Grannie

[Damocles74]

Sweet album Great musicianship and interesting change-ups. Just the right amount of Rock with prog influences.

The Dude is all over it

"Grannie" remains one of the most amazing and unusual albums of the 70s, which was almost totally forgotten until 2010.The sole album, recorded and released in 1971, resurfaced in 1993 on Legacy, and came as a revelation even for seasoned connoisseurs of vintage British prog. The act is described as "guitar-dominated heavy progressive" (The Tapestry of Delights - Tapestry of Delights: Comprehensive Guide to British Music of the Beat, R & B, Psychedelic and Progressive Eras, 1963-76. In fact, "Grannie" doesn't fit that easily into this definition - the album is surprisingly brilliant fusion of progressive, psychedelia and hard rock. First three songs reminds early Uriah Heep (outstanding "Romany Refrain" especially, which is equal to "In The Park"), no wonder that "Grannie" appeared on the same bill. Fiersome "Saga of the Sad Jester" is one of the most accomplished masterpieces of melodic hard rock I have ever heard. "Dawn" is a charming sample of chamber music. The music of "Grannie" are guitar-driven, lengthy and sofisticated compositions drifting from tenderness to brutality, tastefully accentuated by sad and melancholic flute and moody Hammond. The voice of the singer is not the most powerful (perhaps), but strong enough, clear and pleasant.
Sadly, little is known about "Grannie", and for these crumbs of information we owe a lot to David Wells, who tracked down the surviving band members for the new release by Wooden Hill (2010). So, "Grannie" came from East London, and the musians were:
Phil Newton - founder, guitarist an composer; John Clark - drums (he joined the band after seeing an advert in "Melody Maker"; Dave Holland (bass), Fred - vocals (nobody remembers the name); "no name" girl - she played flute. For the recorded session the band dragged in John Stevenson (keyboards, Hammond) who just replaced Rick Wakeman in Spinning Wheel (Wakeman joined Strawbs). "Grannie" seldom gigged, and never made it into some major venue being locked within the same clubs/pubs circle, although they were billed together with Uriah Heep and Gnidrolog. In 1971 the band booked SRT (established as Sky Studios in 1968) and within 8 hours only recorded the album - mainly for themselves, no copies were sent to major labels/impresarios, and only 99 copies were pressed.
The sound quality might not satisfy the perfectionists, but beggars can't be chosers - be grateful for what we have now (master tapes dissapeared after the death of Phil Newton).
If I could, I would award 6 stars to the album, and I do strongly advise to buy it - it's far better than the efforts of many big names


Looking to get the vinyl
http://www.musicstack.com/album/grannie/grannie