★★★★★
More even than John Mayall, this band was the great mean--that is, the mean--of the purist (as opposed to heavy) wing of what we in America once called British blues, and these eight tracks, none recorded after 1972, say it all. "Train to Nowhere" is a minor classic, "A Hard Way to Go" and maybe one or two others mildly memorable, and that's it for twelve albums...
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-07-10
★★★★★
Creedence Clearwater survival.
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-07-10
★★★★★
Savoy Brown made the best of Dave Walker's departure for Fleetwood Mac by hiring Jack Lynton as their lead singer. While Lynton's voice can't match the warmth instilled by Walker's, he does do a competent job at melding with Kim Simmonds' guitar playing. His voice is sharp but not overly exciting, yet it still presents "Coming Down Your Way" with enough emotion to make it the album's standout track...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-27
★★★★★
Comprising the same lineup as Street Corner Talking, Savoy Brown released Hellbound Train a year later. For this effort, Kim Simmonds' guitar theatrics are toned down a bit and the rest of the band seems to be a little less vivid and passionate with their music. The songs are still draped with Savoy Brown's sleek, bluesy feel, but the deep-rooted blues essence that so easily emerged from their last album doesn't rise as high throughout Hellbound Train's tracks...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-27
★★★★★
This high-water mark by the band finds them softening their rougher edges and stretching out into jazz territory, yet still retaining a blues foundation. There's not a bad cut here, with enough variety (bottleneck slide, acoustic guitar, horns, and strings) to warrant frequent late-night listenings. "A Hard Way to Go," "Needle and Spoon," and "Stay While the Night Is Young" are especially strong, as are two instrumental numbers...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-27
★★★★★
"Shot in the Head," the slide guitar showcase that opens this solid set, became a staple of this veteran English band's live act. In his only full-time stint as singer for demanding bandleader Kim Simmonds, Dave Walker proves a serviceable, if unremarkable, successor to Chris Youlden. Besides their own tunes, the lads cover Howlin' Wolf and Little Walter.
- music.aol.com
2008-08-27
★★★★★
This BGO double disc places two of Savoy Brown's finest recordings in one package. Thoroughly remastered, both Blue Matter and A Step Further were recorded in 1969 and featured the enigmatic Chris Youlden on vocals, Kim Simmonds and Lonesome Dave Peverett on guitars, Roger Earle on drums, Jobe Rivers on bass, and pianist Bob Hall...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-27
★★★★★
Getting to the Point marks the debut of a vastly different lineup, still led by Simmonds but now fronted by new vocalist Chris Youlden. The pair got off to a good start by writing or co-writing most of the album. The playing is solid blues revival, and though Youlden's vocals are often overly imitative of B.B. King and Muddy Waters, he has a confident voice and frontman persona. Originals like "Flood in Houston" and "Mr. Downchild" provide the highlights.
- music.aol.com
2008-08-27
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