Art Gallery – THE ARTWOODS***

Can You Hear Me/Down In The Valley/Things Get Better/Walk On The Wild Side/I Keep Forgettin’/I Keep Lookin’/One More Heartache/Work Work Work/Be My Lady/If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody/Stop & Think It Over/Don’t Cry No More

The Artwoods were a now little remembered British R & B band from the mid-1960s. Art Gallery comprises only covers and features Jon Lord on keyboards who later found fame with Deep Purple.

“The Artwoods were one of the greatest British R & B bands from the mid-1960s, who unfortunately never achieved the success they truly deserved. All the players, despite their tender age at the time, were excellent musicians, which can be heard here. Due to quite strong jazz influence, this music can be considered as early jazz-rock to some extent.”

“I'm not usually a big fan of early 60s style, British R & B pop, so when one comes along that I really like, its probably better than most. The album is not very consistent, though, with grades ranging from very good right on down to ho-hum mediocre. But there are enough in the upper range to seriously keep your interest.”

“The Art Gallery album is a good one; solid, workmanlike covers, played with bags of enthusiasm (and a certain skill as well, particularly from Jon Lord on keyboards, and Keef Hartley on drums). They must have been great to see live, but I guess they suffered from a dearth of original material, which perhaps resulted in them never emerging too far from the club scene of the time.”

“A good piece of 60s Eel Pie Island R & B. All good solid covers from a great band which was the starting point for Deep Purple’s Jon Lord. Good stuff without being a knock out.”

“The reason they never broke through to bigger things was that they were essentially a covers band, albeit a very good one.”

“Featuring the skills of future Deep Purple organ maestro Jon Lord, The Artwoods made some earthy and exciting rhythm and blues. Recording only outside material, they were extinct by the late 1960s, but Art Wood's gritty vocal delivery and Lord's emerging virtuosity make this an enjoyable collection. The album tracks are otherwise standard for the era. Not a groundbreaking LP but an enjoyable one.”