One of the key missions of this blog is to introduce readers to great music that they have never heard. In keeping with that mission I have a real treat for you today. Take a listen and then we will chat…
it was 1977 and the Steve Gibbons Band was cool…the music, Steve’s voice, the Band’s look, and the songs all way cool. Their coolness helped me make it through graduate school and I loved the music from their first two albums (Any Road Up and Rollin On). Unfortunately, that coolness never translated into sales, especially in the US. They had a minor hit with Chuck Berry’s Tulane from the Rollin On album and that was pretty much it with regards to commercial success.
To put things in perspective, it’s not like they didn’t get a fair shake, they did. They were managed by the Who management team, Pete Entwistle produced their first album, and they toured with the Who but for some reason they never broke through commercially. As with Elliott Murphy (discussed in an earlier post) the lack of commercial success does nothing to diminish the value of the music of the Steve Gibbons Band. The first two albums for Polydor were excellent and represented their artistic peak. The band soldiered on for a number of years and Steve continues as an active performer to this day but, in my opinion, the magic of those first two albums was never equaled.
I have the two albums on vinyl but luckily for you the two albums are available on Amazon in a two CD re-release by RGF Records. I strongly suggest you pick it up. I think you will enjoy the music as I have over the past 30 years. If you are lucky, some of their coolness might rub off on you.
