When it comes to considering old rock and roll acts, it’s often the case that bands are remembered for their “classic” lineup – which, in reality, is usually synonymous with the personnel responsible for their big hits.
Nothing wrong with that; but, more often than one might expect, the music made when groups are in a state of transition is often pretty good too.
To illustrate, here are a few releases from the era when the turntables of the world reverberated with the sounds of hard rock dinosaurs, many of whom it seems have left little more than a few audio footprints for musical archaeologists to ponder.
SPOOKY TOOTH – YOU BROKE MY HEART, SO I BUSTED YOUR JAW (1973); and WITNESS (1973): Spooky Tooth was one of those British blues rock bands that looked good on paper and sounded good on vinyl, but never seemed to get a decent break. Even with the solid reviews they earned for Spooky Two, their great second album, Spooky Tooth was only able to limp on for two more patchy releases before calling it a day.
Or so it seemed. In 1972, the band reformed with some personnel changes, perhaps the most significant being the addition of Mick Jones on guitar, Or maybe not-so-significant: most of that material was still written by keyboardist Gary Wright, and co-lead vocalist Mike Harrison was still in the band.
You Broke My Heart, So I Busted Your Jaw, the awkwardly titled first effort of the reformed group, is often considered to be better of these two albums, but Witness (which featured the return of original Spooky Tooth drummer Mike Kellie) is in some ways more consistent. Maybe the departure of Mike Harrison soon after affected how the record was perceived by the critics as well as the public in general: Witness peaked at only No. 99 on the Top 100.
There was one more album with a replacement vocalist before the whole operation folded. After, Gary Wright went solo and had a monster hit with “Dream Weaver,” and Mick Jones went on to become a founding member of multiplatinum rock act Foreigner.
IRON BUTTERFLY – BALL (1969); and METAMORPHOSIS (1970): Much has been said about Iron Butterfly’s monolithic In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, but the releases that came after are often simply footnotes to their more famous sibling.
1969’s Ball actually went to No. 3 on the charts, one position better than its predecessor. However, though they shared similarly psychedelic arrangements, Ball seemed to be lyrically darker. Maybe in retrospect it was a little like dropping some bad acid, but still the case can be made for it to be the stronger album simply by it not being burdened with a 17-minute title track.
In any case, 1970 saw the departure of guitarist Erik Brann and the arrival of two experienced gunslingers, Mike Pinera and Larry Reinhardt. It also saw a change in the basic Iron Butterfly approach, moving away from their usual psychedelic signature sound towards a more typical ’70s hard-rock focus. Despite the direction shift, Metamorphosis seemed at the time a pretty good way to start the new decade. It even contained a charting single, “Easy Rider (Let the Wind Pay the Way).”
But the writing was on the wall for the group, which folded by the next year. And if you ever see the two albums put out by a reformed version of the group a few years later, don’t bother: both were recorded without the services of lead vocalist, organist and songwriter Doug Ingle.
PROCOL HARUM – GRAND HOTEL (1973); and EXOTIC BIRDS AND FRUIT (1974): Often remembered for their classical music overtones and orchestral arrangements, Procol Harum actually had a lot of R&B, soul and rock elements in their music for those who cared to notice them. They even had a pretty hot guitarist in Robin Trower.
Trower eventually left to form a rock power trio, and after briefly employing the services of Dave Ball for their album Live: In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Procol Harum eventually released a new studio album, Grand Hotel, with Mick Grabham shouldering the six-string. The album contained the by-now-typical symphonic arrangements; however, sensing a need for a change in direction, 1974’s Exotic Birds and Fruit was a relatively stripped down, back-to-basics affair.
Despite this, Exotic Birds and Fruit only made it to the bottom part of the Top 100, and after a couple of more efforts, Procol Harum had run its course, although occasional reunion lineups appeared in the 1990s and beyond.
ARGENT – ARGENT (1970); RING OF HANDS (1971); and ALL TOGETHER NOW (1972): Rod Argent was the keyboardist of mid-1960s English chart toppers the Zombies and the writer of their early hits “She’s Not There” and “Tell Her No.” However, the band had difficulty following up with any more hits and called it a day after recording the album Odessey and Oracle in 1967.
Too bad they didn’t hold on: a single from the album, “Time of the Season” took its sweet time, but eventually hit the No. 3 spot on the U.S. charts in 1969. By then, Argent had formed a new group named after himself. The new band featured the services of Zombies’ bassist Chris White as a non-performing songwriter and guitarist Russ Ballard, himself a strong writer.
In some ways, their 1970 self-titled debut sounds in places like the Zombies’ album that never was, with Argent & White-penned tracks supported by Ballard compositions like “Schoolgirl” and “Liar,” the latter which became a success for American hit makers Three Dog Night.
1971’s Ring of Hands saw the band moving towards a heavier progressive rock sound, and by 1972’s All Together Now, the band found their prog/pop/rock balance, The album featured the Argent and White song “Hold Your Head Up” – which, as an edited single, made the Top Ten on the music charts.
Subsequent releases were less successful, and by late 1976, the band went their separate ways, with the to-be-expected reunion gigs over the years.
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