THE STEVE BROWN BAND - soul full of sin (1972-1974, uk)

gatefold sleevenotes by band members

Fmt: LP Ltd 500   sclp 017   5033281011378  

one of the greatest bands no ones heard of who are hereby rescued from slipping into the ether,

despite once being on the verge of a deal with Transatlantic and garnering a massive live following

in their native Newcastle Upon Tyne area during the early to mid seventies its only now that they

have their lp debut. a hard working live band that played alongside the greats, its unbelievable they

didnt have at least 3 lps released. starting as an underground folk singer then going the progressive

route, steve brown formed this outfit in 71 and they quickly developed a tight style of cool but

potent jazz rock, characterised by lengthy powerful instrumental breaks and sax, and infectious

beats. this lp pieces together what should have been a debut LP on Transatlantic from remaining

studio tapes and acetate sources and has good audio quality, the six tracks are pure killer, opening

with the masterpiece ‘Hitman’ which is sung first person from the point of view of an assassin for

hire, stone cold cool with a fantastic bassline and rhythm it conjurs up early seventies nihilistic

film and tv imagery such as The Sweeney, Dirty Harry and Michael Caine...the side then ends

with a genuine lost anthem in ‘Shine A Light’ which is epic and melancholic and should have had

stadiums of people lifting up their lighters. The lyrics are fab, and have a worldly wise quality about

them, another song is a paean to an english Pint (quite probably Newcastle Brown Ale), but utterly,

obscurely poetic, evoking the sense of peace and pleasure gained when sitting finally alone in a

tranquil environment and gazing in silent anticipation at a drink in front of ones person, it evokes

the pleasure that only comes with experience of hardship before that moment. this is a completely

pro band, with brilliant songs, and a unique style. Hitman and Shine A Light could easily achieve

staple late night radio play, and indeed thats when you want to hear this album, late night, in

contemplative serious mood. in 73 the band hit a bad patch, burnt out by extensive gigging, they

crashed their Transit Tour Van on a motorway, miraculously surviving with the Van straddling

central crash barriers and written off, police then took away their jamaican keyboard player and

imprisoned him on suspected illegal immigration reasons. management then tried to push the band

toward a mainstream direction and a single was issued of their worst ever tracks, we have enough

material restored for two lps, this is the first and its highly recommended. the LP is a genuine lost

classic and all 6 tracks are fab.