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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
MOTTING IN, April 22, 2002
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.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Desert Island Disc, June 17, 2006
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.)
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent early 70s Blues and Boogie record., January 5, 1999
By A Customer
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.
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is Savoy Brown's 
