Customer Reviews

The Savoy Brown Collection (3 CD Box)

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In 1972, at the height of Savoy Brown's popular success (Hellbound Train had been their highest charting album to date), vocalist Dave Walker abruptly left to join Fleetwood Mac (this was still a few years prior to their Cadillac period of mega-stardom success). Sixteen years later, after brief stints with both Mac and Black Sabbath, he rejoins Kim Simmonds and once again contributes his magic to two studio and one live album(s). Collection is a compilation of these three efforts, and while they will never be confused with Looking In or Raw Sienna, they are still worthy of investigation. Make Me Sweat features half covers (including remakes of SB classics) and half new material. All of the covers of SB songs are fine, but the real standout is Kim's roaring take on that Albert-King/Jeff-Beck classic, "Going Down". Kim's playing smokes and Dave contributes his finest vocal of the entire set. "Limousine Blues" and "Just For Kicks" are other highlights; Dave's voice throughout the set is definitely over-the-top, but it works well for this material. Kings of Boogie chronicles the breakup of a great love affair and the purging and self-renewal that follow. All the songs are excellent and there are no real standouts, but this music so wrenches the listener's emotions that it should only be played occasionally, like Neil Young's Tonight's the Night. The only exceptions are the title track and the closer, "Until the Sky Fades Away," which is suffused with hope. "Live and Kickin" rocks pretty hard, with the medley of hits and "Bad Intentions" from Kings of Boogie rocking the hardest. However, even though the sound quality (finally) is pretty good, the backup band isn't all that great. Still, three SB albums featuring Kim and Dave at one low price is a good enough deal that you should add this collection to your own collection now!

I worshipped this music in my youth. I still have all the original albums, although they are a bit beat up at this stage. I was searching for Raw Sienna ( In my mind their greatest album, and one of my all time favorites), but a boxed set still captures one of the greatest white blues bands ever.