Artistic As HellAlbertson-Frost Records K.O. 226 1977
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Roy Loney: Vocals, guitar |
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Deticated to Sissy Spacel and Jackie Morningstar.
Roy Left The Flamin’ Groovies in 1971 after writing a new classic song, Slow Death, with Cyril Jordan. The song was performed by the band at Roy Loney’s last concert before he left the group. The concert was at Fillmore West on 30 June 1971 and was broadcasted by a local radio station and later issued on LP and CD’s. James Ferrell had replaced Tim Lynch on guitar and the band later found Chris Wilson as a replacement for Roy and recorded a studio version of Slow Death in England with him for UA with Dave Edmunds as a producer. Flamin’ Groovies stayed in England and made a couple of singles and three albums in a musical style that was more Merseybeat than The Rolling Stones. The first album, Shake Some Action, is very good but the music is very different from the Loney era of the band.
Roy got tired of the band and the music scene after the release of Teenage Head. The album sold nothing and Roy & Cyril had different views of the future for the band. Roy worked for ABC-Dunhill records in San Francisco for five years when he noticed that the music scene had changed with all new band like The Ramones and The Dead Kennedys. Roy had never stopped writing and was ready to rock again!
In the meantime Danny Mihm had left the Flamin’ Groovies and formed a folk rock band with Tim Lynch called The Hot Knives. They had released a couple of singles on their own label Knock Out Records (one of them is a real classic, I Hear The Wind Blow, was produced by Cyril) and asked if Roy wanted to make a record. Roy said yes and asked his old pals from Groovies to back him which they did! The line-up was Roy Loney (guitar, vocals), Cyril Jordan (guitar), Tim Lynch (guitar), Michael Houpt (from Hot Knives, guitar), George Alexander (bass), Danny Mihm (drums) and Cab Covay (piano). The result is an EP with four songs and a lot of energy!
A1) A Hundred Miles An Hour (Roy A. Loney). As the title of this song indicates we’re in for a fast rock’n’roll song. It starts with acoustic guitars (which are at the front of the mix on all four songs), then the rest of the band joins and Roy is really back in business again with a voice that is influenced by the punk bands.
A2) Love Is A Spider (Roy A. Loney). This is a classic Roy Loney ballad (maybe a little bit influenced by The Kinks?) and should have been a hit if it was released by a ”major” artist! Great backing vocals and a guitar solo that sounds as if it was recorded in the room next door.
B1) Least Magnificent Moment (Of My Life) (Roy A. Loney). A very good song again, a kind of mid tempo pop-rock song. A very stylish guitar solo by Tim Lynch I think.
B2) Don't Believe Those Lies (Roy A. Loney) is a rock’n’roll song again
Summary: This EP has four very good songs (Love Is A Spider is one of his very best songs ever), a lot of energy and good musicians. I’m not an ”audio freak” but the recording sounds a bit primitive. That’s why I only give it 8/10.