Kim Simmonds

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.

BGO rolls out this two-on-one set of two back-to-back Savoy Brown offerings. Raw Sienna, issued in March of 1970, was the last album to feature the great Chris Youlden, a fine songwriter and stunning blues singer. Only Eric Burdon is in his league among British singers of the era. His tunes, including "A Hard Way to Go," "I'm Crying," and "Needle and Spoon," are the clear standouts. The twin-guitar attack of Kim Simmonds and Lonesome Dave Peverett is also developed to its zenith here.

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.