GETTING TO THIS

Less than a year after the release of their début, Blodwyn Pig returned with what would prove to be their final album (although further material would eventually appear in the Blodwyn Pig name as a result of a reunion many years later). Once again, the band revolves around the blues leanings of Mick Abrahams and the jazz influences of Alan Lancaster.

Abrahams dominates the early song-writing, composing all the tracks (one with Andy Pyle) on the first side of the LP release. The opening "Drive me" mixes jazz rock with blues rock to come up with a catchy up-beat introduction to the album featuring a gritty vocal. The contrast with the vocal style on the following "Variations On Nainos" is quite stark, the latter being more in line with Abrahams subsequent solo album. In an obvious effort to out -Tull Abrahams former band, "Variations On Nainos" features prominent flute alongside some good lead guitar. The singing through a glass of water verse is an indulgence too far though!

"See My Way" is the longest of the Abrahams songs at a shade over 5 minutes. There is a bit of an American feel to this steam-rolling blues rocker, which makes it among the most appealing of the set. The brief "Long Bomb Blues" takes the American feel south, with picked guitar dominating. The relentless pace of the Abrahams songs continues on "The Squirreling Must Go On", another powerful slice of guitar rock. The lack of a vocal leaves the song feeling a bit like an unfinished backing track, but it is enjoyable nonetheless.

Alan Lancaster is restricted to writing a single track, but he comes up with an eight minute suite in four parts entitled "San Francisco Sketches" . The sections feature mainly San Francisco related sub-titles, setting off with a a semi-improvised jazz workout. Surprisingly, the "Telegraph Hill" section features a Ray Conniff singers style vocal, but apart from that the track is instrumental. Many will probably find this to be the high point of the album, but for me it is prosaic. Andy Pyle receives a rare sole writing credit for "Worry", a song which sounds for all the world like another Abrahams composition. "Toys" is something of an oddity, being a soft reflective acoustic number. The singer-songwriter feel to the track makes for a pleasant contrast.

Drummer Ron Berg also gets a writing credit for the brief "To Rassman", a nonsensical calypso song. The album closes with "Send Your Son to Die", a track which featured on the Island records sampler "Bumpers". The track sums up the band well, blending the blues rock and the jazz rock with an infectious rhythm section.

Overall, an album which is the equal of its predecessor. Blodwyn Pig were never going to be the most original band of the early 70's, or the best. As bands who also served go, they were however one of the better ones.

Following the release of "Getting to this", Mick Abrahams left the band. While the name was briefly retained and later resurrected, Blodwyn Pig's bacon was effectively cooked.

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