|
OK, so this is where I start getting really opinionated. I have
given elsewhere the track listings for the SB&Q
compilation that was issued in 2002, with tracks initially
selected by Steve Chapman, approved by Iain & Gavin Sutherland but then tweaked by Sony, presumably
for "balance". But do real fans actually
agree with much of what is on the compilation albums? Here's one
that doesn't, so with that in mind, I've compiled my favourite
ten tracks. They are listed below. Except that I've cheated,
because I couldn't possibly take 150 tracks and cut them down to
ten.
So, what I've done
is created three Top Tens. The first covers the period up until the formation of
SB&Q, taking in the albums made by the Sutherland Brothers and, separately
by Quiver. The second phase covers the SB&Q period, while my third Top Ten looks
at the music made once the group had split and includes all the solo material. What I now want is for other
fans to
e-mail me
their ten favourites. I'll try to compile a complete list of the
tracks people most like. Perhaps a record company will actually
take notice someday.
The
list is not in order of preference, but simply chronological order. As a bonus, I've included short
audio clips of each track. Click on the
symbol to hear them.
|
|
The Pie
A classic bedsit ballad.
The theme of this song was perhaps a little
risqué, even for 1969, which is perhaps why the single slipped
to the b-side in the USA. I guess that the idea of a guy trying
to persuade a girl to relinquish her virginity to him - even when
expressed so subtly - was not mainstream radio. Indifference and
the girl's need to appear "cool" were all things that
we guys suffered then but few people expressed the problem of
such angst so eloquently. Apart from the great vocal and harmony,
the outstanding aspect is the harmonising of the main guitar
theme with the piano at the fade.
I Was In
Chains
This is a wonderful, folky song, with incredible, yearning vocals and
a lovely warm acoustic rhythm guitar sound. The flute coming in over the final
chorus adds to a spare, subtle production. It's also very tasty in its live version
for the BBC In Concert series.
Medium Wave
Lovely harmonies blend beautifully in waltz-time, with superb guitar sounds and
a harmonica that Dylan would be proud of.
Midnight Avenue
The whole of that first album is packed with wonderful tracks but this is a
special favourite, even with its mis-recorded vocal in one verse. There's a
quite restrained piano solo and, again, some delightful guitar responses to each
line of vocals. As for the lyrics: they're lyrics about lyrics - the problems a
songwriter has having to come up with a song under threat of a deadline.
Annie
(single
version) This is my way of cheating by snatching this song from the
much-harder-to-pick second Top Ten, where it would have struggled against other
great material from the Beat of the Street album. And actually, the
single version is better, anyway, with its brass intro and the saxophone acting
as counterpoint to the vocal throughout the verse. The song has a tremendous
"live" feel about it, which shows why it went down so well at gigs.
Ireland
Oh, dear. I feel bad about this. Over thirty ago, I, along with many others,
no doubt, dismissed this as
immature political ranting by people that should have left well
alone, although at least it wasn't as bad as McCartney's Give
Ireland Back to the Irish! Now, I'm prepared to admit that
the notions suggested in this lyric have actually started to happen and
maybe if the political will had been around earlier many lives
would have been saved. I'd be interested to know Iain's feelings
on his song with the benefit of hindsight. The tune is one that
stays with you for days and the strings make it something of a
big production number. Anyone who can write, "England,
you're such a pain; so many wars and now you've done it again"
gets my vote.
Space Hymn
This is a work of art. It has a beautifully constructed opening and, with tons
of echo laid on, an extraordinary vocal about the Second Coming. The close of
the song has a pounding piece of drumming from Dave Mattacks, followed by a
bluesy organ. And throughout the song, there's that piano from John Hawken! I
believe I am right in saying that the CD version has been remixed, with the
vocals brought further forward than they were on the vinyl release.
Real Love
If we're talking about the recorded version
on Lifeboat, it's great, with those trills on piano played so
well by Stevie Winwood. However, my memories of the song are of
the live versions, where not only was the piano still
magnificent, but Tim Renwick was on hand to take the music onto
new peaks with that soaring guitar. I came out of one Glasgow
dance hall with my ears ringing for days, but oh, it was so good.
To enhance our memories, the BBC should release at least one of their two
concert versions on CD - they are each quite different and both worth having.
Sailing
I
love this song though I feel it has been so devalued by Rod, and even more so by
Howard from the Halifax ads (how could you, Gavin?) but the original single tops
anything done elsewhere, including the re-recording for Rock Against
Repatriation. Gavin gives a nice interview on the
clippings page, where he talks about the true meaning of the song and how
Rod's version is something of a misinterpretation. The single was recorded and issued
in 1972, before the merger with Quiver, though it is attributed to the newly
formed band on the US release of Lifeboat.
Gone in the
Morning
The title track to Quiver's second album is a bit of a ramble and
the vocals are buried, perhaps understandably, by the instruments. However, the
series of guitar solos in this ten-minute track do offer a hint of what was to
come from Mr Renwick. I might have gone for the more lyrical Don't Let
Go, from the same album, if only the guitars had all been in tune.
|
|
You Got Me Anyway
As a single, it comes at you, in your
face, virtually from the start. Good solid rock and a marvellous
hook. And what about that drumming? As well as being a single and the first song
recorded by the newly merged group, it appears on the US version of the
Lifeboat album, where, interestingly, a religious theme pervades. Certainly,
these lyrics could be considered as hymn-like. With more space, I'd have
included Have You Had a Vision from this album, a classy track that has
never appeared on CD. Incidentally,
if they were at all
litigious, Gavin & Iain might have wanted to take a close look at
Sheryl Crow's Change Would Do You Good.
Seagull/Lonely Love
This
pairing of songs illustrates the transition that was slowly
taking place in the group, as the songs and performances moved
from a folk style into the medium of rock. Tuneful, and with
vocals that scream of yearning, Seagull offers images and
metaphors far beyond the realms of simple pop music, whether folk, rock
or any other genre. Am I allowed to use the word metaphysical, or
is that being pretentious? The allusions to the sea,
characteristic of a number of their songs, stem back to the brothers'
childhood and, indeed, their ancestry. Musically, Peter Wood's
piano work is particularly appealing.
Champion the
Underdog
Crashing guitar chords and thundering drums open this magnificent piece
of rock. The song takes us back to those great movies of our youth,
where the heroes and villains were perfectly clear-cut, before hitting
out at oppression and suggesting we all need to stop genuflecting to
the most powerful in society and start sticking up for the least well
off. What makes the song stand out is the break in the middle, where
the organ takes over and Iain quietens the mood before a typical Tim
Renwick guitar solo that brings the song back to full rock power. Note
the pun in the title, something that was to become a trademark for the
group by its next album. The first ever record that was bought for me
was Frankie Laine's Champion the Wonder Horse on
78rpm when I was six. I dropped it and it smashed.
Rollin' Away/Rocky Road/Saved By The Angel
OK, so maybe
I'm just a sucker for a gimmick, or perhaps I'm cheating to try
to cram extra tracks into my top ten, but this was a great end to
a wonderful album. The idea had been used before, by the Beatles
on side 2 of Abbey Road: take a number of short pieces that
wouldn't genuinely make full songs and throw them together in
some kind of segue. Well, that particular section of the Beatles
album is a favourite of mine and so is this tremendous bit of
rock from the newly formed SB&Q. The first part contains a superb
vocal, the middle has those chord progressions so reminiscent of
George Harrison and the keyboard/guitar togetherness of the
ending is a delight. Considering it beats Dream Kid to my top ten, it must be special!
World In Action
The group's best overall album, in my view, opens with this, the name of a UK
television documentary series. Who would be a reporter when you've got to feed a
nation's constant voracity for news? Solid guitar and drums introduce this great
piece of rock, but it's the piano chugging along, thumping out chords and
extemporising as if there's no tomorrow, that makes this a highlight song. Tim
does his statutory solo very effectively and the harmonies are spot on, with
lovely bass licks and powerful drumming throughout, yet it's the piano that
carries the fade beautifully.
Laid Back in Anger
A punning title in an album full of witty lyrics and containing a title track that displayed a
wonderful maturity for a band that was getting recognition, but
not hits. Strangely, the album was never released in the USA,
perhaps because Island couldn't muscle up the necessary
distribution arrangements. By now, the band were a tight knit
unit, playing quality rock and this track demonstrates their
skills. Guitars soar, percussion is strong in driving the music
along and the harmonies are spot on. And that's before we get to
lyrics like, "Lying in the bath in the aftermath, browsing
through the Daily Success. Front-page news always gives me the
blues, so I jump back to the stop press. There I read the story
all about the glory of the great new age on the way, so in the
end I decided to stay - laid back in anger." Irony lives.
And that's not counting the verse that pre-dates I Don't Like
Mondays in its theme by five years.
Dr Dancer
If you're expecting to see Arms of Mary in
this list, then you have badly misunderstood my tastes in music.
Love on the Moon, on the other hand, is a great song which only
just misses this top ten and you only have to listen to the
opening track of the album (When the Train Comes), either studio
or live, to know just how accomplished the band had become by
this stage. However Dr Dancer, with its reggae-style introduction
and its clever hook could easily have been the quality hit from
this album and might have changed the way the group were viewed
by the public and their new record company. Depressing lyric,
mind you, but one to boogie on down to, if you're that way
inclined.
Dark Powers
This was on Slipstream, the album that followed their
big hit, and it was obvious that there was a desperation to
replicate their chart success. As a result, some of the tracks
are weaker than on previous albums, but this one has a typically
great chorus which shows that the songwriting skills were still
at their highest, when record company executives managed to restrain their
own tastes. Am I being cruel to CBS? Or is it simply that the group was losing its direction? Either way,
this track is the one of the few that shows
progression, with its almost symphonic middle section. It
should have been the featured one - opener and title track - of
the album.
Love On The Side
The other decent track on
Slipstream is this yearning ballad with Iain not quite straining to reach
the notes. Piano inserts are splendid and the guitars add strength and power in
the middle break. The bluesy electric piano keeps going to the end, where it
takes over and plays out in a sound worthy of Joe Zawinul.
Somebody's Fool
My lack of enthusiasm for that last
album and the fact that when I got married, buying records didn't
appear on a budget line, meant that I lost touch with what
happened to SB&Q for a while, which is a shame, because their final album as
a four-piece is a fine piece of work, worth getting hold of, if you
don't already have it. This track is probably the best of a
great bunch of tuneful and well-performed songs (although Fun On
The Farm is an exception, as a blatant pastiche of 10cc). While Where Lies Your Soul
is a very reflective
track, with strings and grandiose orchestration, Somebody's Fool just
edges
it for Iain's powerful vocal performance and the outstanding backing musicians,
of whom Willie Wilson deserves special mention. |
|
Easy Come, Easy
Go
I'm a sucker for a saxophone solo and the one by Jim Horn works well here
on this semi-hit from an otherwise lack-lustre final album, where the sound is a
tad flat and the music has dated more than the group's earlier stuff. The song
appears to be saying goodbye to a lover, but it could equally be to a career in the music
scene. The vocal is lovely and the arrangement is better than any other track on
the LP. Take a look at the "live" performance on ToTP on YouTube (Radio & TV
page) to see the Suths in action.
Dreams of You
It opens with a guitar sequence that is very reminiscent of Gerry Rafferty when
he was with The Humblebums, but it soon develops into an easy-going rock piece.
Iain's voice is plaintive and there's a good mix of folk roots and
well-developed rock music from a group playing to its strengths. This track just
edged it over Crazy Town for selection here.
Better Days are
Coming
Gavin's first solo album, Beat of My Heart, has some tasty
stuff on it, including the title track, Water and Ice and Too Late to
Cry, but my favourite is this one, if only for the bass vocal harmony that I
can sing along to. The delightfully reflective lyric looks back to look forward
and the meandering lead guitar in between verses is delicious.
Love in a Cold
Climate
While Iain's first album left me with mixed emotions, appropriately
enough, his second album, Learning to Dance, is full of great music. A
swing rhythm opens this song as it slowly builds, with agonising restraint. In
the second verse, Iain's double tracked vocals are joined by a light drizzling
of guitar to add to the chimes, before the song breaks out into a beautifully
toned guitar solo, with responding keyboards.
The Science of
Saying Goodbye
Why have we not had a release from Iain since 1985 when he
can produce music as wonderful as this? The initial verse-chorus-verse of the
song is fairly standard and would have fitted onto any Suths album easily. Then,
just as the song appears to be coming to an end, up pops a coda, with the title
repeated. The fun bit is attempting to sing the verse over this coda as a
counterpoint. It works well if you do it right. Dancing in the
Kitchen
Nicely subtitled Acoustic Music to Soothe the Troubled Soul, Gavin's second
album, Diamonds and Gold, is light, relaxed and has some wonderful lyrics wrapped up in highly
approachable tunes. While Go the Distance is a strong favourite, as the ever-optimistic Gavin
intones, "I may not win the fight, but I'll go the distance", Dancing in the Kitchen remains my favourite for its easy-going combination of piano and
harmonica. It's a song that could easily be performed in the front parlour yet
it has a sound with roots that suggests New Orleans, combined with Jamaica.
(I Think) It's
Going to Work Out Fine
Although this is an old Ike and Tina Turner hit, my
first experience of it was on the Five Faces of Manfred Mann
LP from 1964. The Bucket Boys have stripped it back virtually to an
instrumental, with only the chorus getting the vocal treatment near the
end. There's a lovely warmth to the guitars and the melody is
finely presented. I've been quite skimpy in selecting tracks from the
Bucket Boys, simply because their style of music is quite different
from the sounds that came from SB&Q. They're a great band, who, in
their time, were worth seeing live, and their three albums are worth
having.
Open Road
Tim
Renwick's CD Privateer is packed with great instrumentals that he has
used for film music or as beds under adverts, etc. This one could be a
combination of Hank Marvin and Mark Knopfler in sound, as it effortlessly
demonstrates the skills of a guitar player at his peak.
Dreaming
My
CD copy of Gavin's last album wouldn't play on my computer or DVD player, so
I had terrible trouble getting it onto my iTouch to hear it. The effort was worth it for
this, with a slightly syncopated rhythm, yet slow and, it seems, intended as
sleep-inducing. The piano, wandering between deep chords and light tinkles,
works with the occasional flashes of guitar and an insistent drum sound that
offers a disturbing contradiction to the vocals. The Tweeter
An immediately popular song with everyone who has bought Gavin's latest
CD, this delightfully satirises all those users of social network sites
who want to tell the world the most insignificant rubbish about their
lives. If fellow passengers can be riled by the "I'm on the bus" mobile
call, then this is Gavin's annoyance at the Twitter generation's utter
banalities. Instead of writing a song about it, he could simply have
unfriended me! |
|
That was hard. I know I've omitted tracks that on another day would have
been in my top ten. I accept I've been opinionated and
perhaps contentious but I would also value your opinions for
subsequent inclusion in this section - you know how to
get in touch. Meanwhile, how did my
three top tens compare with the actual Very
Best Of, released by Sony in 2002? Here's the track listing, with
my choices in bold:
The Pie, I Was In Chains, Real Love,
Sailing, You Got Me Anyway, Lifeboat, Dream Kid,
Champion the Underdog, Beat of the Street, Laid Back in
Anger, When the Train Comes, Arms of Mary, Dr.
Dancer, Love On the Moon, Moonlight Lady, Slipstream,
Secrets, Something's Burning, When the Night Comes Down, Easy
Come, Easy Go.
Not bad - nine out of twenty. The guys from Sony have some taste,
even though they've gone for the obvious in some cases. While I'd
still recommend that any fan should have the whole collection on
CD and vinyl, the Very Best of CD is a good one to have.
Incidentally, the original list of tracks provided by Steve Chapman & Iain
Sutherland, from which Sony then made up the track list for this
CD, also included All I Got Is You, Saviour In The Rain, If I
Could Have Your Loving, Dark Powers, Ice In The Fire and Every
Tear I Cry. Interesting. |
