DUCKS DELUXE
''THE JOHN PEEL SESSIONS''
FEBRUARY 20 2007
42:26
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1 Fireball 03:24
2 Coast To Coast 03:16
3 Pensacola Blues 03:27
4 Bring Back My Packard Car 03:38
5 Fireball 03:44
6 Dancing Beat 03:18
7 The Cannons Of The Boogie Night 05:28
8 It's All Over Now 02:25
9 Paris 9 03:16
10 Jumpin' In The Fire 03:54
11 Amsterdam Dog 03:28
12 Something's Going On 03:04
1-4 June 12 1973
5-8 April 23 1974
9-12 March 20 1975
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Martin Belmont/Guitar, Vocals
Nick Garvey/Bass Guitar, Vocals
Andy McMaster/Keyboards, Vocals
Tim Roper/Drums
Sean Tyla/Guitar, Vocals
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REVIEW/AMG
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
As pub rock excavations go, Hux's 2007 release of Ducks Deluxe's The John Peel Sessions is pretty major. Like all pub rockers, the stage was where the Sean Tyla-led quintet thrived, but there have been precious few live recordings of the band at its prime; the closest is the 1982 LP Last Night of a Pub Rock Band, but that has never been on CD and it didn't capture the original organ-less lineup of the group, which had a harder feel more reminiscent of Dr. Feelgood than the lineup that recorded the 1975 Taxi to the Terminal Zone. This lean, mean incarnation is captured on the first four songs of this 12-track comp, as they tear through the classics "Fireball" and "Coast to Coast" before settling into an easier groove for the previously unreleased "Pensacola Blues" (played quite a bit in the early days according to Nigel Cross' terrific liner notes, which also contain the revelation that guitarist Martin Belmont has no memory of the song) and the B-side "Bring Back My Packard Car." The fidelity on this early session is a bit rough -- Hux does not hide the fact that they couldn't find the original masters, and it's better to have this session in thin sound than not at all -- and the band sometimes sounds a little ragged but it's exciting, the closest thing yet to a document of what Ducks Deluxe sounded like at their early peak. The next two Peel sessions -- one from April 1974, one from March 1975 -- are the work of a band with a lighter, poppier touch, thanks in large part to the addition of keyboardist Andy McMaster, who helped bring Ducks much closer to the poppy sound of late-period Brinsley Schwarz. Tyla gripes about it a bit in the liners ("The pop stuff was crap -- it wasn't what we were about at all") but this lighter Ducks still could rock pretty hard, particularly on the last Peel session, which kicks off with a very good version of "Paris 9" and the sly, greasy "Jumping in the Fire," a song that's never shown up on CD before. And the poppier stuff -- best exemplified by the unheard "Dancing Beat," a silly pop tune powered by a mock Motown beat -- is still pretty fun, thanks partially to some good hooks but chiefly to the fact that Ducks Deluxe were simply an excellent, straight-ahead rock & roll band, one that seemed incapable of not having a good time -- and that's precisely the reason why the music on Peel Sessions still feels vibrant and alive, and why it's a necessary listen for any fan of pub rock.
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BIOGRAPHY/AMG
John Dougan
If the old scientific adage is true -- that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction -- then British pub rockers Ducks Deluxe were purely and simply a reaction. With the mid-'70s English pop scene dominated by glitter/glam rockers like Gary Glitter and Sweet or blustery, chops-heavy art rockers like Yes, Jethro Tull, and Genesis, then Ducks Deluxe represented none of the above. One of the first pub rock bands, the Ducks played basic American-style blues and boogie with remarkable panache and thorough disregard for the whims of the zeitgeist. They never were hugely popular, but the unpretentious, do-it-yourself, working-class attitude they and their contemporaries exuded (most notably seminal pub rockers Dr. Feelgood) influenced the English punk scene that was right around the corner. With friends like Dave Edmunds producing their records, the Ducks (guitarist/vocalist Sean Tyla, guitarist Martin Belmont, bassist Nick Garvey, and keyboardist Andy McMasters) came up with engaging, though not life-changing, records that celebrated the simple joys of rock & roll. Sure, much of it sounds like recycled Chuck Berry, but there's an infectious enthusiasm that the fan in you, who simply wants to hoist a pint of ale and hear some Little Richard, will love. Ironically, their biggest promotional boost in America, the Ducks Deluxe LP was released three years after they'd split up. This little bit of shift marketing came as a result of ex-Ducks going on to more prominent bands like the Motors, the Rumour, and the Tyla Gang. In 2007, the band reuinited to celebrate the 35th anniversary of their formation by playing some shows around Europe. Reinvigorated by touring, the band released Side Tracks and Smokers, their first full album of new material in over thirty years.
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