Millennium Collection – 20th Century Masters

11 blistering tracks from six albums by one of the most beloved of all British blues-rock bands! Includes their first two U.S. hits- I’m Tired and Tell Mama -plus Train to Nowhere; Louisiana Blues (live); A Hard Way to Go; Poor Girl ; the nine-minute Hellbound Train , and more!English blues-rock pioneers Savoy Brown may not have been as musically incendiary as Cream, as adventurous as the Yardbirds or as tastefully eclectic as Fleetwood Mac. But their stubborn perseverance (and that of founding guitarist Kim Simmonds) has made them one of the longest-lived rock bands ever, and–for better or worse–the spiritual inspiration of generations of hard-slogging bar bands the world over. This 11-track anthology culls the best of Brown’s ’69-’72 prime years, highlighted by their bluesy reworking of the Temptations “I Can’t Get Next to You,” the greasy-rhythmed epic “Hellbound Train,” and its lugubrious, primitive cousin, “Train to Nowhere.” The uneasy footing spawned by the band’s notorious personnel problems (guitarist Dave Peverett and drummer Roger Earl, who appear on the bulk of tracks here, went on to form fellow bar-gods Foghat) actually helped extend the expiration date of their obviously limited formula. The slide-guitar-driven “lost” classic “Tell Mama” is also ample testimony to the power of Savoy Brown when it slipped from its strict blues base and locked into a rollicking rock groove; few bar bands ever sounded so good. –Jerry McCulley