Scratching The Surface – THE GROUNDHOGS***

Rocking Chair/Early In The Morning/Waking Blues/Married Men/No More Doggin’/Man Trouble/Come Back Baby/ You Don’t Love Me/Still A Fool

The debut LP from the British blues rock group The Groundhogs. Scratching The Surface is pure blues but later albums included a rock element. After this one the group became a trio.

“My least favourite Groundhogs release but this is still good. The guitarist is top notch and the material is blues, all blues. A couple of real tappers on here too.”

“Considerably less spectacular than their later rock material. Make no mistake about it - this is a blues album. That's all they offer here, from hard rockin' blues, to slow and lethargic traditional blues, highly influenced by early black American artists. The album features a dearth of period flavour.”

“Decent debut, nothing to write home about but not a clunker either. Good cover of Muddy Waters Still A Fool which would be a live set staple for many years.”

“Powerful straight blues rock with the distorted guitar of Tony McPhee, growling vocals and a solid drum and bass background.”

“This is pure blues. There are a few odd timings here and there to add unique twists to the usual twelve bar structure and for the first time ever, I heard a different vocalist on a Groundhogs song in Steve Rye on two of the cuts. Over the years, Tony McPhee has not strayed too far from his roots despite stretching into more progressive music. I see this is the first in a progression from pure blues to rocking blues to rock and then back to blues again in later releases.”

“Tony's voice is unique, there is nobody else out there like him, and that is a big plus. If you are looking for the roots of British blues, this is a great start.” “This is a good listen to The Groundhogs as a pure blues band. Recorded in a very short time, it's a raw, bare-bones sound of the late 60s. As their sound progressed, so did their musical style. Scratching The Surface isn't a must own LP, unless you're a collector. But, if you like the blues and are into the British blues scene, this is a worthy LP to add to your collection.”