Customer Reviews

Poor Boy: The Deram Years 1972 - 1974 (+ 1 Bonus Tr)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After the four stellar albums represented by "The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions," guitarist Stan Webb took a two-year breather. Between 1970 and 1972 music changed A LOT, and when Stan was finally ready to retake the stage, the same old 4-bar blues just wasn't gonna cut it anymore. Stan's idea for the New Chicken Shack was a sort of hybrid between the old Shack and the newer heavier post-blues bands like Led Zeppelin, Cream, Blind Faith, Traffic, Jethro Tull, et al.

To my thinking the resulting albums, "Imagination Lady" (1972) and "Unlucky Boy" (1973) were not entirely successful. They never achieved the carefree adrenaline-fueled swagger of those other bands, probably due to Stan's perfectionist tendencies. Who ever heard of meticulous heavy metal? They never sold very well either (except in Germany) and their relative failure led to Stan's effective retirement a few years later (temporary, thank god). Nevertheless they represent an interesting coda to the Blue Horizon sessions, and a glimpse of what could have been.

Tacked onto these two albums is a rare German-only live album from 1974, showcasing the band in its power-4tet lineup thrashing through some ramped-up BB King, Bert Weedon and Little Richard covers. It is of passing interest, certainly not a lost masterpiece.

He came back after two years to make sure we don't forget he is one of the best. I guess he got sick and tired of screaming bands with songs made of "yeah","babe","c'mon"...,boring bands with one track per side of album (what is the point of repeating one theme over and over within the same song, 20 minutes drums and guitar solos/masturbation?)
Them Brits got the blues nailed down. Nobody ever got close to them. Chicken Shack,Juicy Lucy,Blodwyn Pig,Savoy Brown, Fleetwood Mac(with PG of course),John Mayall,Ansley Dunbar,Keef Hartley Band,Vinegar Joe... just to mention few.
Get this cd and you'll enjoy every second of it.

Here are all the Deram recordings together in one place at a great price. Stan Webb is a very underrated blues guitarist. The sound quality is quite reasonable. Buy this and the Blue Horizon compilation and that's all the Chicken Shack you'll ever need.
Enjoy.