Monday 16 April 2018

O. K. Ken? – CHICKEN SHACK***

Baby’s Got Me Crying/The Right Way Is My Way/Get Like Used To Be/Pony & Trap/Tell Me/A Woman Is The Blues/I Wanna See My Baby/Remington Ride/Fishing In Your River/Mean Old World/Sweet Sixteen

O. K. Ken? was the final Chicken Shack album featuring Christine Perfect before she was poached by Fleetwood Mac, with whom she eventually achieved international stardom. (UK:9)

"This is an excellent example of a band playing music they love and having a great time doing it. There's nothing particularly new going on but it doesn't really matter, there are some great electric blues songs with occasional vocals from the superb Christine Perfect. The strange conversational outtakes between each song can become annoying but they don't make the album any less enjoyable."

"Anyone growing up in the progressive rock and blues era of the late 60s, early 70s will know Chicken Shack as a heavy blues band. OK Ken is perhaps one of the most spontaneous with the band performing at their best and having a laugh whilst doing it."

"The music is heavy and blues based with some good numbers by Freddie King and tremendous vocals by Christine Perfect. It is solid, traditional electric blues with an injection of fun. If you grew up with the band you will know it and love it, if not you will surely enjoy it but may find the track intro's annoying."

"British blues at its best could be exciting (if usually derivative), but it's difficult to fathom how this relentlessly plodding, monotonous effort met with such success. Stan Webb took most of the songwriting and vocal chores, emulating the slowburning Chicago boogie with little skill or subtlety (though he wasn't a bad guitarist). Christine Perfect did write and sing a few songs, but these unfortunately found both her compositional and vocal talent at a most callow stage of development."

"Chicken Shack had the added bonus of a fabulous female vocalist in Christine Perfect, her smooth, languorous voice weaving in and out of the melodies." "Chicken Shack were similar to British bands of the same era such as early Fleetwood Mac, Savoy Brown and Ten Years After. The vocal duties were split nearly equally between Stan Webb and Christine Perfect."

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