Stray Stray

London's Stray followed up an eclectic eponymous debut with more of the same on their 1971 sophomore effort, "Suicide", which of course was just dandy since "more of the same" on this occasion essentially entailed another imaginative melding of different musical genres under the broad, forgiving definition afforded by the progressive rock tag. As to the album's rather negative title, it didn't foreshadow a radical shift toward the quartet's pre-existing heavy rock tendencies (actually, more keyboards were the hot novelty here) so much as a reflection of these songs' darker overall mood when it came to their lyrics…

After two albums of inventive, unpredictable progressive hard rock, Stray kept chugging right along with their third album, Saturday Morning Pictures, which notably found guitarist and guiding force Del Bromham growing ever more obsessed with the latest synthesizer technology, although not to the point where gadgetry was crowding out his ever-dominant fretwork, or completely hijacking the band's analog roots. Rather, Bromham's ever-growing arsenal of synths and keyboards mostly added enriching nuances to some of the band's more adventurous material like "After the Storm," "Sister Mary," and "Move That Wigwam," featuring an odd mixture of country-fried harmonicas and Native American themes…

Stray - All In Your Mind: The Transatlantic Years 1970-1974 (2017) {4CD Box Set, Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 42607}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.70 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 607 Mb
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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.

2013's Rock This Town: The Collection marks the 35th anniversary of the formation of the Stray Cats. It features 23 tracks from the rockabilly trio – more than needed for most casual fans, but it's great for more dedicated fans of their most popular works, or those who want a deep mix of the best of the Cats in their random-play collection list…

Stray trod a fine line between hard rock, underground prog, and harmony-driven boogie. Mudanzas was their fourth album, released in May 1973. Its ambitious string & bass arrangements gave it a more commercial edge than their earlier releases, and it duly became their biggest selling album. This expanded edition includes a non-album b-side as a bonus track.

This amazing bargain is a coupling of Strays studio album 10 from 2001 and the live in your face album. 10 is a fabulous Rock album, over 60 minutes of organically produced tunes showing a creativeness and imagination that really capture their 70s hayday…

Stray is an English hard rock band formed in 1966. Vocalist Steve Gadd (born Stephen Gadd, 27 April 1952, Shepherd's Bush, West London), guitarist Del Bromham (born Derek Roy Bromham, 25 November 1951, Acton, West London), bass player Gary Giles (born Gary Stephen Giles, 23 February 1952, North Kensington, West London) and drummer Steve Crutchley (born 1952) formed the band whilst all were attending the Christopher Wren School in London. Richard "Ritchie" Cole (born 10 November 1951, Shepherd's Bush, West London) replaced Crutchley in 1968. They signed to Transatlantic Records in January 1970…