Shake Down – SAVOY BROWN***

Ain’t Superstitious/Let Me Love You Baby/Black Night/High Rise/Rock Me Baby/I Smell Trouble/Pretty Woman/ Little Girl/The Dormouse Rides The Rail/Its All My Fault/Shake ‘Em On Down

Shake Down was the debut album from the enduring London blues rock group Savoy Brown. They would enjoy much greater commercial success in the USA than on their home turf.

“Shake Down was the band's first album, and remains one of my favourites of the British blues boom. It's mainly covers, but they stamp their own identity on all of them to produce what is a very consistent body of work. There's no filler here. Even the short instrumental High Rise is top class. In fact, it's difficult to pick favourite tracks, but if I was pushed to, I'd opt for Let Me Love You Baby, I Ain't Superstitious and the closer, Shake `Em On Down, a real juggernaut of a track.”

“For fans of Brit blues-rock in the early outings of a band that proved integral to the development of the 60s UK blues movement.”

“A combination of slow blues and a few shuffles make up this recording. Only on the last song does the group show a tendency to stretch out in a boogie style that they would go on to make popular in America. This album and the next few would follow the same path. Only later would Savoy Brown descend into boogie excess and thus spell the end of their truly blues playing days. For those interested in British groups in this style I would recommend you pick up this disc.”

“Their only release featuring the original line-up and, dare I say, clearly their strongest. This will appeal primarily to late 60s British blues boom fanatics. It's all blues rock, some of it hard, and some heavy, but always consistently good.”

“It's a raw and immediate album of hard primal blues and blues-rock with huge bass guitar, lots of guitar solos, piano and powerful drums.”

“All the tracks here, except the instrumentals are fantastic covers of blues classics. I Ain't Superstitious, Rock Me Baby and Oh Pretty Woman are particularly convincing while the closing upbeat track Shake 'Em On Down, recreating the band's live shows, is a traditional tune artfully arranged by the band. If you like the British blues don't hesitate; this is an enthusiastic and thrilling top-notch album.”