Search - GUN :: Gunsight

A Band of Brothers and the Birth of the Power Trio

T. Pettit | Portland, OR United States | 07/09/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This second effort from the Gurvitz brothers shines. The opening track, Head In The Clouds, stuck me at the time to be one of the most effective uses of stereo recording - try it with headphones. Angeline was the song I listened to the most - a Stairway To Heaven type construction with a ripping break. This Repertoire release also contains two non-LP singles, Don't Look Back and Runnin Wild, both evidence that the band was working on refining its style, mixing power trio riffing with tight radio friendly tracks. They perfected this with their next band, Three Man Army. Get Three Man Army's Soldiers of Rock anthology. Although nothing on this CD quite hits the originality and power of Race With The Devil from their debut LP, Gun remain one of the most original power trios to emerge.



Before Gun, there was the Knack & Londoners, more pop & mod than power and gives you some insight into the Gurvitz boys and things to come. Look for their transitional track, Lights On The Wall, that stands up there with period classics like 14 Hour Technicolor Dream etc. Paul Gurvitz subsequently did a couple of solo LPs out but his very best, Gurvitz-Parrish remains unreleased, a great collaboration with guitarist Brian Parrish (Badger). Adrian Gurvitz, post Baker Gurvitz Army headed for LA, wrote songs for REO and Whitney Huston and put out a series of solid solo efforts, the most balanced of which remains Classic - a mix of ballads and a couple of almost Gunlike rockers with riffs that take you back to the power trio days.



This band of brothers is worth exploring further."

Heavy late-60s psychedelic rock

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 05/31/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Before joining with Cream's Ginger Baker to form The Baker-Gurvitz Army, the Gurvitz brothers (Adrian and Paul), working under their real last name (Curtis) teamed with drummer Louis Farrell in this late-60's heavy-psych-metal band. This second (and last LP) for Epic was waxed in 1969 and mostly stripped away the string section of the debut. What's left is a roaring power-trio (not unlike Cream, actually) with Gurvitz's guitar skittering all over, around and through the heavy rhythm section. Ten original compositions include the dobro-meets-Marshall-amp blues "Drown Yourself in the River," the Flamenco-tinged "Lady Link," and the acoustic "Oh Lady You." A little known, but highly listenable artifact of 1969."