May Blitz - May Blitz


Year of Release: 2003
Label: Akarma
Catalog Number: AK253
Format: LP
Total Time: 39:11:00

My first impression of May Blitz on the opening track ?Smoking The Day Away,? on their self-titled LP May Blitz, was that James Black (guitar, vocals) sounded just like Jack Bruce. The song is an unforgettable blend of both acoustic and electric guitars, and the outing lasts for over eight minutes. As their music continually changes and evolves throughout the LP, many different bands from that time may come to mind. Music like this seems to bring about those feelings and memories for me all the time.

If you were to place their music into a category, they would fall somewhere in between rock, blues and progressive. Every track has something different to offer, so to say that they played progressive-blues-rock with a psychedelic edge is the best description I could possibly give.

?I Don't Know?? is an excellent blues-rock rave up with psychedelic elements that gave it a Hendrix feel with ample amounts of fuzz and wah-wah. It became apparent to me early on that they were a technically advanced trio that had no trouble displaying their many talents in every song. Tony Newman's congas, bongos, and the vibraphone certainly put their music into an entirely different space than the average rock band and Reid Hudson had to be a better than average bass player to set the pace for all of these complexities found in each individual song. James Black was an outstanding lead singer and guitar player and without question the core from which the bands persona emanated from.

Side two opens with ?Squeet,? a funky blues number with a long intro before the vocals kick in. Because of the long instrumental stretches found in every song, when Black's vocals would start on queue it sounded more pronounced and had more of an impact. I particularly enjoyed the long instrumental runs because each one had a variance of personality and feeling with a strong sense off purpose and meaning that propelled it.

As with many of the releases on Comet Records, this is a highly collectable piece of vinyl. The album comes in a gatefold sleeve complete with the original bizarre cartoon artwork that the band had on their albums. This is a classic recording, a real keeper for the ages. It is highly recommended for anyone that enjoys any or all of the genres I referred to in this review.

Originally released on Vertigo (636007); reissued again in 2005 by Universal International (9575) and in 2007 by Repertoire (1026)


Tracklisting:
Side One: Smoking The Day Away (8:22) / I Don't Know? (4:50) / Dreaming (6:44)

Side Two: Squeet (6:56) / Tomorrow May Come (4:49) / Fire Queen (3:30) / Virgin Waters (5:20)

Musicians:
James Black - lead guitar, lead vocals
Reid Hudson - bass, vocals
Tony Newman - bongos, conga, drums, background vocals, vibraphone

Discography:
May Blitz (1970/2003)
Second Of May (1971/2003)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin UK

Added: August 10th 2003
Reviewer: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck
Score:
Artist website:
Hits: 1829
Language: english

  

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