Split (Groundhogs album)

Last updated

Split
Groundhogs - Split.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 1971
RecordedNovember 1970
StudioDe Lane Lea Studios, London
Genre Blues rock [1]
Length39:52
Label Liberty (original UK release)
United Artists (original US release)
BGO (1989 & 1997 UK reissues)
Akarma (2003 Italian reissue)
Fire (2020 UK reissue)
Producer Tony (T.S.) McPhee
Groundhogs chronology
Thank Christ for the Bomb
(1970)
Split
(1971)
Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs
(1972)

Split is a studio album recorded by English blues rock group Groundhogs in November 1970 and released in March 1971.

Contents

It was originally released by Liberty Records with catalogue number LBG 83401. It was reissued on CD reissue in 2003 by Liberty / EMI Records, with catalogue number 07243-584819-2-1. In September 2020, it was released on limited-edition red vinyl (as well as CD) from Fire Records, [2] including a second disc containing a number of outtakes and new sleeve notes by Dave Henderson of Mojo magazine.

According to Tony McPhee's sleeve notes for the 2003 CD reissue, the lyrics for Split were inspired by a panic attack he experienced in May 1970, and the studio version of "Cherry Red" was recorded live in a single take.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Tony McPhee

  1. "Split - Part One" – 4:25
  2. "Split - Part Two" – 5:10
  3. "Split - Part Three" – 4:25
  4. "Split - Part Four" – 5:38
  5. "Cherry Red" – 5:40
  6. "A Year in the Life" – 3:07
  7. "Junkman" – 4:52
  8. "Groundhog" – 5:35

"Groundhog" is based on "Ground Hog Blues" by John Lee Hooker.

Bonus tracks on 2003 CD reissue

(recorded live in 1972 for a BBC In Concert programme)

  1. "Split - Part One" – 9:42
  2. "Split - Part Two" – 6:13
  3. "Split - Part Four" – 4:27
  4. "Cherry Red" – 4:06

Bonus tracks on 2020 red vinyl reissue

(Fire Records, FIRELP508)

  1. "Split - Part One (instrumental)" – 5:14
  2. "Split - Part Two (take three)" – 5:18
  3. "Split - Part Three (unlisted take with overdubbed guitar)" – 6:52
  4. "Cherry Red (take six)" – 6:07
  5. "A Year in the Life (instrumental)" – 3:13
  6. "Split - Part Three (no intro)" – 4:02
  7. "Split - Part Four (instrumental)" – 6:54

Personnel

Groundhogs
Technical

Split Up - An Exhumation by Andrew Liles

In 2015, Andrew Liles and Tony McPhee remixed the album, in a "reconstruction, reordering and rearrangement", using modern effects. McPhee said Liles had "done what I would have if I'd had the modern pedals. Andrew has done me a great service by bringing my recordings into the 21st Century." [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony McPhee</span> Musical artist

Anthony Charles McPhee was an English guitarist and singer. He was the founder of the British blues and rock band the Groundhogs.

<i>Wild Life</i> (Wings album) 1971 studio album by Wings

Wild Life is the debut studio album by the British-American rock band Wings and the third studio album by Paul McCartney after the breakup of the Beatles. The album was recorded in eight days, from 25 July to 2 August 1971, at EMI Studios by McCartney, his wife Linda, session drummer Denny Seiwell, whom they had worked with on the McCartneys' previous album Ram, and guitarist Denny Laine, formerly of the English rock band the Moody Blues. It was released by Apple Records on 7 December in the UK and US, to lukewarm critical and commercial reaction.

<i>Gutbucket</i> (album) 1969 compilation album by Various Artists

Gutbucket (An Underworld Eruption) is a 1969 sampler album released to promote artists on the Liberty Records label. It was followed later in 1969 by Son of Gutbucket. Both albums were reissued on a single EMI CD in 1994, with an informative booklet, but with 6 the original 31 tracks (from the combined albums) missing.

<i>Live at the Witch Trials</i> 1979 studio album by The Fall

Live at the Witch Trials is the debut studio album by the Fall. It was released on 16 March 1979 through record label Step-Forward. It is not, despite its title, a live album and was recorded in a studio in a single day and mixed by producer Bob Sargeant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Groundhogs</span> British blues and rock band

The Groundhogs were an English blues and rock band founded in late 1963, that toured extensively in the 1960s, achieved prominence in the early 1970s, and continued sporadically into the 21st century. Tony McPhee was the sole constant member of the group, which had gone through many personnel changes, but usually recorded and performed as a power trio. The band was active from 1963 until retiring in 2014.

<i>Warrior on the Edge of Time</i> 1975 studio album by Hawkwind

Warrior on the Edge of Time is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Hawkwind. Many of the lyrics are by Michael Moorcock, and the album is loosely based on the concept of Moorcock's novel The Eternal Champion. It was the band's highest-charting studio album on the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at number 13, and was their third and last album to make the U.S. Billboard chart, where it peaked at number 150. Reviews have been mixed, with Melody Maker panning the album and particularly criticizing the vocal work while the All Music Guide has praised the album for features such as the songwriting. This would also be the last album to feature the band's bassist Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister, who was fired from the band one day before the album's release.

Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything but the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as well as the compilation album Pillows & Prayers. In addition to releasing new music, Cherry Red also acts as an umbrella for individual imprints and catalogue specialists.

<i>The Vaudeville Years</i> 1998 compilation album by Fleetwood Mac

The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968 to 1970 is an album by British blues rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1998. It was a compilation of outtakes and unreleased tracks from the band's early line up, none of which had previously been officially released. Available on double vinyl LP and double CD, it came with a booklet of extensive notes and anecdotes, and was the companion volume to Show-Biz Blues: Fleetwood Mac 1968–70, which was released a few years later.

Johnny Moore's Three Blazers was a popular American vocal group in the 1940s and 1950s. The original members were:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Boy Arnold</span> American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter

William "Billy Boy" Arnold is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. Arnold is a self-taught harmonica player and has worked with blues legends such as Bo Diddley, Johnny Shines, Otis Rush, Earl Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and others.

<i>Imperial Wax Solvent</i> 2008 studio album by The Fall

Imperial Wax Solvent is a studio album by the Fall – the band's 26th – released in the UK on 28 April 2008.

<i>Scratching the Surface</i> (Groundhogs album) 1968 studio album by Groundhogs

Scratching the Surface is the debut album by English band Groundhogs, released in 1968 by Liberty Records.

<i>All Good Clean Fun</i> 1971 compilation album by various artists

All Good Clean Fun was originally a promotional sampler issued by United Artists Records in 1971. This original release was a double album containing 23 tracks by 20 different artists, with three artists having two tracks each. Most of the artists had been signed by Andrew Lauder at Liberty Records, which was rebranded as United Artists in 1971, the year this sampler was issued. Both labels had been part of Transamerica Corporation since 1968.

Andrew Lauder is a record company executive and former A&R manager. Initially noted for his adventurous signings of bands as diverse as Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Can, Hawkwind and Brinsley Schwarz to Liberty Records and United Artists Records in the 1960s and 70s, he went on to form numerous independent labels including Radar Records, F-Beat Records and Demon Music Group.

<i>Hogwash</i> (album) 1972 studio album by The Groundhogs

Hogwash is a 1972 album recorded by The Groundhogs, originally released by United Artists Records in 1972, catalogue number UAG 29419. The most recent CD reissue is that of 2008 by BGO Records, catalogue number BGOCD787.

<i>Who Will Save the World?</i> 1972 studio album by The Groundhogs

Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs is a 1972 album recorded by The Groundhogs, originally released by United Artists Records in 1972, catalogue number UAS-5570. The most recent CD reissue is that of 2003 by EMI Records, catalogue number 07243-584815-2-5.

<i>Blues Anytime</i> 1968 compilation album by Various Artists

Blues Anytime: An Anthology of British Blues is a series of compilation albums featuring tracks from various British blues artists. Three volumes were released by Immediate Records in 1968, followed by Blues Leftovers in 1969.

<i>Thank Christ for the Bomb</i> 1970 studio album by The Groundhogs

Thank Christ for the Bomb is the third studio album recorded by The Groundhogs, originally released by Liberty Records in 1970. It was engineered by Martin Birch, who had previously worked on albums by Deep Purple, Jeff Beck, Fleetwood Mac and Peter Green. It entered the UK Melody Maker album charts at number 27 on 20 June 1970, and had a total of 3 entries in that chart.

Major League Productions is a record label from the United Kingdom based in Oxfordshire. It was founded in 1991 and operates in 100 different countries. As of 2013, it had 39 employees. Following a reduction of live services, in 2020 the company announced it was focusing only on its back-catalogue work and talked of the possibility of new vinyl releases to signed artists.

The discography of American psychedelic rock band Earthless consists of three studio albums, two live albums, and various miscellaneous releases, including a number of split albums.

References

  1. DeGagne, Mike. "Split Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  2. "Ooops - Record Store Day". Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  3. "Split-Up - Andrew Liles". Andrewliles.com. Retrieved 16 May 2021.