Blonde On Blonde
Britannia may have ruled in far off countries but they definitely lost their vision in the home territory, particularly with a Welsh group called Blonde on Blonde who were largely ignored. The first coloring of Blonde On Blonde comprised Les Hicks (drums), Gareth Johnson (guitar / sitar / lute) and Richard Hopkins (bass / piano / harpsichord / cornet / celeste / whistle), all former members of a blues outfit called The Cellar Set, who placed an ad in the Melody Maker for a vocalist. Enter Ralph Denyer from the soul group The Ralph Denyer Band who at one time played in SW4 with Tintern Abbey guitarist Paul Brett. Also to join was 12-string guitarist Simon Lawrence fresh from sessions with Al Stewart and Roy Harper. The name of the group was chosen in respect for Dylan’s landmark double album. Simon would later depart allowing the group to become a psychedelic embrace playing a part in the Magical Mystery Tour at London’s Middle Earth Club, alongside Traffic, Incredible String Band and Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Blonde On Blonde were England’s answer to Canada’s Mandala (Aardvark) elementary exposed when they supported Jefferson Airplane’s debut UK tour.
The group’s debut single “All Day, All Night” / “Country Life” was released through the Pye in 1968 until their Contrasts debut infiltrated the rock armament of the UK. Three tracks need to be noted the opening “Ride With Captain Max” which normally starts and finishes their stage performance, a magnificent arrangement of Lennon & McCartney’s “Eleanor Rigby” and the majestic “Jeannette Isabella”. The surging “Ride with Captain Max” fused with electric lead and acoustic displays urgent solos, highly toned and very fast.
The groups quasi-symphonic sound often resulted in the group doing two individual sets, one being acoustic and the other electric.The debut also sported Johnson’s eclectic sitar solo on “Spinning Wheel” and two Incredible String Band originals “No Sleep Blues” and the reverb ravaged “I Need My Friend”. In August 1970 they appeared with a revised line-up at the Isle of Wight Festival in front of 250.000 people. Ralph then left to form Aquila for his Prog opus Aquila Suite while replacement was ex Skid Row vocalist/ guitarist David Thomas. Skid Row often played during the Cellar Set intervals, but now Dave’s monumental vox gave the band inroads into the TV show Whatever What. The 1970 Rebirth album was really their psyche marvel spiralling with the galactic Thomas vox particularly the Moody Blues styled “Castles In The Sky” laced with spiralling lead breaks. Gareth Johnson’s sitar styled – crunching leadbreaks are phenomenal as he makes love to the instrumental “Colour Questions”, the opus Rebirth or exquisite “November”, a memory of the forests of Dean. Note the urgency as he wages war with drummer Leslie Hicks on “Broken Hours”, the first song he ever wrote. David Thomas has a vox of heaven towering like a God as he resides over “Heart Without A Home” keeping his stance aloof and superior as he intertwines amongst the fuzz rages. “Time Is Passing” is beautiful and stirs as it brings out the sensitive depth of Dave Thomas. “Castles In The Sky” was released as a taster on seven inch backed by the high riffing “Circles”. The album ends with the progressive “You’ll Never Know Me” and Part 2 “Release”.
After the album was launched future Rooster Brothers Graham Davies replaced Richard Hopkins on bass and took uneventful lead vox for their third Reflections On A Life which lacked substance even though well chomped on “The Rut”. Supporting The Doors and Hendrix the group never failed to impress….Dave Thomas followed his first love and joined blues band Double Trouble and then The Diplomatics for seven years with a residency at The Station Tavern.