Customer Reviews

Lord Sutch & Heavy Friends

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you ignore the poor voice and puerile lyrics this piece turns into an unexpected pleasure. Fans of the greats should give this a listen, then like me you won't stop playing it, worse still,you won't stop bragging to all your friends about how you've got half of Led Zep., a ton of Beck and Redding,plus the late great Nicky Hopkins. All on an album that NONE of your friends would ever have heard of. In the words of the great Nelson of Simpson's fame "HA HA".

The soon to be superstars all seem to be having good clean fun,

honing their skills for the future. Other members of the band --although unheard of (to any great extent)-- nonetheless do more than adequate work, All together a very nice surprise.

Top notch. Fully recomended.

How can you go wrong with an album that contains Hendrix alumnus Noel Redding, half of Led Zeppelin, session man Nicky Hopkins (who played with the Beatles, Stones, and the Who), and Jeff Beck? Answer: you can't. If any album could have benefited from extensive liner notes, it is this one. At times I could play spot the classic rock god fairly easily. But, I would like to have been able to read up on who played what on each track. Yet, what's important here is that you get very good classic rock tunes from a very talented bunch. Although I had never heard a Sutch album before, I was not disappointed. Sutch is not a great singer (he's no Jack Bruce), but his bluesy growl makes up for in attitude what it lacks in range. Listening to Sutch is a like hearing a cross between the Kinks and Led Zeppelin--a bit like Iggy and the Stooges circa 1968. In short, this album rocks hard. 40 minutes of thunderous blues. I particularly liked "Flashing Lights." If this album has a draw back, it's in musical repetititon. Most of the tracks are the same tempo and Sutch doesn't vary his delivery style much at all. Even so, Sutch and Heavy Friends have, if anything, lots of energy. You'll be playing this one again right after you hear it the first time.

Any Jimmy Page fan who is starved for "new" material from the maestro will certainly want to purchase Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends. Page plays on seven tracks, and Produces this great album by Britian's once premiere musical mad-man. Lord Sutch is fondly remembered as the one who had the original idea of starting a University in London named after The Beatles. Many tabloids, and the BBC, in the UK payed tribute to the once reigning king of Pomp & Outrageousness back in August of 1999 when the Lord passed away leaving behind a legacy of fond remembrances. The album Heavy Friends includes not only Mr. Jimmy Page, but also Jeff Beck, John Bonham, Nicky Hopkins (keyboard extraordinaire), and the late great Noel Redding, respectively. I enjoyed this album when it originally was released back in 1970, and was thrilled to have purchased it again recently on Amazon.com at a reasonable price. Memories, musicianship, and a great set list make this a valuable musical statement for the 21st Century when one yearns for the good old days when the music spoke volumes to a generation in need of much light. Buy this CD, bypass the datedness of some of the sentiment, crank it up and Rock your brains out with the mad-happiness of Screaming Lord Sutch and Heavy, Heavy Friends.

Let's talk about a record nobody knows about.
In 1970, I was a member of a Record Club that wanted me to bring em' new members, and I would be rewarded with free LP's as a gift. Well, after I invented about 27 new relatives, that quite by chance lived at my parents house, the Record Club stopped sending me all the monthly packages. I must have spent a grand total of: $16.95, to get my mitts on at least three dozen {mostly free records.} I was a Pirate without a clue, {but, I owned lot's of free records!}

This LP entitled: "Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends" was mailed to me for my cousin Milton of aunt Gertie {"THREE RECORDS FOR ONE DOLLAR"} And I was pretty good about beating my mom to the mailbox, and stashing my illegal bounty. Funny enough, as I never saw this record in the stores, I was the only lad in town with a copy of this weird curio, it was rude and crude and a real prize possesion in my record collection.

Lord Sutch, {I have read} was indeed a real Lord in England. Around 1960, he was known as a rich nutter with real long hair, years before this was the fashion anywhere. He ran for public office, more than once, was the leader of many a Rock 'N' Roll band in the 1960's. Jimmy Page, produced this recording for Lord Sutch, his "Heavy" friends that appear on this are: Jeff Beck, John Bonham, Nicky Hopkins, Noel Redding and the great drummer: Carlo Little.

Lord Sutch, couldn't really sing much, but he thought this was such a laugh, he didn't let a little thing like lack of talent hold him back from being a rock star. Jimmy Page, did real fine production work on this record, and the instumental backing featuring all these top-notch veterans, is excellent. This is a very enjoyable hard rock record, and it's still fun to listen to decades later.

It's not hard to figure out what this music is about with titles such as: "Thumping Beat", "Gutty Guitar", "Wailing Sounds", "Union Jack Car" and "L-O-N-D-O-N". This is all: "one, two, three, GO!" Pulsing, driving, rock music, very simple stuff and very fun.

Lord Sutch, passed away a few years back, and there must be a thousand crazy stories from everyone who knew this one-of-a-kind character from those wild times when London was the center of the universe.

Almost all of my old records are gone now {such is my karma for inventing "fake" relatives!} But, this strange little record that nobody knew existed, is left behind as this real cool CD, for all to listen to.
3.5 Stars

Both Lord Sutch LPs are in my collection. ...what would you think if I told you that "and Heavy Friends" contains moments of great sound from an all-star cast, supporting a real English Lord who really cannot sing?

The truth is that this album, I mean CD, is a must have. I would purchase it again for its' marque value alone. It just so happens that Sutch and the band combined create a truly unique sound.

I have to admit, I don't own this CD. Nor will I ever own it. I do, however, have it on vinyl. I picked it up cheap from a used record store in Gainesville in the mid 1970s. I have listened to it three times - twice when I purchased it and once a number of years later. While there are a number of excellent musicians on this album, their work is wasted. The songs are trite, with putrid lyrics, and horrible vocals. To paraphrase another reviewer, "if you can get past the vocals and the lyrics"...I find that IMPOSSIBLE. These guys had to be having a laugh at Sutch, because they're too GOOD to put up with something SO BAD. And it is that: SO bad!

Screaming Lord Sutch was the first British psychobilly and horror rocker with a name and act inspired by US artist Screamin Jay Hawkins.

Jimmy Page, John Bonham, Jeff Beck, Noel Redding,and Nicky Hopkins all appear on this record. His bands included many of the musicians who made the British invasion of the 1960's one of the most interesting and exciting times in rock n roll. Screaming Lord Sutch was one of the few who didn't make the trip across the Atlantic, but he was famous for more than music. He was the most prolific political gadfly in the history of UK politics, possibly the world. Ran for office 41 times, the known world record (lost all of 'em). Created four political parties, of which one still exists and is venerated in the UK, The Official Monster Raving Loony Party. Laws he and his parties promoted were considered insane until they were passed by the UK and EU. You ought to check out their website.

As the National Coordinator of the USA branch of the OMRLP, I see the man as a wild genius and am sorry he never got rich or elected for his efforts. A great British eccentric. RIP (Rock In Peace).

`Even though Lord Sutch is not a profestional singer.The musicians are.This is one of my favorite albums.

If you like guitars that talk along with the singing, guitar that uses the wahwa, and use to like underground rock that did not get much air play, this is the cd for you. I love every song and it does not get played on the radio to ruin it for you. Even though the critics are hard on the singing, I really like the way he sings and screams. This is definitly my favorite new CD. I use to listen to this 40 years ago on an 8 track and thought it was gone forever. I was glad to find it here at Amazon.

If you enjoy finding great undiscovered rock albums, this is a truly a gem. Lord Sutch was virtually unknown in the US, although he achieved a certain degree of fame in England in the early 70's. The "Heavy Friends" alluded to on the album's cover are guest musicians invited by Lord Sutch to appear on the album. And what a line-up! Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck on lead guitar, Nicky Hopkins on piano, John Bonham on drums, and others. But the real star of this collection is Jimmy Page, whose hand is all over this album. He not only plays lead and rhythm guitar on most of the tracks, he also co-wrote most of the songs, and produced the album. His unmistakable lead guitar is brilliant on tracks such as "Coz I Love you" (wah-wah lead throughout), "L-O-N-D-O-N", and "Wailing Sounds." In the latter song, you can hear Lord Sutch at one point toss in the lyric "...with Jimmy Page you can't go wrong." As mentioned earlier, Jimmy Page actually produced the album also. The use of effects is masterful, but tastefully done. Listen to the great reverb on "Smoke and Fire", or the wah-wah lead on "Wailing Sounds" and "Coz I Love You." Jeff Beck does a great lead on "Gutty Guitar". If you're a fan of Lord Sutch or Jimmy Page, this 1970 album is a nugget from the vault.