FUZZY DUCK

I discussed, one evening, what Heavy Metal was (or, rather, what a Metalhead would have listened to) in the early 70's with a person who was in the middle of his musical journey at the time. In addition to the usual names he mentioned me the Fuzzy Duck. I got the CD as soon as I could. I have to admit that I was struggling to see them as a full Progressive Rock band. "We are the usual", I thought. "Another band halfway between Progressive and Hard Rock. So it's Heavy Metal, for 1970/1971," I convinced myself. The strange thing was that the CD included 4 bonus tracks not with the classic lineup (Paul Francis, Mick Hawksworth, Roy Sharland, Graham White) but with Garth Watt-Roy who wrote three of the four bonus tracks. Among them "Double Time Woman" that I already knew (but I didn't know was a Fuzzy Duck song) which is 100% Hard Rock / Proto Heavy Metal.

The album is easy to review. Except for "Mrs. Prout" (which is very jazzy) the rest is a Heavy Rock with Progressive arrangements and very fast rhythms (for the time and the musical genre). Having said that, it should be immediately noted that Fuzzy Duck prefer to write Rock songs with a lot of guitar and organ, intricate parts of bass and very linear drums (despite being very technical) and vocal parts that enter the head immediately. In this sense they are closer to Heavy Metal than progressive. However, they cannot, today, be included among Heavy Metal bands. At least ... 99% of Metalheads take you crazy if you propose it as a Heavy Metal band. As in the case of Wishbine Ash or Uriah Heep (to stay in Great Britain) it seems obvious to me that placing Fuzzy Duck is not easy. In my opinion, they are doing well in both musical worlds. Another problem with Fuzzy Duck is that they only produced this album and two singles before it broke up. So we cannot know in which direction they would have evolved. The songs, then, are all written and arranged very well, so much so that citing one song or another as an example of the style and sound of Fuzzy Duck is very difficult, without doing wrong to another song. I can, however, say that they seem to me more successful (but, I repeat, they are all extraordinary songs): "Just Look Around You", "More Than I Am", "In Our Time" and, but it's a bonus track on the CD (and only came out as a single) "Double Time Woman".

"Fuzzy Duck" still sounds fresh and engaging today, a sign that, in 1971, it must have been truly a masterpiece. The musicians show that they have a really above average technique and the production is nothing short of perfect, not just for 1971. The idea of preferring the exaltation of power, instead of technique, is really a good choice, because it enhances both musicians and songs. Ultimately ... "Fuzzy Duck" is a really good album, the birth of a truly extraordinary band. A masterpiece to be rediscovered, both for Proghead and Metalhead.