Daddy Rollin' Stone - Streetwalkers, Blackwell, Otis
Roll Up, Roll Up
Between Us
Shot Gun Messiah
Decadence Code
Hole in Your Pocket [*] - Streetwalkers,
Reissued 1976 album. Featuring ex-Family members Roger Chapman and Charlie Whitney and future Iron Maiden Drummer Nicko McBain, this was The Streetwalkers on and only UK hit LP, charting at No. 16 in the summer of '76.... more » The rare 'Hole In Your Pocket' has been added to give 9 tracks of pure R & B Rock at it's very best.« less
Reissued 1976 album. Featuring ex-Family members Roger Chapman and Charlie Whitney and future Iron Maiden Drummer Nicko McBain, this was The Streetwalkers on and only UK hit LP, charting at No. 16 in the summer of '76. The rare 'Hole In Your Pocket' has been added to give 9 tracks of pure R & B Rock at it's very best.
CD Reviews
Some Killer Tracks, But Inconsistent
Michael Strom | Chicago, IL USA | 04/09/2004
(3 out of 5 stars)
"OK, let's get the biases up front. I think Family was one of the greatest (certainly the most creative) bands of the '70's. But the mutation into Streetwalkers, although a great live band, had a lot less to offer. Although Family's song quality was incredibly high and unmatched in diversity, Streetwalkers new songs (by the same writers) were a hit-or-miss affair as they headed towards the more R&B influenced path that Roger Chapman continued in his solo career.Red Card includes three of the very best Streetwalkers tracks: Run For Cover, Daddy Rolling Stone (a cover version of an old rock 'n roll tune), and Shotgun Messiah. As always, Chapman applies his crazed goat-boy vocals with the intensity of a man whose shirt is on fire. However, the rest of Red Card is stuffed with just-OK songs that Chappo can't fully salvage. In the short 3 studio album career of the 'Walkers (not counting the transitional Chapman-Whitney album in which C-W were backed by session players), Red Card (album #2) is in the middle in all respects. The song quality is better than Vicious But Fair, but not as good as the debut Downtown Flyers. The production and arrangements are better than the unbelievably poor muted botching done to great songs on Downtown Flyers, but still somewhat subdued compared to their live intensity.Somewhere, there must be a great live Streetwalkers show waiting for CD transfer. The now out-of-print BBC 1 disc showed what a great song Burn It Down was. The newly released CD transfer of Streetwalkers Live, albeit also an inconsistent gem (eleven minutes of Dice Man? Shees!), shows off how great Run For Cover and Chile Con Carne sounded. I'll bet someone is sitting on a live version of Shotgun Messiah that would peel paint. For now, the true legacy of Streetwalkers, the only version that really does justice to them, is in the memories of those killer live shows."
Best R&B Band Ever
M. R. Sheffield | Herkimer, NY | 12/13/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A great recording from a great but neglected band. Streetwalkers, for my money, blew away the competition. The Stones sound like bubblegum pop by comparison. RED CARD is a fine recording, "Run for Cover" is a classic, and I'm glad it has been re-issued (finally!), but when will we get CD re-issues of DOWNTOWN FLYERS and VICIOUS BUT FAIR and the debut Streetwalkers LP???"
Renewable Energy
loce_the_wizard | Lilburn, GA USA | 06/13/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"A great remedy for the current energy crunch, this CD sizzles and crackles with energy. If anyone other than Chappo tried to sing "Daddy Rolling Stone," he would have to use a different word. Chappo nails this one down---this is rock and roll, nothing more. The smoldering, simmering "Me-And-Me-Horse-And-Me-Rum" grows on you after repeated listening. "Decadence Code" underscores just how smart and savvy this band could be. "Shotgun Messiah" is as good or better than any number the Rolling Stones have ever recorded, with Charlie Whitney setting down some blistering guitar. Streetwalkers, like Family, never quite made it to the big time. Blame poor management, the incursion of punk rock, or their refusal to kiss up to radio and studio moguls. But don't miss a chance to hear some pretty cool tunes that are well below the radar of the critics same old, same old "best of" blathering. Yes, some of the arrangements are a bit dated, but then again, they just don't make them like this anymore."
A welcome re-issue
Gavin Wilson | 08/15/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"After Family broke up, Roger Chapman and Charlie Whitney formed the Chapman-Witney Streetwalkers. I cannot remember whether this was their first or second LP, but it caught the record-buying public's attention because it was one of the first to be available in a limited red vinyl edition. Soon after seeing the Streetwalkers at a 1975 open-air concert at Charlton Athletic (where they starred with the Who, the Outlaws and Little Feat), I bought one of those red editions. Startling appearance, but sadly my copy wore down quickly, so it is great to be able to replace it with this CD edition.Roger Chapman's vocal delivery sounded like an elephant gargling. If you know Family's 'Burlesque' single, then you won't be too surprised by the style of this album."
Red Card
Tim Schulz | DeKalb IL | 12/04/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I place this album firmly with Pavlov's Dog's first release as a real overlooked rock and roll classic. Part of it has to do, for me, with the fact that they were released almost simultaneously, some with the presence of eccentric vocalists in both bands. In any case, I heard "Red Card" in '76 with no familiarity with Familiy and found it to be an extremely unique and blistering combination of RnB, garage rock, and fiercely original music. The driving "Run For Cover" sounds like nothing I've ever heard before, pulsing and cinematic and brutal all at the same time. "Daddy Rolling Stone" shows everyone how they should cover blues classics, and "Me an Me Horse an Me Rum" nods like a junky on a street corner while maintaining its drive and energy.
Again, there's probably better stuff, and my memories are colored by nostalgia for my freshman year of college, but "Red card' is a pretty fair release that sounds unlike anything else that came out of the year 1976..."
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1