John Dummer's Famous Music Band (1970) 24-bit/96kHz Vinyl Rip

The John Dummer Blues Band were an established act on the blues circuit and had released two pure blues albums "Cabal" and "John Dummer Blues Band" both featuring singer and slide guitarist Dave kelly, later and currently a member of The Blues Band with Paul Jones and Tom McGuinness. Kelly left after "John Dummer Blues Band" and was replaced by multi instrumentalist Nick Pickett. Pickett was a strange choice. His main instrument was the violin and he was from a traditional folk background; but he had songs, lots of them, and the line up of Pickett, Dummer, Thompson and guitarist Adrian Pietryga recorded "John Dummer's Famous Music Band".

This is a very strange album. Imagine a folk singer and fiddle player playing over a blues based rhythm section. This contrast is the albums great strength. Pickett obviously doesn't find singing the blues that easy but he delivers some great vocals on the more upbeat numbers like "Yes Sir, She's my Baby", a Pickett original and not the old show tune.There are some great moments: The opener "Lady Luck" is an eerie, percussion soaked rocker and the slow bluesy "No Chance Now" is another high, and the bright, jazzy instrumental "Nine By Nine" was a huge hit on the continent and also dented the charts in the UK.

Ultimately this album is a little schizophrenic and would probably have benefitted from an outside producer.There are also some odd moments: on the song "Changes" a harmonium is featured and you can hear quite clearly the squeaking of the pedals as the player pumps them.But all that aside, I really like this album. If you like off-kilter, bluesy, jazzy, folky music, it's well worth a listen. Taran Geary, amazon.co.uk

Track listing:

01. Lady Luck
02. Changes
03. Love Ain't Nothing But Sorrow
04. Run Around
05. Yes Sir, She's My Baby
06. Boogie-Woogie Lullaby
07. Coming Home
08. Searching For You
09. Nine By Nine
10. Move Me, Don't Leave Me
11. Going In The Out
12. No Chance Now
13. Fine Looking Woman
14. Green Leaves

Personnel:

Nick Pickett: vocals/guitar/harmonica/violin/piano/vibes/percussion
Adrian Pietryga: guitar/vocals
Thump Thompson: bass guitar
John Dummer: drums/vocals
plus:
John Fairweather: harmonium, Track 2
Chris Trengove: alto sax, Track 11
Production: John Dummer Band

Technicals:

Knosti RCM.
Michell GyroDec full version.
Funk Firm FXR II Tonearm.
Audio Technica AT33PTG/II MC Cartridge.
Harman Kardon HK990 Integrated Amplifier.
Gold Interconnects. E-MU 0204 Audio Interface.
Recording, split and manual de-click with Adobe Audition 3.0.1
Click Repair 3.8.4