Savoy Brown Shake Down

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.

A massive, 2-disc compilation featuring cover versions of virtually every Peter Green song written during his Fleetwood Mac period, and a few drawn from his mid-80s solo period. While there are some weaker moments in this 39-track collection, the majority of the interpretations feature blues guitar, piano and vocal at their very best. Rather than simply pay tribute to Peter Green by faithfully imitating his material, the artists have chosen to re-interpret these songs and in most cases the results are superb. The power of Green's influence is felt all the more deeply when so many artists use his music as a jumping-off point. A must have item for blues guitar fans.

The This Is the Blues series from Eagle Records (there are four volumes thus far) features players from the late-'60s/early-'70s golden age of classic British blues-rock covering, for the most part, songs by Willie Dixon and John Lee Hooker, all drawn from a series of tribute albums originally produced by Peter Brown. The fact that everything on these volumes was overseen by the same producer means that there’s an unusual unity of sound throughout the series, and listening to these collections feels a bit like listening to concert recordings at some super all-star British blues festival. The lineup is impressive, including the likes of Jeff Beck, Mick Jagger, Rory Gallagher, Jack Bruce, former members of Foghat (Lonesome Dave Peverett, Rod Price), and Peter Green, who has several of his own songs also covered in the series…