Kim Simmonds

Legendary British Blues Rock band Savoy Brown led by founding member Kim Simmonds, announces the release of their exciting new album, Ain't Done Yet, on Quarto Valley Records. The new album follows Savoy Brown's critically acclaimed 2019 album, City Night. "The new album continues the approach I've been taking with the band this past decade," says guitarist/singer/songwriter Kim Simmonds, who formed the band in 1965 in London, England, and is one of the longest running Blues Rock bands in existence. "The big difference with the new album is the multi-layer approach I took to recording the guitar parts. It's all blues-based rock music. I try to find new and progressive ways to write and play the music I've loved since I was a young teenager."

Shake Down is the debut studio album by the British blues rock band Savoy Brown. It was released in 1967 (on Decca SKL 4883) under the name of Savoy Brown Blues Band and is mainly an album of covers, featuring three songs penned by blues singer Willie Dixon. In addition to Dixon, the band covers John Lee Hooker and B.B. King. Savoy Brown (Originally, Savoy Brown Blues Band) are an English blues rock band formed by guitarist Kim Simmonds and harmonica player John O'Leary, in Battersea, south west London in 1965. Part of the late 1960s blues rock movement, Savoy Brown primarily achieved success in the United States, where they promoted their albums with non-stop touring. After leaving Savoy Brown, musicians became members of groups such as Yes, Fleetwood Mac, UFO and Foghat.

Except for founding leader/guitarist Kim Simmonds, this long-lived band's 2003 lineup bears no resemblance to the original British group formed in 1966. Still, Savoy Brown deserves credit simply for recording a respectable, even high-quality blues album over 35 years into its existence. Hot off a terrific solo acoustic release, 2001's Blues Like Midnight, a reinvigorated Simmonds signed with high-profile indie Blind Pig and churned out a classy set of smooth yet compelling electric blues. Not as soul-based as in the past, strains of funk ("(Hard Time) Believing in You"), R&B ("Can't Take It With You"), and rock ("When It Rains") help push the group beyond its lackluster and obscure efforts from the past decade. Savoy Brown was least successful when its muscular, amped-up boogie was forced and stilted; yet here the sound is warm and organic.

Vicksburg Call is Gogo's 14th release and is poised to add even more acclaim to an already impressive inventory. He's earned numerous accolades, including four JUNO nominations and multiple Maple Blues Awards. He has thousands of tour miles under his belt and has shared stages with Johnny Winter, B.B. King, Otis Rush, Albert Collins, Bo Diddley, ZZ Top, Buddy Guy, Charles Bradley, and many others. Undoubtedly a rockin' blues album, Vicksburg Call was recorded in a studio with a live, intimate atmosphere, which yielded an overall grittier sound with lots of feeling. Gogo was affected by the loss of some very influential blues legends and colleagues while creating this album, and the songs explore themes of love and loss, reconciliation, regret, acceptance and hope for new horizons.

Comprising the same lineup as Street Corner Talking, Savoy Brown released Hellbound Train a year later. For this effort, Kim Simmonds' guitar theatrics are toned down a bit and the rest of the band seems to be a little less vivid and passionate with their music. The songs are still draped with Savoy Brown's sleek, bluesy feel, but the deep-rooted blues essence that so easily emerged from their last album doesn't rise as high throughout Hellbound Train's tracks. The title cut is most definitely the strongest, with Dave Walker, Simmonds, and Paul Raymond sounding tighter than on any other song, and from a wider perspective, Andy Silvester's bass playing is easily Hellbound's most complimenting asset.