Mick Abrahams

A quirky detour of late-'60s British progressive/blues rock, Blodwyn Pig was founded by former Jethro Tull guitarist Mick Abrahams, who left Tull after the This Was album. Abrahams was joined by bassist Andy Pyle, drummer Ron Berg, and Jack Lancaster, who gave the outfit their most distinctive colorings via his saxophone and flute. On their two albums, they explored a jazz/blues/progressive style somewhat in the mold of (unsurprisingly) Jethro Tull, but with a lighter feel. They also bore some similarities to John Mayall's jazzy late-'60s versions of the Bluesbreakers, or perhaps Colosseum, but with more eclectic material. Both of their LPs made the British Top Ten, though the players' instrumental skills were handicapped by thin vocals and erratic (though oft-imaginative) material. The group were effectively finished by Abrahams' departure after 1970's Getting to This. They briefly reunited in the mid-'70s, and Abrahams was part of a different lineup that reformed in the late '80s; they have since issued a couple of albums in the 1990s.

"Radio Sessions '69-'71" is a Secret Record exclusive! When listening, it can be understood why Mick Abrahams left Jethro Tull in order to carry on the fantastic Blodwyn Pig. This album features previously unreleased, early live recordings from 1969 and 1970 featuring Mick Abrahams on guitar and vocals, Andrew Pyle on bass guitar, Jack Lancaster plays Saxes, Phoon Horn and violin with Ron Berg on drums. '69-71' is the classic period for Blodwyn Pig and sees them firing on all cylinders; reaching the UK Top 10 with each album release, being billed as a top live act alongside Small Faces and Santana and gaining the success that was due for such a talented band…

Long deleted DVD now re-released with a bonus instrumental CD from masterful Blues man Mick Abrahams.

Jethro Tull was a unique phenomenon in popular music history. Their mix of hard rock; folk melodies; blues licks; surreal, impossibly dense lyrics; and overall profundity defied easy analysis, but that didn't dissuade fans from giving them 11 gold and five platinum albums…

While audiophile editions of Thick as a Brick, Aqualung, Living in the Past, and A Passion Play are easily obtainable, Tull's very earliest albums have languished in substandard editions on CD for ten years. This triple-CD box from England, part of EMI's 100th Anniversary reissue series, rectifies the problem, featuring newly remastered versions of This Was, Stand Up, and Benefit, each packaged in a miniature re-creation of the original LP sleeve…