The Last Puff - SPOOKY TOOTH***

I Am The Walrus/The Wrong Time/Something To Say/Nobody There At All/Down River/Son Of Your Father/The Last Puff

Following personnel departures Spooky Tooth vocalist Mike Harrison recruited members of Joe Cocker’s Grease Band to fill the vacancies, who influenced the sound of the group’s third album The Last Puff. (US:84)

“Last Puff returns to the bluesy hard rock of Two, but here, the sound is fuller and more elaborate. Thicker keyboards and more emphasis on female backup vocals make this sound somewhat like Joe Cocker’s work of the period - a lot of the same players were used. This, though, has a hard rock edge.”

“This record starts out in prime fashion with a whacked out cover of The Beatles I Am The Walrus and then moves into the chunky blues rock of The Wrong Time. After these two tracks things slip into a pretty average blues-rock sound that doesn't thrill me that much.”

“Nothing could live up to Two but this is still an excellent LP. The keyboards alone are ethereal and psychy. The vocals as usual are outstanding and the guitar, when it gets a chance, is fantastic.”

“The Last Puff is a very solid and very good album of keyboard driven English hard/blues rock. There are some fantastic songs here, like the doom-ridden cover of The Beatles I Am The Walrus.”

“Since there was no resident songwriter aboard, Mike Harrison decided to record a series of arrangements and adaptations of existing rock repertoire. His choice of material is impeccable and the bands interpretations truly inspired, resulting in an excellent piece of music, different from the original incarnation of Spooky Tooth, but nevertheless highly satisfactory and worth listening to. The overall sound is quite similar to the band previously, and any Spooky Tooth fan will find this album most enjoyable.”

“This album starts off well, but trails off quickly, becoming the kind of not so much here or not so much there general rock record that only serves to bore.”

“It's mostly a nice introspective chill out LP. If you are expecting the full on attack of Spooky Tooth's earlier releases you will be disappointed. This is more like the country-ish/rustic stuff that was popular for a couple of years in the early 70s.”