HEADS HANDS & FEET
''TRACKS... PLUS''
NOVEMBER 23 2009
1972
45:53
1 /Let's Get This Show on the Road
Tony Colton / Pete Gavin / Charles "Chas" Hodges / Albert Lee / TV Smith/3:53
2 /Safety in Numbers
Tony Colton / Albert Lee / TV Smith/3:35
3 /Roadshow
Albert Lee/3:15
4 /Harlequin
Tony Colton / Tommy Smith/4:26
5 /Dancer
Tony Colton / Charles "Chas" Hodges / Albert Lee / Tommy Smith/3:21
6 /Hot Property
Tony Colton / Pete Gavin / Charles "Chas" Hodges / Albert Lee / TV Smith/4:58
7 /Jack Daniels
Tony Colton / Charles "Chas" Hodges / Albert Lee / TV Smith/3:27
8 /Rhyme and Time
Albert Lee/2:40
9 /Paper Chase
Tony Colton / D. Smith/3:54
10 /Song and Dance
Albert Lee/5:26
11 /Silver Mine (Bonus track)/3:44
12 /Warming Up The Band (Bonus track)/3:25
Pete Gavin/Drums, Percussion, Vocals, Backing Vocals
Albert Lee/Lead Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Backing Vocals
Ray Smith/Bass Guitar, Vocals, Backing Vocals
Chas Hodges/Bass Guitar, Fiddle, Banjo, Guitars, Vocals, Backing Vocals
Tony Colton/Vocals, Backing Vocals
Jerry Donahue/Backing Vocals, Backing Vocals Arrangements
Ray Osborne/Backing Vocals
Gerry Hogan/Steel Guitar On 4
REVIEW
by Lindsay Planer
Although the core personnel had been together in a variety of incarnations since the mid-'60s, most notable of which was the brilliant and criminally short-lived Poet & the One Man Band, Tracks (1972) was only the second long player from Heads Hands & Feet. The U.K. quintet of Pete Gavin (drums/vocals), Albert Lee (guitar/keyboards/vocals), Ray Smith (bass/guitar/vocals), Charles "Chas" Hodges (bass/guitar/violin/vocals), and front man Tony Colton (vocals) had gained significant notice stateside during a week-long residency at the Troubadour in Los Angeles after the release of their self-titled double-LP debut Heads Hands & Feet (1971). For their second outing, Tracks, they continue their quest for exceptionally crafted country-flavored material. They waste precious little time, as the fiery "Let's Get This Show on the Road" is a high-energy, good-time ode to the rigors and foibles of live performing and concert touring as exemplified in the chorus "Maybe I'll see Margo/Down in Chicago/And I've got a dancer down in New Orleans." Lee's multi-tasking musicianship is particularly noteworthy as his rollicking keyboard work on both acoustic piano and Hammond organ, coupled with the catchy, if not slightly twangy lead electric guitar lines, rhythmically tie the verses to the chorus. "Roadshow" demonstrates quite a different side to the band, examining Lee's capacity for emotive singer/songwriter balladry. His temperate vocals and melodic piano runs recall that of Jackson Browne or early folksy Tom Waits. Further demonstrating Heads Hands & Feet's wide-ranging musicality is "Hot Property." Remarkably, the combo fuses an energetic bluegrass-inspired instrumental introduction to a funk-driven melody that would not have been too out of place coming from southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd. Of equal (if not arguably greater) prowess is the downhome, organic "Jack Daniels," which returns the sound to a loose groove mirroring the Band's rural rockers "Up on Cripple Creek" or "Life Is a Carnival." Tracks...Plus (1996) reissues both the original ten-song platter with a pair of additional non-LP sides, "Silver Mine" and "Warming Up the Band."
BIOGRAPHY
by Steven McDonald
Following the dissolution of Poet and the One Man Band, Albert Lee (guitar), Pete Gavin (drums), Tony Colton (vocals) and Ray Smith (guitar) got together with Chas Hodges (bass, violin, vocals) and Mike O'Neill (keyboards) to form the country-influenced Heads, Hands and Feet and recorded a double album that had a great deal in common with the work of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and the Grateful Dead at that time. Their self-titled debut album, populated with guests from the folk and singer-songwriter scenes, was released as a double record in the U.S., but only as a single album in Europe. The record was very well regarded, with Lee's guitar work garnering attention.
Keyboardist O'Neill departed soon after the album's release, and the band proceeded to move away from country influences and towards rock. While the band was able to record and release Tracks to a certain amount of acclaim, internal strife caused continuing problems, splintering the band before the 1973 release of Old Soldiers Never Die, which marked the group's move to Atlantic Records. In 1996, See For Miles released Home From Home, a collection of recordings and demos made before the band's first label signing.
Albert Lee moved on to found the Albert Lee Band with Pete Gavin and Chas Hodges and eventually joined Eric Clapton's band. Chas Hodges later formed the duo Chas & Dave with Dave Peacock.
''TRACKS... PLUS''
NOVEMBER 23 2009
1972
45:53
1 /Let's Get This Show on the Road
Tony Colton / Pete Gavin / Charles "Chas" Hodges / Albert Lee / TV Smith/3:53
2 /Safety in Numbers
Tony Colton / Albert Lee / TV Smith/3:35
3 /Roadshow
Albert Lee/3:15
4 /Harlequin
Tony Colton / Tommy Smith/4:26
5 /Dancer
Tony Colton / Charles "Chas" Hodges / Albert Lee / Tommy Smith/3:21
6 /Hot Property
Tony Colton / Pete Gavin / Charles "Chas" Hodges / Albert Lee / TV Smith/4:58
7 /Jack Daniels
Tony Colton / Charles "Chas" Hodges / Albert Lee / TV Smith/3:27
8 /Rhyme and Time
Albert Lee/2:40
9 /Paper Chase
Tony Colton / D. Smith/3:54
10 /Song and Dance
Albert Lee/5:26
11 /Silver Mine (Bonus track)/3:44
12 /Warming Up The Band (Bonus track)/3:25
Pete Gavin/Drums, Percussion, Vocals, Backing Vocals
Albert Lee/Lead Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Backing Vocals
Ray Smith/Bass Guitar, Vocals, Backing Vocals
Chas Hodges/Bass Guitar, Fiddle, Banjo, Guitars, Vocals, Backing Vocals
Tony Colton/Vocals, Backing Vocals
Jerry Donahue/Backing Vocals, Backing Vocals Arrangements
Ray Osborne/Backing Vocals
Gerry Hogan/Steel Guitar On 4
REVIEW
by Lindsay Planer
Although the core personnel had been together in a variety of incarnations since the mid-'60s, most notable of which was the brilliant and criminally short-lived Poet & the One Man Band, Tracks (1972) was only the second long player from Heads Hands & Feet. The U.K. quintet of Pete Gavin (drums/vocals), Albert Lee (guitar/keyboards/vocals), Ray Smith (bass/guitar/vocals), Charles "Chas" Hodges (bass/guitar/violin/vocals), and front man Tony Colton (vocals) had gained significant notice stateside during a week-long residency at the Troubadour in Los Angeles after the release of their self-titled double-LP debut Heads Hands & Feet (1971). For their second outing, Tracks, they continue their quest for exceptionally crafted country-flavored material. They waste precious little time, as the fiery "Let's Get This Show on the Road" is a high-energy, good-time ode to the rigors and foibles of live performing and concert touring as exemplified in the chorus "Maybe I'll see Margo/Down in Chicago/And I've got a dancer down in New Orleans." Lee's multi-tasking musicianship is particularly noteworthy as his rollicking keyboard work on both acoustic piano and Hammond organ, coupled with the catchy, if not slightly twangy lead electric guitar lines, rhythmically tie the verses to the chorus. "Roadshow" demonstrates quite a different side to the band, examining Lee's capacity for emotive singer/songwriter balladry. His temperate vocals and melodic piano runs recall that of Jackson Browne or early folksy Tom Waits. Further demonstrating Heads Hands & Feet's wide-ranging musicality is "Hot Property." Remarkably, the combo fuses an energetic bluegrass-inspired instrumental introduction to a funk-driven melody that would not have been too out of place coming from southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd. Of equal (if not arguably greater) prowess is the downhome, organic "Jack Daniels," which returns the sound to a loose groove mirroring the Band's rural rockers "Up on Cripple Creek" or "Life Is a Carnival." Tracks...Plus (1996) reissues both the original ten-song platter with a pair of additional non-LP sides, "Silver Mine" and "Warming Up the Band."
BIOGRAPHY
by Steven McDonald
Following the dissolution of Poet and the One Man Band, Albert Lee (guitar), Pete Gavin (drums), Tony Colton (vocals) and Ray Smith (guitar) got together with Chas Hodges (bass, violin, vocals) and Mike O'Neill (keyboards) to form the country-influenced Heads, Hands and Feet and recorded a double album that had a great deal in common with the work of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and the Grateful Dead at that time. Their self-titled debut album, populated with guests from the folk and singer-songwriter scenes, was released as a double record in the U.S., but only as a single album in Europe. The record was very well regarded, with Lee's guitar work garnering attention.
Keyboardist O'Neill departed soon after the album's release, and the band proceeded to move away from country influences and towards rock. While the band was able to record and release Tracks to a certain amount of acclaim, internal strife caused continuing problems, splintering the band before the 1973 release of Old Soldiers Never Die, which marked the group's move to Atlantic Records. In 1996, See For Miles released Home From Home, a collection of recordings and demos made before the band's first label signing.
Albert Lee moved on to found the Albert Lee Band with Pete Gavin and Chas Hodges and eventually joined Eric Clapton's band. Chas Hodges later formed the duo Chas & Dave with Dave Peacock.
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