Search - Savoy Brown :: Hellbound Train

Four singers for the price of one!

chris meesey Food Czar | The Colony, TX United States | 06/16/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Past Savoy Brown vocalists Chris Youlden, Lonesome Dave, Dave Walker, and Jackie Lynton are all present and accounted for in this vintage concert recording, with material drawn from the same time period (and possibly some of the same live dates) as the Jack the Toad Live CD. Unfortunately, the muddy live sound quality typical of the era is present here as well: too much bass, not enough guitar, etc. Performancewise, however, this is an excellent compilation, with guitarist Kim Simmonds in exceptionally fine form. His blistering attack on a truncated version of Savoy Brown Boogie is the highlight of the four Chris Youlden-performed songs captured here. Lonesome Dave is in fine form throughout his numbers, particularly songs taken from Looking In. His cover of Shake, Rattle and Roll recalls Ten Years After's famous I'm Going Home medley, as he throws in uncredited bits from other classic rock songs. Dave Walker has only two recordings here and both are excellent: the title track and All I Can Do. Special mention must be made of the often overlooked contributions of SB keybordist Paul Raymond. His shimmering work reaches new peaks here, and forces Kim to respond with some of his best guitar work. Finally, good-time rocker Lynton shifts to overdrive on Let It Rock, adds a decidedly British touch to the western epic Jack the Toad, and closes the collection with a fine Tell Mama (which is inexplicably faded out at the end before the last chorus). In sum, a very fine collection, especially for SB aficionados. If only the sound were better, it would be a classic."