Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 1970 (U.S.) 25 May 1970 (UK) | |||
Recorded | May–September 1969 | |||
Studio | Mystic Studios, Hollywood, California; Olympic Studios, London | |||
Genre | Rock [1] | |||
Length | 35:15 | |||
Label | Cotillion | |||
Producer | Jimmy Page, Lord Sutch | |||
Screaming Lord Sutch chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Record Collector | [2] |
Rolling Stone | (negative) [3] |
Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends is the debut album of English rock singer Screaming Lord Sutch. Recording began in May 1969 at Mystic Studios in Hollywood and it was released on Cotillion Records in 1970. The album featured an all-star line-up with contributions from Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page (who also produced the album) and John Bonham, guitarist Jeff Beck, session keyboardist Nicky Hopkins, session guitarist Deniel Edwards and Jimi Hendrix Experience bassist Noel Redding. Rick Brown and Carlo Little were previously with the Savages.
This album has also been released under the name Smoke and Fire. A CD release under the latter name appeared on the Magnum Music Group label sometime in the 1980s, evidently mastered from a vinyl copy of the original album. The cover credits Page, Beck, Bonham, Redding, and Hopkins; Sutch's name appears only in the personnel list, as David Sutch.
Chart (1970) | Peak position |
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Australia (Kent Music Report) [5] | 16 |
US Billboard Top LPs | 84 |
Many of the musicians had grave misgivings upon its release. They were under the assumption these were demo-quality recordings. As a result, the artists disowned the project and the album sold poorly. It also seriously damaged Sutch's reputation with the musicians involved. "I just went down to have a laugh, playing some old rock 'n' roll, a bit of a send-up. The whole joke sort of reversed itself and became ugly," Jimmy Page said of the record. [6]
A reviewer in Rolling Stone called Sutch "absolutely terrible" and lamented that the celebrated musicians involved were made to sound "like a fouled parody of themselves". [3]
Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends was named in a 1998 BBC poll as the worst album of all time, a status it also held in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums 3rd Edition (2000). [7]
Catalogue: Atlantic 2400 008 (UK), Cotillion SD 9015 (US)
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are cited as one of the progenitors of hard rock and heavy metal, although their style drew from a variety of influences, including blues and folk music. Led Zeppelin have been credited as significantly impacting the nature of the music industry, particularly in the development of album-oriented rock (AOR) and stadium rock.
Screaming Lord Sutch was an English musician and perennial parliamentary candidate.
Led Zeppelin, sometimes referred to as Led Zeppelin I, is the debut studio album by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released on 12 January 1969 in the United States and on 31 March in the United Kingdom by Atlantic Records.
James Patrick Page is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Prolific in creating guitar riffs, Page’s style involves various alternative guitar tunings and melodic solos, coupled with aggressive, distorted guitar tones. It is also characterized by his folk and eastern-influenced acoustic work. He is notable for occasionally playing his guitar with a cello bow to create a droning sound texture to the music.
John Henry Bonham was an English musician who was the drummer of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Noted for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove, he is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential drummers in music history.
Little Games is the fourth American album by English rock band the Yardbirds. Recorded and released in 1967, it was their first album recorded after becoming a quartet with Jimmy Page as the sole guitarist and Chris Dreja switching to bass. It was also the only Yardbirds album produced by Mickie Most.
Box of Frogs were an English rock band formed in 1983 by former members of the Yardbirds, who released their first album in 1984. The core group consisted of Chris Dreja, Paul Samwell-Smith, and Jim McCarty. Vocals on their eponymous album were done by John Fiddler. On the second album, Fiddler sang on five songs, with guests singers Graham Parker, Ian Dury and Roger Chapman performing the remaining songs. Many musicians guested on their albums. Former Yardbirds bandmates Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page played lead guitar on parts of their first and second albums, respectively.
The Jeff Beck Group was a British rock band formed in London in January 1967 by former Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck. Their innovative approach to heavy-sounding blues, rhythm and blues and rock was a major influence on popular music.
Nicholas Christian Hopkins was an English pianist and organist. He performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, most notably on songs recorded by the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Who, the Beatles, the Steve Miller Band, Jefferson Airplane, Rod Stewart, George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, The Hollies, Cat Stevens, Carly Simon, Harry Nilsson, Joe Walsh, Peter Frampton, Jerry Garcia, Jeff Beck, Joe Cocker, Art Garfunkel, Badfinger, Graham Parker, Gary Moore Quicksilver Messenger Service and Donovan. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest studio pianists in the history of popular rock music.
"Beck's Bolero" is a rock instrumental recorded by English guitarist Jeff Beck in 1966. It is Beck's first solo recording and has been described as "one of the great rock instrumentals, epic in scope, harmonically and rhythmically ambitious yet infused with primal energy". "Beck's Bolero" features a prominent melody with multiple guitar parts propelled by a rhythm inspired by Ravel's Boléro.
Truth is the debut studio album by English guitarist Jeff Beck, released on 29 July 1968 in the United States on Epic Records and on 4 October 1968 in the United Kingdom on Columbia Records. It introduced the talents of his backing band the Jeff Beck Group, specifically Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, to a larger audience, and peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Top LPs chart.
"You Shook Me" is a 1962 blues song recorded by Chicago blues artist Muddy Waters. Willie Dixon wrote the lyrics and Earl Hooker provided the instrumental backing; the song features Waters' vocal in unison with Hooker's slide-guitar melody. "You Shook Me" became one of Muddy Waters' most successful early-1960s singles and has been interpreted by several blues and rock artists.
Barabajagal is the seventh studio album and eighth album overall from British singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released by Epic Records in the United States on 11 August 1969, but was not released in the United Kingdom because of a continuing contractual dispute that also prevented Sunshine Superman, Mellow Yellow, and The Hurdy Gurdy Man from being released in the UK.
Beck-Ola is the second studio album by English guitarist Jeff Beck, and the first credited to the Jeff Beck Group. It was released in June 1969 by Epic Records in the United States and the following August by Columbia Records in the United Kingdom. The album peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard 200, and at No. 39 on the UK Albums Chart. The album's title puns on the name of the Rock-Ola jukebox company.
Carl O'Neil Little, better known by his stage name Carlo Little, was a rock and roll drummer, based in the London nightclub scene in the 1960s. He played in an early version of the Rolling Stones. Little was also with Cyril Davies' All-Stars and was a founder member of Screaming Lord Sutch's Savages.
Guitar Boogie is a blues rock compilation album featuring Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page together with the Allstars and members of The Rolling Stones.
The Savages was a British rock band formed in 1960, and is perhaps best known for being the backing band for the late Screaming Lord Sutch.
The All-Stars were a short-lived English blues combo active in the early-mid 1960s. Originally known as the Cyril Davies (R&B) All-Stars, their later recordings are often credited to the Immediate All-Stars due to their releases on Immediate Records. In 1999, the group reformed as the Carlo Little All-Stars.
Solitaire is the thirty-first studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams, released in the fall of 1973 by Columbia Records and was an attempt to move away from his formulaic series of recent releases that relied heavily on songs that other artists had made popular.
No Introduction Necessary is a "super session" studio album. Initially it was conceived as debut album by Keith De Groot, a new singer discovered by producer Reg Tracey. It featured Albert Lee and Big Jim Sullivan on guitars, John Paul Jones on bass, Nicky Hopkins on keyboards, Chris Hughes on saxophone and Clem Cattini on drums. The sessions took place at Olympic Studios in London. Nine songs had been completed when neither Lee nor Sullivan were going to be able to take part in next booked session. Tracey called Jimmy Page for the last round of recordings. Page's participation likely took place in either September or December 1967 during breaks from touring with the Yardbirds.