tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951335002172083335.post5811073314090215731..comments2024-01-31T14:13:36.881+01:00Comments on Silverado's RM: Snafu - Snafu (1973 Uk Great Classic Rock - 1993 Reissue - Wave)SILVERADOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01992385439351655443noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951335002172083335.post-64507074317030001812013-02-06T20:46:08.545+01:002013-02-06T20:46:08.545+01:00The second half of the album gets under way with ‘...The second half of the album gets under way with ‘Country Nest’ a slower more melancholy affair with another ballad vocal from Harrison. The opening line of “I’m sitting in my rocking chair I’m smoking a joint in my underwear …….” is nothing short of brilliant and the humour in the lyric all the way through is a positive joy. Co-written with Solley it obviously has some good keyboard runs and the farmyard noises at the tracks end leave a smile in their wake.<br /><br />The fiddle is back for ‘Funky Friend’ a strutting funky tale of a lost friend. The widdly diddly fiddle this time is more reminiscent of an Irish hoe down than an English fair but just as with the earlier track it is impossible not to jig along to the funky infectious rhythm. Once again musical rocket science it isn’t but it is out and out good time music that leaves nothing but a smile.<br /><br />Things get a litle more serious for ‘Goodbye USA’ a brooding mid paced funk with some great guitar and keyboard techniques underneath a laid back easy vocal from Harrison, who surely has claims to be up there with the best funky blues vocalists of the day.<br /><br />The longest track on the album is closer ‘That’s The Song’, a fast paced strutter with a real great vibe. It has an almost evangelical feel to it and it is not difficult to imagine a huge congregation all singing and dancing along in unison. Moody throws in a spectacularly funky solo and the backing vocalists choir is a perfect touch. It is a great funky fast paced end to an album that really should be heralded as one of the classic rock albums of the seventies. The decision to fade down the volume as the track ends though was surely a mistake. The album itself ends with a brief reprise of the riff and melody of the opening track ‘Long Gone’<br /><br />On its release “Snafu” was greeted with considerable favour from the reviewers of the day and the band quickly gained a huge live following. They also became something of a musicians band and were often praised by comtemporary musicians of the day. Sadly this did not turn into record sales though and neither the album or the non album single ‘Dixie Queen’ (included as a bonus track on CD remasters) troubled the charts. Such was their popularity live though that they secured European tours with both The Doobie Brothers and The Eagles. “Snafu” is a right little belter of an album which is very much ‘of its day’ and it has long been one of my most played albums since finding it in a junk shop for the princely sum of £1 way back in 1980. These days I mostly play the CD remaster but the cherished vinyl edition with its gatefold Roger Dean cover occasionally comes out for a spin. <br /><br />Thx Silverado.adamus67https://www.blogger.com/profile/07035959023698485029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951335002172083335.post-42470875090450645982013-02-06T20:44:47.069+01:002013-02-06T20:44:47.069+01:00“Snafu” the debut album of British mini-supergroup...“Snafu” the debut album of British mini-supergroup 'consisting, among others Juicy Lucy by musicians (guitarist Micky Moody - then in Whitesnake), Freedom (vocalist Bobby Harrison), Mark-Almond (bassist Colin Gibson) and the Australian group McPhee (drummer Terry Poople). The band combined heavy rock with blues and country style. The album was released on vinyl, WWA short-term effort (as LP Black Sabbath, Gentle Giant and Groundhogs)<br /><br />Snafu was a British rhythm and blues/rock band, formed in 1973 by former Procol Harum and Freedom vocalist Bobby Harrison along with Micky Moody, formerly of Tramline, the Mike Cotton Sound and Juicy Lucy (later with Whitesnake). With Colin Gibson from Ginger Baker’s Air Force, Terry Popple from Mickey Jupp’s Legend,and the Australian group McPhee and session musician Pete Solley the line-up was completed. Gibson suggested the name Snafu, a term he lifted from a Captain Beefheart LP. The musical influences were mainly American and came from bands such as Allman Brothers and in particular Little Feat, one of Bobby Harrison’s favourite bands. One of Snafu’s earliest fans was Richard Branson who had just built The Manor Studio and he invited them to use it to record their first album at the same time as Mike Oldfield was there recording his opus “Tubular Bells”.<br /><br />The first album is filled with well-played funky rock with the kind of edge you’d expect from guys who had their backgrounds. The opener “Long Gone” was the single, and a pretty good introduction to the style of the album: a quiet keyboard intro with guitar drifting in, funky mid-tempo drums, Harrison’s suitably raw but melodic and familiar-sounding rock’n’roll voice and a melody that’s easy to listen to,track had already been recorded for Harrison’s “Funkist” album but this version is far superior.<br /><br />Other highlights include “Monday Morning”, peppered with Pete Solley’s fierce fiddle-playing and Moody also contributes some great mandolin picking and the whole song has an English country fair feel to it. It should be pretty naff but it goes down a treat and is a great jig-a-long bit of fun, the country-rock number “Country Nest”, graced with a melody that hooks on you instantly the aptly titled “Funky Friend” with its kicking drum beat that’s left as loud as possible in the mix (and Solley plays fiddle on this one too), and the climactic closer “That’s the Song” with a dynamite chorus. A balanced album by talented musicians, it forebode good things for Snafu. The album highlight is the track that closed side one of the original vinyl issue, and the only non original track on the album ‘Drowning In The Sea Of Love’. Written by Philadelphia soul legends Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff it had been a minor hit for American soul singer Joe Simon the previous year. It is a perfect vehicle for Snafu, suiting Harrison’s vocal style perfectly and allowing Moody the opportunity to display his various styles. The use of female backing vocalists also gives the song an extra dimension and it has long beeen one of my favourite recorded works by any artist.<br /><br />The album highlight for me is the track that closed side one of the original vinyl issue, and the only non original track on the album ‘Drowning In The Sea Of Love’. Written by Philadelphia soul legends Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff it had been a minor hit for American soul singer Joe Simon the previous year. It is a perfect vehicle for Snafu, suiting Harrison’s vocal style perfectly and allowing Moody the opportunity to display his various styles. The use of female backing vocalists also gives the song an extra dimension and it has long beeen one of my favourite recorded works by any artist.adamus67https://www.blogger.com/profile/07035959023698485029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4951335002172083335.post-5632850328220304102013-02-06T15:40:44.141+01:002013-02-06T15:40:44.141+01:00SNAFU predated Sgt. Bilko. And it was Situation No...SNAFU predated Sgt. Bilko. And it was Situation Normal All Fucked Up.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com