Released By : Angel Air Music
Genre : Classic Rock
Links : http://angelair.co.uk/sjpcd383.htm
Tracklist:
1. “Magic In The Air” The ATTACK 1967
2. “Mr Pinnodmy’s Dilemma” The ATTACK 1967
3. “Too Old” ANDROMEDA 1969
4. “Return To Sanity” (3 parts)
a. Breakdown
b. Hope
c. Conclusion ANDROMEDA 1969
5. “Tomorrow Night” ATOMIC ROOSTER 1971
6. “Devils Answer” ATOMIC ROOSTER 1971
7. “Night Living” ATOMIC ROOSTER 1971
8. “The Soul That I Had” BULLET 1971
9. “Fortunes Told” BULLET 1971
10. “Millionaire” HARD STUFF 1972
11. “Jay Time” HARD STUFF 1972
12. “Roll A Rocket” HARD STUFF 1973
13. “She’s My Woman” JOHN DU CANN 1977
14. “Don’t Be a Dummy” JOHN DU CANN 1979
15. “Don’t Lose Your Mind” ATOMIC ROOSTER 1980
16. “They Took Control Of You” ATOMIC ROOSTER 1980
The late John Du Cann, Who sadly passed away last September, may not quite have the household name credentials of guys like Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page or Eric Clapton, but the guitarist/singer/songwriter best known for his time fronting ATOMIC ROOSTER is a very highly regarded musician in the inner rock music sanctum and is regarded as one of the prominent figureheads in U.K rock history.
As well as a very successful run in ATOMIC ROOSTER, Du Cann has also spent time fronting bands like ANDROMEDA, HARD STUFF, BULLET and earlier on THE ATTACK. Now seems as good a time as any to put together a John Du Cann compilation and Angel Air Records have seen fit to do just that. THE MANY SIDES OF has been in the making for a while now and before his death John Du Cann himself was working with the label to come up with this fitting tracklist, which covers all aspects of his career from his early days with Mod Rockers THE ATTACK, through his Phsychedelica days in ANDROMEDA, the Hard Rock period of BULLET and HARD STUFF, some mid-career solo work and of course ending with ATOMIC ROOSTER. Of course there was more to come from Du Cann, but seeing that this album ends at 1980 you’d have to say that it’s pretty darn comprehensive.
As usual the guys from Angel Air have crafted a fantastic booklet filled with information, interview snippets and rare photos, and the remastered audio sounds just fantastic. The tripped-out front cover artwork is pretty good too. Listening through this anthology shows just how prolific Du Cann was as a songwriter and clearly there’s plenty of material here that could be classed as a highlight. For me personally though you can’t look past the three-part suite of ANDROMEDA track RETURN TO SANITY, which is mix of PINK FLOYD, THIN LIZZY and LED ZEPPELIN. Other great moments include ATOMIC ROOSTER smash-hit DEVILS ANSWER, the awesome boogie-rock vibes of HARD STUFF track MILLIONAIRE and the Du Cann solo track DON’T BE A DUMMY.
If you’re a fan of John Du Cann then THE MANY SIDES OF is definitely a must-buy, if you aren’t particularly familiar with him but have an interest in any of the bands mentioned above, or a penchant for British Classic Rock then it’s also definitely worth seeking out. Angel Air Records enters in fifteenth year in business in 2012 and they have started their bookmark year with a bang. Keep in mind too that basically every album that has had tracks taken from it for this compilation is also available in remastered glory via the Angel Air website.
Written By ZeeZee
Rating : 9/10
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