Brinsley Schwarz - Cardiff, Wales 1974

This is Brinsley Schwarz in concert back on the 19th June 1974 at the former Top Rank venue in Cardiff, Wales (UK). This is a superb recording and demonstrates what a first class live act the band truly were.

Nick Lowe (bass, vocals) and Brinsley Schwarz (guitar, vocals) originally met at Woodbridge School where they played in school bands with Barry Landerman (keyboards, vocals) and Phil Hall (guitar). In 1964, whilst still at school, they toured RAF bases in Germany as "Sounds 4+1". On leaving school, Schwarz formed "Three's A Crowd" with Pete Whale (drums) and Dave Cottam (bass). Landerman joined in 1967 and they renamed themselves "Kippington Lodge". Their first two singles, produced by Mark Wirtz, in a close-harmony pop style, both flopped. Cottam left, and Schwarz invited Nick Lowe to join. Landerman then left to join Vanity Fare, Bob Andrews joined on keyboards, and finally, Whale was replaced by Billy Rankin on drums. Although the next three singles also failed, they had a residency as support band at The Marquee. The band's style was changing from pop into "a folk-rock band with psychedelic pretensions". In 1969 they renamed the band after their guitarist, and performed their new music under this name, whilst continuing to play pop as Kippington Lodge.


Later in 1970, Brinsley Schwarz released their second album, Despite It All, which had a definite country sound to it. They were heavily influenced by Eggs over Easy, who they first saw perform at 'The Tally Ho' in Kentish Town, and admired their laid-back style and extensive repertoire. In 1971, guitarist Ian Gomm joined the band, and they recorded their third album Silver Pistol. In response to "the hype", they became anti-commercial and spent much of 1971 rehearsing, although they toured on the Downhome Rhythm Kings package with Help Yourself & Ernie Graham (ex Eire Apparent), who were all managed by Dave Robinson. This led to them backing Ernie Graham on his eponymous solo album.

Brinsley Schwarz played at the second Glastonbury Festival (1971), and one track, "Love Song", appeared on the subsequent Glastonbury Fayre album. Their solid live performances soon garnered the band a large fan base in London, and, along with bands like Eggs over Easy, Brinsley Schwarz were soon dubbed "pub rock" by rock journalists. They sounded rather like The Band, with Schwarz's guitar work influenced greatly by Robbie Robertson's. In February 1972 they supported Hawkwind and Man at the Greasy Truckers Party, which was issued as a double album, and brought critical acclaim. Unfortunately, for a band known for its live performances, this was their only live album.

1972's ironic take on country-rock, Nervous on the Road, also received excellent reviews. It did not reach the charts, but earned them a UK tour, opening for Paul McCartney's Wings. The same year, they also acted as Frankie Miller's band for his debut album Once in a Blue Moon. Their fifth studio album Please Don't Ever Change, issued in 1973, was less well received by the critics, and achieved poor sales. In 1974 they arranged for Dave Edmunds to produce their sixth album The New Favourites of Brinsley Schwarz which was more polished, and again received good reviews. This association also led to their touring as Dave Edmunds' backing band, appearing on the live tracks of his Subtle as a Flying Mallet album. In addition to the albums, Brinsley Schwarz also issued a series of singles under their own name, and various pseudonyms, such as "The Hitters", "The Knees", "Limelight" and "The Brinsleys" but these all failed. They finally disbanded in 1975.

Source: Soundboard.

Sound Quality: Very good MP3 @192kbps.

Genre: Rock, pub rock, country rock.

Set: Full set.

Set List:

01. Intro & Country Girl
02. Hooked On Love
03. Trying To Live My Life Without You
04. Small Town Big
05. Honky Tonk/High Class Joint
06. Peace, Love And Understanding
07. It's Been So Long
08. Private Number
09. Happy Doing What We're Doing
10. Surrender To The Rhythm
11. You're So Fine
12. Do That Thing (Hip City)
13. Juju Man

Links: All Music biography HERE.

New file link in comments below - Re-uploaded 2012 (Stealth project).

Comments

Beehive Candy said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said…
thank you, Mike. looking forward to this
Beehive Candy said…
New file link in comments below - Re-uploaded 2012 (Stealth project).

Link: http://www.mediafire.com/?d2b3x50cfw01si7

Password: bcstealth11