In certain circles at least, Adrian Gurvitz is renowned, legendary even, for his work with the Gun, Baker Gurvitz Army and The Graeme Edge Band and for his hit ‘Classic’. For those unfamiliar, and likely under a certain age, he’s been in the music industry for decades. As his bio outlines, Adrian was ‘born into a musical environment – Gurvitz’s father was the tour manager for Cliff Richard and the Shadows as well as the Kinks – Adrian started playing guitar at the age of eight and by age 15 he was touring in bands and had his first major hit with his band, the Gun, aged 18. ‘Race with the Devil’ released as a single in October 1968 reached the top 10 on the UK Singles Chart and went on to become a big hit in many European countries. Jimi Hendrix quoted the song’s riff during his song ‘Machine Gun’ at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970.
Nine years in the making, his 8th solo album is certainly appropriately-titled. And it’s the kind of album you rarely hear anymore. The album’s elven songs are solid, largely mid-tempo, reflective, and immaculately produced. There’s some deft guitar work along the way, and a lot of attention to detail, with fleeting moments that hint at Bowie and Pink Floyd in terms of delivery, arrangement and overall vibe.
Listening to this, it’s hard not to feel that something has been lost along the way. I’m not one of those old sods who bemoans how there’s been no decent new music in donkeys, but in the age of streaming and downloads, there certainly tends to be less interest in certain aspect of arrangement and production. Something about this reminds me of hearing Robbie Robertson’s ‘Somewhere Down the Crazy River’ on the top 40 on Radio 1. It was 1987, and taken from his solo debut, Robertson was already long-established as a collaborator, and was 44. How many 44-year olds would make a top 40 singles chart debut now? And charts, what charts? These are all examples of the things which have been lost.
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Forty years ago, ‘Blood Sweat & Years’, with its musical craftsmanship, understated but technically faultless playing, and songs of experience likely to appeal to a more mature audience would have been huge. And when I say a ‘mature’ audience, thinking of my own childhood, I mean people my parents’ age, who were in their 30s at the time. ‘Blood Sweat & Years’ sounds like a time capsule to the mid 80s, but also alludes to vintage Bowie, and a time of classic rock in the truest sense.
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