Make Your Mind Up

Stray - All In Your Mind: The Transatlantic Years 1970-1974 (2017) {4CD Box Set, Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 42607}
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© 1970-74, 2017 Esoteric Recordings / Cherry Red | ECLEC 42607
Rock / Blues Rock / Prog Rock / Psychedelic Rock

2017 four CD set anthologizing all the recordings made by the legendary Stray for Transatlantic Records between 1970 and 1974. Formed in 1966 by West London musicians Del Bromham (lead guitar, vocals), Steve Gadd (vocals), Gary Giles (bass) and Steve Crutchley (drums). Crutchley soon departed the band and was replaced by Richie Cole. By August 1968 and whilst aged only 15 or 16 years old, they had begun to make a name for themselves on the Underground music scene in London, performing at legendary venues such as The Roundhouse and Middle Earth.

Peter Thorup, a well-known Danish blues-rock musician, gained an international reputation because of his cooperation with blues icon Alexis Korner in New Church, CCS and Snape in the early '70s. After he dispended his first band The Beefeaters in 1969, Thorup was helped by some old friends from famous Danish groups Young Flowers, Burning Red Ivanhoe, The Beefeaters, and Rainbow Band to record Wake Up Your Mind in February and March 1970. Thirteen titles were recorded of which 7 found its way in 1970 on the Philips-released album Wake Up Your Mind. The music was not restricted to just blues-rock and consequently this release had a much wider appeal, as the rest of Peter Thorup's efforts. The album reflects the musicians' good reputation and it is rather a band project than a solo effort. Fantastic guitar playing by Peter Thorup and Peer Frost (Young Flowers), gorgeous vocals by P.T. and Ole Fick (Burning Red Ivanhoe), excellent organ work by Morten Kjaerumgard and impressive flute and sax playing by Bent Hesselmann (Maxwells, Rainbow Band/Midnight Sun) define this real killer. A must-have.

Up Your Mind is the American debut by soul-blues singer/songwriter Ellis Hooks. Originally hailing from Mobile, AL, he was an itinerant musician, scrambling and scuffling across the globe, often as a busker. His debut album, Undeniable, garnered a slew of attention on the other side of the Atlantic and has afforded him the notoriety and critical acclaim to play the Montreux Jazz Festival and the esteemed Poretta Festival in Italy. Hooks resides in New York and is remaking music in his own image by using and fusing traditional elements from soul, rock, and the Mississippi Delta played in a direct, gritty manner. Hooks doesn't sift and he doesn't blend, he sculpts and shapes, leaving the rough grain on the surface to admire. Hooks and veteran producer Jon Tiven offer a streetwise, passion-filled toughness in their deep, sensual mix. Hooks has a voice that owes a great debt to Otis Redding first and Wilson Pickett second (who Tiven produced for many years), and an approach in his songwriting that is eclectic, knotty, and groove-solid.