Mighty Baby “A Jug Of Love”
After the release of their scorching debut, Mighty Baby drastically switched format and recorded this Dead/Airplane-influenced rural LP. Both are great records, but hardly by the same band.
The self-titled lead off track would get your attention first, it got mine enough to include it on the very first Rising Storm Podcast. This track, and the album overall, is loaded with vicious string bender guitar licks from either Alan King or Martin Stone (can anybody confirm?). Whether it’s a bender or not, Clarence White fans should take note for the onslaught of high-register fancy guitar pickin contained herein. My only complaint is the length of songs, tending to jam on a bit, however to those looking to soak in these type of sounds this is a dream. Besides, with a touch of class and some minor theatrics they manage to give noodling a good name.
Influences range from The Band on the grooving “Tasting The Life,” CSNY on mellow “Virgin Spring,” and Untitled Byrds all over. “Virgin Springs” is a song so familar it sounds like a cover, I just can’t find any evidence of an original version. In this case, along with “Slipstreams,” the album is responsible for at least two bonafide rural classics.
Jug of Love is what happens to a band after their rock break out leads them to Sufism and a jaded view of the music industry; always makes for an interesting sound! Check out Jason’s post on their s/t debut to compare this to the “sleek, powerful piece of psychedelia” that is Egyptian Tomb (updated link).
“Keep On Jugging”
CD Reissue | 2006 | Sunbeam | A Jug of Love
Original Vinyl | 1971 | Blue Horizon | search ebay ]
Spotify link | listen ]
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how ’bout something from Reg King’s solo album?
“Really nice” is the (awful) phrase that comes to mind. Mighty Baby played a lot of festivals at the beginning of the seventies and were always a treat, partly because, as you say, they did play very long songs that you could really get “into” (a certain timelessness that is rare these days is an abiding memory of those events). Everyone was always very relaxed ( this being before punk, of course). In 2008 I have to admit that “Egyptian Tomb” sounds justa touch more convincing but really nice is not to be sniffed at either. Thanks
The country guitar licks on the opening number etc is Martin Stone. His head was severely tweezed when the band saw the Burritos’ in Covent Garden during 1970. In fact they covered one of their songs ‘Lazy Day’ in their set – a sound recording of that tune exists from their Glastonbury 1971 set – it was broadcast on Radio Geronimo from Andorra (I believe) toward the end of the year. I think the best piece off the original 1971 LP is ‘Happiest man in the Carnival’ A note about the change of pace from debut of Nov 1969, and the last Lp; Oct 1971 – there is a photo of the band at the Coldham Common gig from July 1970. They are pictured with Fender amps, which they bought with their advance from Blue Horizon – so they had the deal well over a year before the Oct 1971 release – the significance of these amps is their ability to play quieter and to listen to what the others were playing, methinks well suited to their heads at that time.
Great tune! I have been looking for the tune House Without Windows by Mighty Baby for a long time. Any chance you could email it to me? liberty.lynch@gmail.com
Thanks! Great site!!!
It was our gig with the Byrds at Middle Earth wot made us get rid of the big old amps and speakers. All those bendy notes through little Fender amps was just too nice for words. Not sure who the Byrds line up was then. Roger Mcguinn and …….. Anyone know? How are you Deepinder?
Clarence White, no doubt, on his B-Bender guitar. Thanks for the comment, Ian, and the fine, fine music.
Ian:
The line-up was Roger McGuinn Chris Hillman Kevin Kelley Gram Parsons Doug Dillard
It was one of Grams last gigs, and the one at which he was introduced to the Rolling Stones.
There’s a very very hard to find bootleg of the gig titled ‘The Byrds Middle Earth London 1968 11th May 1968’. However, it’s easy to find the Gram Parsons double cd ‘Under your spell again’ (tracks 4-11 on cd 1) . Needless to say the sound quality is pretty bad.
los fceilito por el blog!gran posteo este tambien…hits y mas hits en este compilado!saludos y nos vemos x ahi