groups were known for doing extended jams, running as much as 20 minutes at a clip, the Brinsleys did short songs mostly based on American country music and other traditional forms; indeed, their opening number, "Country Girl," sounds like a lost outtake from the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo, and is about as far removed as can be from the heavy electric jams of Man that preceded them, or the space rock extravaganzas of Hawkwind, who followed.
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CD 1 - MAN
01. Spunk Rock
02. Many Are Called But Few Get Up
03. Angel Easy
04. Bananas
05. Romain
CD 2 - Brinsley Schwarz
01. Intro
02. Country Girl
03. One More Day
04. Unknown Number
05. She's Got To Be Real
06. Home Work
07. Nervous On The Road (But Can't Stay At Home)
08. Range War
09. Silver Pistol
10. Going Down The Road
11. Midnight Train
12. Private Number
13. It's Just My Way Of Saying Thank You
14. Wonder Woman
15. I'm Ahead If I Can Quit While I'm Behind
16. Surrender To The Rhythm
17. Music Belongs To The People
CD 3 - Hawkwind
01. Announcement / Apology
02. This Is Your Captain Speaking (Breakdown)
03. This Is Your Captain Speaking
04. You Shouldn't Do That
05. The Awakening
06. Master Of The Universe
07. Paranoia
08. Earth Calling
09. Silver Machine
10. Welcome To The Future
11. Born To Go
12. Brainstorm (Jam)
13. Andy Dunkley / End Announcement
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