The Groundhogs (Official Thread)

joe

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Re: The "MIGHTY" Groundhogs

Thank Christ For The Bomb(1970) was the first of three semi-conceptual albums as side one is about alienation and side two is a story about a man who lived in Chelsea all his life, first in a mansion and then on the beaches of embankment.

Martin Birch came in just after he finished producing Deep Purple's In Rock and helped Tony McPhee with the production and the engineering resulting in a bulldozing, ear bleeding, almost proto-metal, heavy psych explosion shifting between the light and the dark. The British blues days were all but nuked on this album.

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Nololob

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Re: The "MIGHTY" Groundhogs

Thank Christ For The Bomb is the best album they've done.
 

joe

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Re: The "MIGHTY" Groundhogs

A bit primitive sounding in this day and age but I like primitive at times .
Gonna pick this one up .

Me too Wolf.

Thank Christ For The Bomb is the best album they've done.

Split is very close, but I agree with ya Nololob. I forgot to mention that the album made it into the top 10 in the UK.
 

joe

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Re: The "MIGHTY" Groundhogs

Split released in 1971 is probably the 'Hogs most notable album reaching #5 on the UK charts. Side one is based along the concept of dealing with and trying to understand schizophrenia and is broken into four parts. Tony McPhee's songwriting is eccentric and complex with the raw, grungy, bottom heavy metallic messy atmosphere makes this album come across as aimless and haunting. Not for the faint-hearted or a pop loving unadventerous individual(you know who you are).

Side two sees the band take more of a heavy blues rock structure with "Cherry Red" which became a real crowd pleaser for years to come. Split is considered one of the proto-metal classics alnong with Sabbath's s/t debut, Kingdom Come from Sir Lord Baltimore, the first two releases from Blue Cheer, and others. LOUD.

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Nololob

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Re: The "MIGHTY" Groundhogs

Split is very close, but I agree with ya Nololob. I forgot to mention that the album made it into the top 10 in the UK.
Split is also excellent, but for blues rock fan TCFTB is perfect. :D
 

joe

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Re: The "MIGHTY" Groundhogs

So the story goes, Mick Jagger went into a club to see a band play that was going to support them on thier '71 tour and decided he didn't like them. The Groundhogs were on the bill that night also and Jagger was so impressed that he asked the band to go thier UK tour.

Live At Leeds '71 was recorded on the Stones/'Hogs tour on behalf of Jagger's request and Glyn Johns was commisioned to record the set and produce a promotional pressing of the concert and only 100 copies were pressed. The independent label from Italy, Akarma released it in 2004 on both CD and vinyl. It is also available as side one on the double vinyl Hoggin' The Stage.

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joe

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Re: The "MIGHTY" Groundhogs

Who Will Save The World? The Mighty Groundhogs(1972) is about tackling major problems facing the world under the guise of comic book super heroes whose abilities to vanquish overpopulation, war, pollution and other worldly blights.

Tony McPhee added mellotrons and a harmonium which puts a prog sound with the heavy saw tooth riffs and torrid leads. The rhythm section of Pete Criuckshanks and Ken Pustelnik contribute with the raging rapids with flexible intensity keeping with the melodic and rhythmic changes.

As "The Nefarious" Neal Adams from Marvel and DC comics states, "It is said in the hall of fame of super heroes that the rock group Groundhogs might even accomplish more with the music than the super hereo Groundhogs will, with all thier muscle..."

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LG

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Re: The "MIGHTY" Groundhogs

How's the sound quality on the Live album Joe? I am a fan of Glyn Johns work he is one of the best engineers for 70's rock albums.
 

joe

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Re: The "MIGHTY" Groundhogs

I have it on CD and it sound good to me though McPhees vocals sound a bit off. He wasn't born with the greatest vocal chords anyway.:heheh: I think it really captures the sound of the band.
 

joe

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Re: The "MIGHTY" Groundhogs

Tony McPhee pushed the experimental angle even more with thier 1972 release, Hogwash with more a progressive approach with electronics such as ring oscillators, ARP synthesizers, and mellotrons to cast mad shadows with the unwielding blistering guitars and the bottom heavy rhythm section.

Drummer Ken Pustlenik had left after Who Will Save The World? and was replaced by Clive Brooks from the Canterbury band, Egg. The result is a progressive blues rock endeavour that show cases McPhee's muti-instrumental mastery.

"It is an extraordinary good record that covers a wide expanse of sounds and ideas." "Tony McPhee has really come to terms with both mellotron and synthesizer and knows how to use them to dynamic effect."-Melody Maker 1972




 

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