Customer Reviews

Looking in

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Probably Savoy Brown's best and most successful album which was recorded on a personnel precipice as within weeks of its release three quarters of the band deserted the ship leaving leader Kim Simmonds on his own and looking for new band mates to form Savoy Brown version 5 (he's probably up to Savoy Brown version number 989 by now). The others with the addition of mercurial slide guitarist Rod Price went on to form Boogie legends Foghat, leaving Savoy Brown because of alleged iniquities in the division of income, whilst recording some ten albums for Bearsville records they became the leaders of the British Boogie and Stadium Rock wave.
"Looking In" was the predecessor for all this. Topped and tailed by two short Kim Simmonds guitar pieces there are seven pieces of solid gold blues and boogie. Just before going into the studio the erratic vocalist Chris Youlden had decided to leave the band in search of solo fame, so taking his trademark eye piece, topper, and cane, he upped and went, leaving the others high and dry with studio time booked and no yodeler.
Cometh the hour cometh the man, up to the microphone stepped second guitarist Lonesome Dave Peverett, and a stirling job of handling the vocals he does too, whilst adding valuable guitar work to the longer numbers, particularly final work out "Leavin' Again", when the dueling guitars battle it out like an electric dueling banjos for a glorious eight and a half minutes when the band do what they do best and boogie out, Lonesome Dave also co wrote this with Tone Stevens.
"Poor Girl" first song proper on the album was another written by Tone Stevens, a real belting blues, which is still in the Savoy Brown stage repertoire today, although Stevens left the band more than 3 decades ago.
But star of the show with Savoy Brown, always was and always will be Kim Simmonds (funny name that for a boy) who's guitar playing throughout this album is nothing short of awe inspiring, Simmonds could easily match the likes of his peers such as Clapton. Beck, & Page, but was more often than not the unsung guitar hero, probably because unlike all the others he stayed true to his initial roots of the blues, still playing the same style since 1966, and there doesn't seem much likely hood of him changing now, not for him the commercial appeal of pop or heavy metal although I'm sure even now he could turn a coin or two by squashing his feelings, and prostituting his guitar work.
Simmond's finest moment on "Looking On" comes on "Take It Easy" a slow burning song Kim wrote with Dave Peverett that from very small beginnings builds to a shattering guitar climax.
This album collects the essence of the live beast that is Savoy Brown on stage and that was where they were at their best, so if two and two make four, then this is Savoy Brown at their finest.
Mott the Dog.

Hmm... Why, out of thousands (millions?) of albums out there, would I pick this oddball? Good question. I love many types of music. In the course of a day I might listen to progressive country, bebop, alt-rock, Bach, Led Zep, jazz fusion, reggae, etc., etc. We call that being open-minded.

So, again, why this?

Well, it's three-fold. For one thing, this is one of the earliest albums I owned at age 13 in 1971. I won it in a shoe store drawing (yes, a shoe store), and, when I saw the cartoonish cover, was highly skeptical. "What kind of weird stuff could this be?" It turned out to be excellent. Even a dorky kid who sawed away badly on the cello could recognize the talent.

Secondly, it's a unique slice of British blues-rock from that era, the era that was ushering in all the heavy rock soon to be known as "metal," but which had its roots in the blues that most of the British Invasion bands were grounded in. Savoy Brown just held to the core longer.

Finally, the playing--the interaction between Simmonds, Stevens, Peverett, and Earl--is superlative. It's simple stuff, but if you listen to what everyone is doing you can't help notice how much they were in the groove with each other. That, babies, is what it's all about. (Great mix, too, if you are a guitarist or bass player.)

I listened to this thing about 200 times between 1971 and the mid-80s, when I sold my LP collection, but now that I have it again on CD I'm still in love.

I don't know why anyone born after 1960 would be reading this review, but if you're a young player exploring the early rock days, do yourself a favor and buy this unusual album. (You'll be the only one on the block, I guarantee.)

In 1970, life was pretty good for Savoy Brown. They had just produced Raw Sienna, their finest album to date, and were building a name and rabid fanbase for themselves, particularly in America. Then, without warning, lead singer Chris Youlden decides to drop out. At the time, the story given was that he was tired of standing on stage, waiting for Kim Simmonds to finish his lengthy solos, and so decided to strike out on his own. In any case, Savoy Brown was suddenly left without a lead vocalist. A creative entity often produces it's best work in times of crisis, so Kim and Co. turned on the creative juices, Lonesome Dave took over the lead vocals (sounding very much like Chris in some of the numbers), and Savoy Brown produced Looking In, their strongest and most mature work ever. The brass and orchestration of Raw Sienna was shelved in favor of lengthy guitar-and-percussion based works of deep introspection. There is a heavy jazz improvisational feel to several tracks, particularly "Sunday Night" and that fabulous live staple, "Leaving Again". The latter number includes some of Kim's most eloquent guitar work of his entire 30+ year career. "Gypsy" and "Romanoff" are brief instrumentals that should remind the listener of Fleetwood Mac's "Oh, Well (Part II) with it's heaven and hell journey of soul searching. "Poor Girl" and the title track deliver the solid mule kick of hard rock that Dave, Tone, and Roger would use to such great effect in Foghat. (Tone even wrote the excellent "Poor Girl;" pretty good effort for a sharp-dressing bass player!) But, the album's most astonishing number is "Money Can't Save Your Soul," approximately four minutes of slow-burning cold fire. Kim has periodically returned to the themes of money and success in his lyrics; nowhere more eloquently than in this piano and conga-driven wonder. And as a vocalist, Lonesome Dave gives his finest, most passionate performance ever. (The doubletracked vocal gives an archival effect that ensures this is a performance for the ages). Having climbed a musical Everest, there was nothing the band could do or say after this album that would not be anticlimatic. So, they fractured one fantastic band and came up with two excellent ones: Dave, Roger, and Tone formed Foghat with ex-Shakey Vick guitarist Rod Price; while Kim reformed Savoy Brown and looked for new worlds to conquer. But, to paraphrase Winston Churchill, this was truly Savoy Brown's finest hour.

It was truly a shame, back in 1970(I was a mere 20 year old but
had EVERY Savoy Brown album!)when this great band called it quits
& you can believe which ever story you'd like, whether it be, the
members felt like the money was'nt being split up correctly, in
other words, they felt founding member Kim Simmonds was getting
more than the others, or the story I believe, that "Lonesome"
Dave & Tone & Roger wanted to go into another musicial direction
(Rock & Roll)& Kim insisted remaining w/the boogie/blues style!
It really does'nt matter as this great album turned out to be the
FINAL true SAVOY BROWN album! If your like me(& I Like Kim Simmonds)I just don't feel that any Savoy Brown album following
this one is really a Savoy Brown album. Kim tried to get musicians as solid as the ones he had played with before(Chris
Youlden-Dave Peverett-Tone Stevens & Roger Earl)but never found them, & IMHO any release AFTER this one is NOT Savoy Brown, it's
the Kim Simmonds Band, & does'nt hold a candle to the other Savoy
Brown!Dave-Roger & Tone fared better adding Rod Price on guitar &
began to fill stadiums, as FOGHAT!!(They wrote some great songs
as well!)

That being said, this album is great like the previous SB albums
& contains the most powerful single Rock & Roll song ever recorded "Leavin' Again'!! I was lucky enough to see Simmonds &
Lonesome Dave, Tone & Roger at a "Rock Festival"(remember those?)
and they simply stole that nite! They performed Leavin' Again,
only it was'nt a mere 8 mins, it was more like 15 to 18 and featured solos by all!! I was in a cover band called "The Blackzone" back in the early 70's & we did a few Savoy Brown tunes, but always played
Leavin' Again as our last song or our 1st encore, it is that type
of powerful, double lead(guitar)songs that just kick [expletive]!!

So do what you like but I suggest buying Looking In then working
your way back through the Savoy Brown catalog! You'll be able to find MOST of the albums here, but you'll need to hit used record
stores to find the entire bunch & it's well worth it. It was sad
to see SB go, but they left on the highest level possible using
"Leavin' Again"(what a fitting title to end the band's legacy on!
I know Kim is still traveling as "Savoy Brown" & even does some
of the older songs, however I have no idea what the members of
"Foghat" are up to? I believe "Lonesome Dave" passed away, but do
"FOGHAT" still tour? I'd like to know. Anyway, I just listened to
the 1st disc of 2 called the "Best of Savoy Brown"(disc 1 is good)and felt I had to write about one of my favorite OLD bands.
Good luck to all of you, & thanks for "Leavin' Again"-"I'm Tired"
"Life's One Act Play"-the brilliant "Needle & Spoon" ect.!!
...

I wore out my 8 track tape of the most excellent "Looking In" back in the 70's. I just picked this up and it sounds as great as it did back then. Kim Simmons & Co rock out, jazz it up, and wallow around in the blues for 39 minutes and 38 seconds... and they do it all seamlessly, effortlessly and flawlessly.

Lonesome Dave and Kim Simmonds were probably two of a handful of otherwise ham-fisted, rock-n-roll guitarists who actually knew how to play altered/extended jazz chords and solo on the changes - just like a REAL jazzman! Not to worry. Jazz this ain't. These dudes flat-out ROCK!

But just listen to Kim Simmonds play on Leavin' Again as his lead lines effortlessly slide between fire-breathing (yet smooth) Wes Montgomery-esque jazz stylings and then into the power blues of Eric Clapton ala Crossroads and then into BB King and then back to Wes Montgomery and so on and so forth. Yet Kim makes it all sound so cohesive and brands it with his own trademark sound. Really smart, stylish, yet wild and crazy playing on this one.

Dear reader: this is one of the great releases from the tail-end of the 60's. I always thought it was a shame that Stevens, Earl, and Lonesome Dave bailed to form Foghat. This round of Savoy Brown was superior in every way to ANYTHING Foghat ever accomplished. I always hoped the lineup would return. Alas, it is too late as Lonesome Dave left the physical realm several years back.

Anyway, click it! You'll love it! Give it to your favorite blues fan as a treat! Entertain your friends! Impress them with your superior musical knowledge and taste with this somewhat unheralded blues/rock masterpiece.

"See ya later alligator!"

The Savoys turned over the microphone to their rhythm guitarist Lonesome Dave Peverett on this release,after the departure of their singer. There are also some great instrumentals here. Kim Simmonds' lead guitar work is nothing less than invigorating. A great album.

Even though I believe Chris Youlden was the THE most authentic british blues singer of the 70's, this is my favorite Savoy Brown LP. I stole a vinyl copy from my older brother somewhere around '74 or '75 so I could play Leavin' Again over and over. Since then I've tried to collect everything Kim Simmonds puts out. I think what I like so much about this one is that the whole record has a nice smooth flow to it. The band seems to have matured and the presentation is sophisticated. They never rush into it, each song is completly developed, with its own identity and purpose fullfiled. The band actually simplified their sound from the previous couple of albums, but Simmonds playing feels more assured and alternates between a captivating jazzy tone and some flat out rocking. Lonesome Dave's singing is some of his most earnest and it seems Kim was prepared to really step up and carry the band. One of the best from SB.

Listened to this when I got it a year ago, but wasn't to impressed. It's really the only Savoy Brown album I remember a friends brother having back in my beginning hippy days(1971). Did not listen to it then. As a matter of fact, I really did not listen to any SB until the last few years. This band rocks and I recently saw them at a little club in Troy, N.Y. Unbelievable!!! Three plus hours of fantastic Blues/Rock for $18.00! Well, a second listen a few weeks ago changed my mind about this album. Couldn't take it out of my CD player in the car for a week. The song "Leavin' Again" is awsome! Found myself listening to it over and over about ten times. This has happened with many albums from late 60's early 70's that I just seemed to have missed. I listen and go "WHAT DA?". My collection of 60's/70's music continues to grow. 1000+ at this writing. This is an album that will be played many times in the future.

Savoy Brown was/is one of the rockingest groups to come out of the late sixties. This album is one of their better releases. This version of Savoy Brown became Foghat after their lead guitarist decided to go in a different direction.
Amazon sent it in a timely fashion.

My friend's older brother gave me the vinyl version of this record back when I was 15 or so in the early 80's. The GREAT COVER sure looked like an Iron Maiden album but did not sound like one. The sound of the record seemed a bit laid back for me and I never listened to it again. In the early 90's I sold some LP's to reduce clutter. Some guy bought it for $5 because he loved the cover. A few years later I regretted selling that cool loking Savoy Brown album. I picked up the CD version 20 years later after figuring I need to re-own that great looking album. What a surprise!!!!!! The music is addictive. Slow burning blues that is way more soulful and seductive than Ten Years After, FREE or any other U.K. blues outfit. Thank goodness for Savoy Brown's Looking In on my portable MP3 player. Highly recommended!....(can anyone point me in the right direction to the next Savoy Brown album to purchase?)