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Plays: 21998
Views: 29142 |
Formed: 1971
Official Site: strife.uk.com
iSound Site: www.isound.com/strife
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***AFTER 30 YEARS!!!NEW LIVE ALBUM FROM 1976 NOW AVAILABLE FROM www.modeltask.com and cdbaby***
One of the original 3 piece heavy rock bands from the 70's highly acclaimed as one of the best live acts in the UK at this time, touring constantly with acts like "Ian Gillan |
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Friday, August 18th, 2006
Rush Review
Like me, you might have occasionally wondered about this album, just from its cover. The eye-catching Hipgnosis sleeve features a couple of blokes in a field with dark clouds overhead, dressed up like samurai warriors and going at each other with katanas. On closer inspection I found it amusing in a smarty-pants kind of way, because no self-respecting samurai would go into battle with such scruffy hair and lack of pants under their armour! Anyway, the overall effect is pretty cool and the big STRIFE in ragged red letters jumps out at you. Why the album didn’t attract much attention is anyone’s guess, but I suppose the choice of album title may have confused many prospective purchasers over the years that this was actually an album by Rush. Still, they weren’t to know back in ’75 that Rush would turn out to be so big, if they were even aware of their Canuck cousins.
Anyway, whenever I would flick through my copy of ‘The Album Cover Album’ I’d often find myself stopping at the cover of this one and wondering what kind of music they did. I never really cared enough to try to find out on the internet, but one day I read a review that made it sound like it was actually pretty good and likely to be right up my alley. Wasting no time, and by now in love with just the idea of the album due to both an infatuation with Oriental martial arts and swordplay – even just pictures of swords – and a new-found awareness that I’d been missing out, I tracked it down on CD over the internet and a week later I was real glad that I did.
Comprised of the hairy trio John Reid [guitar, vocals, harmonica], Gordon Rowley [bass, vocals] and Paul H. Ellson [drums], Strife formed some time around 1972 [or thereabouts] and became a popular though obscure live band, playing support to the likes of Jethro Tull, Baker Gurvitz Army and Procol Harum. Eventually they got signed by Chrysalis and put together an album using their most popular live material. And that’s the album I’ve been talking about, ‘Rush’.
‘Back Streets of Heaven’ is a chunky opening blast of hard biker-metal, charging along kinda like a tumble of Bang-meets-Budgie-meets-Nazareth with the thrust of [San Francisco’s] Shiver, and with neat vocal harmonies on the choruses. Tough as nails, but with a positive vibe, it’s like a celebration of just being alive, whether you’re living in a cardboard box or a dream mansion. Hell, maybe this sounds like the MC5 jamming with Sweet!
‘Man of the Wilderness’ changes direction to the kind of dark-woods underground prog that brings all kinds of mythic mystery to mind, dwarves cutting down wolves with battle axes on a misty moor and the like, though the lyrics don’t really go that way. Actually I’m yet to decipher the lyrics on this one. This is no pansy wipe though, the whole thing chugs along hard and direct with precise guitar chops and fluid, pummelling bass through various changes. This track reminds me a lot of Steel Mill, another great unhailed UK band.
‘Magic of the Dawn’ is another heavy chargin’ bull like the opening track, but ballsier, doomier and less shrill. The harmony vocals are used again to great effect. Usually I don’t go in for harmonies a great deal, but when they’re done well with some appropriate heavy riffing action, like here, I’m a sucker for them.
‘Indian Dream’ starts off with a clichéd Native American dum-da-da-da drum beat and synth melody [not that Native Americans are known for their synth work; and it’s credited on the album as ‘string effect’, contributed by Ken Freeman], before mellow plaintive vocals enter, leading into a propulsive bass riff that swings the whole thing up a notch and just keeps building, turning sadness into hope and all that. Might sound cheesy but methinks it moves me! There’s not even any guitar until this section gets to its wailing climax, before the whole affair settles down again to a reprise of the first bit, only now some of the melancholy has lifted, the storm clouds have parted, old memories and dreams swim in misty eyes giving birth to something better. Before long it’s building up, up, up again, the synth kicks into a single note high drone, the guitar goes wild, bass and drums are ticking like an atomic clock and it all fades out to nothing.
‘Life is Easy’ is a bit of bouncy pop fluff really, a positivist diversion to open what would be side 2 on the original vinyl. Shamelessly vibrant and happy, and with a horn contribution [ick] on the choruses, it still rocks, and though it should be kinda crap, it’s not really.
‘Better Man Than I’ is a fast hard boogie kind of thing with slinky rhythm section, great catchy chorus and harmonies, in fact the whole thing is pretty nifty really. This track sounds quite a bit like Agnes Strange.
The closing track, all twelve minutes of ‘Rush’, takes a little while to reveal its secrets. However, it’s still a corker all the way through, broken into three parts – ‘People Running ‘Round’, ‘More Haste, Less Speed’ and ‘Final Fling’. Starting off in a hard and fast boogie metal thing, it’s soon broken by all kinds of rifforama changes, before going back to the opening tune and back again a few times. Harmonica kicks in, accompanying a chugging dirty riff. Then – who would have guessed it – this all just melts into space rock with echoed guitar, and the bass climbing up, down, around, exploring the cosmos that’s now suddenly opened up in what was a sleazy pub a moment ago... Now we could be listening to spaced Guru Guru, Amon Düül II or Hawkwind. It just spaces out more and more until the whole circus is just hanging there, molecules orbiting, then a metronomic beat kicks in, bass and guitar join, and we’re in a heavenly plateau with a chiming riff growing that reminds me of something out of Tommy... Then we all fall down and plunge straight back into the galaxy, echo guitar going crazy in both channels, tribal drums propelling the whole shebang, and it all stops with a blam! of a chord. Things start building again slowly with a doomy bong-metal riff that could have come from the Far Out album, and before you can scratch your crotch everyone’s here, rocking along at a healthy pace. Just getting into it when it settles into a single-note bass charge into the mind and all falls apart again. Ominous echo guitar slicing meshes over the new motorik beat and it all just swims around in the stars for a while. The bass kicks back in with a simple but grimly insistent two-note riff and it seems like we’re catching a live Hawkwind gig circa 1972, operating in the zone. Then a gong hits, mind portals open and it all just peels off into greater weirdness, higher, higher, higher, with the bass dropping down to the engine room to keep that sucker going. Then, ka-chunk, down to earth or perhaps suddenly caught up in some space war, it’s dig in time with the heavy riffs, the pace picks up several notches, double-tracked guitar goes wild, as does the bass and drums. Just as you’re hoping for 10 more minutes of this, it fades out and that’s it. The end.
I always feel a bit sad when this album finishes and just want to play it again, but at the same time I try not to play my favourite albums too much, so the magic doesn’t wear off through continuous exposure. So, I just have to look forward to the next time I dig it out for a play. I’ve never come across this on vinyl, but you should be able to pick it up at a medium price on CD, as it was reissued in 2001 on Zoom Club Records.
Strife only made one other album, 1979’s ‘Back to Thunder’, which I know nothing about, but I wouldn’t bet on it being nearly as good as the first one. Rowley joined the band Nightwing after that; no idea what happened to the other guys.
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 | Rockin' The Boat (LIVE)Not Rated
Released: 2006
CD Price: $12.97
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Click on one of the albums below for more info.
| | Rockin' The Boat (LIVE)Not Rated
Released: 2006
CD Price: $12.97
|  | RushNot Rated
Released: 2005
Mp3 Price: $15
CD Price: $15
|  | Back To ThunderNot Rated
Released: 2005
Mp3 Price: $15
CD Price: $15
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***AFTER 30 YEARS!!!NEW LIVE ALBUM FROM 1976 NOW AVAILABLE FROM www.modeltask.com and cdbaby***
One of the original 3 piece heavy rock bands from the 70's highly acclaimed as one of the best live acts in the UK at this time, touring constantly with acts like "Ian Gillan", "Thin Lizzy" "Status Quo", "Slade", "Procol Harum" "Ten Years After" "Motorhead" "Judas Priest" and many more. The 1st album "Rush" originally released on Chrysalis in 1975 featuring the epic 12 minute title track "rush" is still selling today to all ages.Their next release was a maxi single with the classic track "School" as the title, sadly only available on collecters sites, but will be on a new album of previously unreleased tracks shortly. "Back To Thunder" was the 2nd and last album originally released on "Gull Records" in 1978 and features the bass solo track "Red Sun" from Gordon Rowley who was once voted the 2nd best Bass player in the world. AND NOW!! After a wait of 30 years, what all Strife fans have been asking for, a LIVE album of a complete set as it was on the night in 1976 at the Nottingham Boat Club, England. This cd features a 17 minute version of "Rush" DARE YOU LISTEN TO IT?? and make this musical journey. If you like high energy music totally unique, give this lot a listen. A little "footnote" As STRIFE are obviously no longer together as a band, but stil very close as friends, the decision to put them on this site was due to artist "Tony Reid" who is on this site and is guitarist "John Reid's" son, so go and give him a listen too. Cheers!
Please note that after 30 years, people may remember things differently - but we have done our best.....
Let me tell you a story.....
Once upon a time in the 1970's there was a band called "STRIFE". They played high-energy rock - and they played it very well. Wherever they played, the audiences loved them. You would think that they were bound to make it big - travel the world - sell millions of records - make their fortune and live happily ever after. You would think...... From the start, they were unfashionable - they came from Merseyside at a time when even the Beatles didn't go there. They did not have a trendy manager - they didn't have a manager at all! They could not get a record deal in London. They had to travel to LA. to get a record deal - and then it was with Chrysalis Records who were based in London! The first album "Rush" went into the top 10 of the Virgin LP charts just as they finished a tour supporting "Baker Gurvitz Army". They were getting a reputation in the music business as a band you did NOT want as a support band - they were likely to blow the headlining band clean off the stage. One big push from their record company and they would be there! Chrysalis were having great success with Leo Sayer etc. and less success with their Rock acts, and were considering repositioning themselves as a more MOR label. Without a manager to fight for them, STRIFE were put on hold. Chrysalis would not release any further recordings, but would not release "STRIFE" from their three-year contract. They were trapped. They gigged more than ever, and continued to go down well. The situation was frustrating, but they were still much in demand, and the contract would soon run out. In 1977, they released a maxi-single on their own "Outlaw" label. EMI heard it, realised its potential, and released it. It is a great single but it didn't chart. Gull records released the "Back to Thunder" LP later that year, but the time had passed - punk had arrived - and "STRIFE" split leaving lots of "if only's" and "what if's".
THE FULL STORY.
Strife were formed by Paul Ellson in 1969 with Peter Trotman on guitar, Peter Hobbs on bass , and Ellson on drums. Within a few gigs, Gordon Rowley had replaced Hobbs on bass and also became chief vocalist. Around that time, Graham Kin also joined on keyboards and vocals, leaving within a year to return to studies. Soon (1971), the band were joined by John Reid, ex The Klubbs, on guitar and vocals. They recorded a demo - 'Preparation' c/w 'Jerafter' as a four peice but soon after, Peter Trotman left the band and they were joined by singer Paddy Breen also ex The Klubbs. Breen's sojourn, however, was short-lived. In '72, John Reid was badly injured whilst Stock Car racing. Peter Trotman stepped in temporarily but, at a Liverpool Club, Gordon Rowley was electrocuted and almost died on stage, being resuscitated by medics from the stunned audience.
Back together again, the 3 piece record "Magic of the Dawn" a demo recording organised by soul singer Edwin Starr who had seen the band at the Mardi Gras club in Liverpool. (Whist gigging nationally, Strife also often played local, Merseyside venues, sometimes playing Liverpool's Cavern Club, two or even three nights in a week.) In 1973 Strife went to Los Angeles, they had an invitation to contact Mal Evans, Apple executive and former Beatles road manager. They had met Mal on a film set, 'Little Malcolm'. Although their act was considered too wild and attention-grabbing for the film's club scenes (some audience members spontaneously jumped on the tables, thus spoiling the shots) it's possible that the band may be seen as extras (has anyone out there checked?). Mal Evans was working in L.A. with John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. However, the media frenzy at this get-together was so intense that, a few hours prior to the arranged meeting, the ex-Beatles and their entourage had left the city for a secret destination where they could continue their work in peace. No-one, including Strife, were told of the departure or the destination.
As the band walked away from the abandoned meeting place, a pink Cadillac did a U-turn and pulled alongside. It was Edwin Starr. Through Starr they soon met up with R.Dean Taylor and recorded a demo album, both in L.A. and in San Francisco, with Taylor as producer. One of these songs, 'Better Man than I' turned up on the album 'Rush'. These sessions also resulted in the acetate 'Worry', believed to be now owned by renown Liverpool DJ, Billy Butler. Whist on a second trip to the US that year, Strife were offered a deal by the William Morris Agency to replace Grand Funk Railroad on their roster. For some reason, the band were unimpressed and returned to the UK to tour; gigs included the last night of the original Cavern Club.
Strife signed with Chrysalis Records in the UK in '74 and recorded 'Rush'. It was released in early '75 with a strong appearance in the Virgin chart (at the time, the main barometer of UK rock music). As the album was released, Strife toured with Ginger Baker led outfit, The Baker Gurvitz Army. Shortly after this tour, they were joined by guitarist Vic Pappaleo but, despite Vic being an amazing guitarist, the format didn't work out. Strife continued as a three piece, working solidly and increasing their fan-base. However, despite the band's popularity, Chrysalis, whilst going through a corporate identity crisis, refused to release any further material - yet they held Strife to their contract. Regardless of the legal situation, Strife were determined to keep recording and recorded the EP 'School', releasing it on their own label, Outlaw. (Their agent, Paul King was later to take the name 'Outlaw' for his highly successful concert promotions company). After Strife eased out of the Chrysalis contract, 'School' was quickly picked up and released by EMI . During this mid-70s period the gigging figures showed that Strife were the most in-demand rock band in Britain. No band was safe from being blown offstage. Procol Harum paid Strife off, Judas Priest pulled out, The Average White Band turned plain nasty and Slade's manager, Chas. Chandler, gave instructions that his band should never have to appear with Strife again. Moving from support, from '73 onwards, the band headlined in major venues as well as famous rock clubs such as the London's Marquee and Frankfurt's Zoom.
On New Year's Eve 1977, Paul Ellson left the band to be replaced by David Williams, his former drum roadie. With Williams in the driving seat, the album 'Back to Thunder' was recorded and released on the Gull label. By now though, Punk dominated the scene and, within a year or so, following an illness' of Gordon Rowley, the band split.
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| Friday, August 18th, 2006
Rush Review
Like me, you might have occasionally wondered about this album, just from its cover. The eye-catching Hipgnosis sleeve features a couple of blokes in a field with dark clouds overhead, dressed up like samurai warriors and going at each other with katanas. On closer inspection I found it amusing in a smarty-pants kind of way, because no self-respecting samurai would go into battle with such scruffy hair and lack of pants under their armour! Anyway, the overall effect is pretty cool and the big STRIFE in ragged red letters jumps out at you. Why the album didn’t attract much attention is anyone’s guess, but I suppose the choice of album title may have confused many prospective purchasers over the years that this was actually an album by Rush. Still, they weren’t to know back in ’75 that Rush would turn out to be so big, if they were even aware of their Canuck cousins.
Anyway, whenever I would flick through my copy of ‘The Album Cover Album’ I’d often find myself stopping at the cover of this one and wondering what kind of music they did. I never really cared enough to try to find out on the internet, but one day I read a review that made it sound like it was actually pretty good and likely to be right up my alley. Wasting no time, and by now in love with just the idea of the album due to both an infatuation with Oriental martial arts and swordplay – even just pictures of swords – and a new-found awareness that I’d been missing out, I tracked it down on CD over the internet and a week later I was real glad that I did.
Comprised of the hairy trio John Reid [guitar, vocals, harmonica], Gordon Rowley [bass, vocals] and Paul H. Ellson [drums], Strife formed some time around 1972 [or thereabouts] and became a popular though obscure live band, playing support to the likes of Jethro Tull, Baker Gurvitz Army and Procol Harum. Eventually they got signed by Chrysalis and put together an album using their most popular live material. And that’s the album I’ve been talking about, ‘Rush’.
‘Back Streets of Heaven’ is a chunky opening blast of hard biker-metal, charging along kinda like a tumble of Bang-meets-Budgie-meets-Nazareth with the thrust of [San Francisco’s] Shiver, and with neat vocal harmonies on the choruses. Tough as nails, but with a positive vibe, it’s like a celebration of just being alive, whether you’re living in a cardboard box or a dream mansion. Hell, maybe this sounds like the MC5 jamming with Sweet!
‘Man of the Wilderness’ changes direction to the kind of dark-woods underground prog that brings all kinds of mythic mystery to mind, dwarves cutting down wolves with battle axes on a misty moor and the like, though the lyrics don’t really go that way. Actually I’m yet to decipher the lyrics on this one. This is no pansy wipe though, the whole thing chugs along hard and direct with precise guitar chops and fluid, pummelling bass through various changes. This track reminds me a lot of Steel Mill, another great unhailed UK band.
‘Magic of the Dawn’ is another heavy chargin’ bull like the opening track, but ballsier, doomier and less shrill. The harmony vocals are used again to great effect. Usually I don’t go in for harmonies a great deal, but when they’re done well with some appropriate heavy riffing action, like here, I’m a sucker for them.
‘Indian Dream’ starts off with a clichéd Native American dum-da-da-da drum beat and synth melody [not that Native Americans are known for their synth work; and it’s credited on the album as ‘string effect’, contributed by Ken Freeman], before mellow plaintive vocals enter, leading into a propulsive bass riff that swings the whole thing up a notch and just keeps building, turning sadness into hope and all that. Might sound cheesy but methinks it moves me! There’s not even any guitar until this section gets to its wailing climax, before the whole affair settles down again to a reprise of the first bit, only now some of the melancholy has lifted, the storm clouds have parted, old memories and dreams swim in misty eyes giving birth to something better. Before long it’s building up, up, up again, the synth kicks into a single note high drone, the guitar goes wild, bass and drums are ticking like an atomic clock and it all fades out to nothing.
‘Life is Easy’ is a bit of bouncy pop fluff really, a positivist diversion to open what would be side 2 on the original vinyl. Shamelessly vibrant and happy, and with a horn contribution [ick] on the choruses, it still rocks, and though it should be kinda crap, it’s not really.
‘Better Man Than I’ is a fast hard boogie kind of thing with slinky rhythm section, great catchy chorus and harmonies, in fact the whole thing is pretty nifty really. This track sounds quite a bit like Agnes Strange.
The closing track, all twelve minutes of ‘Rush’, takes a little while to reveal its secrets. However, it’s still a corker all the way through, broken into three parts – ‘People Running ‘Round’, ‘More Haste, Less Speed’ and ‘Final Fling’. Starting off in a hard and fast boogie metal thing, it’s soon broken by all kinds of rifforama changes, before going back to the opening tune and back again a few times. Harmonica kicks in, accompanying a chugging dirty riff. Then – who would have guessed it – this all just melts into space rock with echoed guitar, and the bass climbing up, down, around, exploring the cosmos that’s now suddenly opened up in what was a sleazy pub a moment ago... Now we could be listening to spaced Guru Guru, Amon Düül II or Hawkwind. It just spaces out more and more until the whole circus is just hanging there, molecules orbiting, then a metronomic beat kicks in, bass and guitar join, and we’re in a heavenly plateau with a chiming riff growing that reminds me of something out of Tommy... Then we all fall down and plunge straight back into the galaxy, echo guitar going crazy in both channels, tribal drums propelling the whole shebang, and it all stops with a blam! of a chord. Things start building again slowly with a doomy bong-metal riff that could have come from the Far Out album, and before you can scratch your crotch everyone’s here, rocking along at a healthy pace. Just getting into it when it settles into a single-note bass charge into the mind and all falls apart again. Ominous echo guitar slicing meshes over the new motorik beat and it all just swims around in the stars for a while. The bass kicks back in with a simple but grimly insistent two-note riff and it seems like we’re catching a live Hawkwind gig circa 1972, operating in the zone. Then a gong hits, mind portals open and it all just peels off into greater weirdness, higher, higher, higher, with the bass dropping down to the engine room to keep that sucker going. Then, ka-chunk, down to earth or perhaps suddenly caught up in some space war, it’s dig in time with the heavy riffs, the pace picks up several notches, double-tracked guitar goes wild, as does the bass and drums. Just as you’re hoping for 10 more minutes of this, it fades out and that’s it. The end.
I always feel a bit sad when this album finishes and just want to play it again, but at the same time I try not to play my favourite albums too much, so the magic doesn’t wear off through continuous exposure. So, I just have to look forward to the next time I dig it out for a play. I’ve never come across this on vinyl, but you should be able to pick it up at a medium price on CD, as it was reissued in 2001 on Zoom Club Records.
Strife only made one other album, 1979’s ‘Back to Thunder’, which I know nothing about, but I wouldn’t bet on it being nearly as good as the first one. Rowley joined the band Nightwing after that; no idea what happened to the other guys.
Posted By Strife @ 12:51 AM |
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