The Byron Band - On The Rocks ... Again

From 1969 to 1976 Uriah Heep released ten albums with David Byron as lead vocalist (he also released a solo album in 1975).  Next up he recorded one eponymous album with the short-lived blues rock band Rough Diamond whose membership included former Colosseum and Humble Pie guitarist Clem Clempson and former Wings drummer Geoff Britton.  In 1978 he released his second solo album, which was co-written and co-produced by pop artist Daniel Boone, and was a shift in direction with its more synth heavy sound and tracks running the gamut from pop and rockabilly to glam and disco.  After signing with the reggae label Creole Records, he and Boone co-wrote his next single “Every Inch Of The Way”.  Boone was also working with Robin George at the time and suggested he should mix it (George would go on to have success as a solo artist, worked with Phil Lynott on his final works and collaborated in various projects with Sean Harris, Glenn Hughes, Pete Way and Spike).  After a successful meeting they started working together which resulted in the formation of The Byron Band and their one album On The Rocks, which is the focus of this new three-CD box set.  The remaining members of the band were Mel Collins (Camel, King Crimson) on sax, Bob Jackson (Badfinger) on keyboards, Roger Flavelle on bass and John Shearer on drums.  In addition to the album, this box set includes the aforementioned non-album single, tracks recorded for a proposed second album, writing demos, recordings from a rehearsal session and a live performance recorded in Liverpool in 1980.

The album opens strongly with “Rebecca”, a straight-ahead rocker with a hint of honky-tonk tinged blues, and the sleazy blues rock of “Bad Girl”. “How Do You Sleep”, at just under six minutes, is one of the album standouts and really showcases the band’s musicianship.  It has a lot of dynamics, shifting between slower kind of taut and dark sections, heavier, really powerful sections, and mellower, almost ballad-like sections with great guitar work from George and some really nice horn accents.  Following the soulful, laid-back “Little By Little” is “Start Believing”, which starts with some really catchy guitar from George, leading into a rocker with a bit of a funk beat.  It has a super infectious groove and the guitar work, as always, is top notch with some nice keyboard accents and a little sax.  The next two cuts are the album’s weakest.  “Never Say Die” is pretty much a standard midtempo AOR track with a bit of a boogie woogie beat, while “King” is a bit quirky with lyrics that are almost novelty and simplistic.  Having said that it has some great guitar work that shows glimmers of what was to come on George’s debut solo album a few years later.  Closing the album is the killer epic tune “Piece Of My Love”, which opens with a two-minute instrumental section that’s kind of dreamy with elements of jazz and blues and a mournful horn, then shifts into a solid bluesy rocker with a boogie woogie beat.  The first disc also includes seven bonus tracks starting with the straight-ahead Eighties rocker “Fool For A Pretty Face” and the outstanding, extremely catchy, hard-charging rocker “Safety In Numbers”.  It’s a shame this latter track never got released, because it has hit written all over it.  “One Minute More” is a slightly bluesy power ballad, with a hint of “Free Bird” at times, that really showcases Byron’s vocals.  “Every Inch Of The Way”, the aforementioned single that led to the meeting of Byron and George, is included here in the single version as well as a longer version, and is a bouncy boogie-woogie tune with some great honky tonk piano.  The single’s flipside was “Routine”, which is really quite unlike anything else they did and is personally one my favorites.  It’s a crazy, offbeat track driven by a massively infectious beat, blasting horns, stellar guitar from George (including some sounding like sirens), layered vocals and harmonies and more.  Why this was relegated to the b-side of a one-off single is beyond me.  Another b-side (this one for their “Rebecca” single) is “Tired Eyes,” a gorgeous ballad that’s primarily Byron’s vocals accompanied by George’s acoustic guitar.  

Disc two is devoted to the demos that were recorded for what was intended to be their second album.  The first six are full band demos recorded at DJM Studios in London.  Alongside great sounding takes of three of the songs that are bonus tracks on disc one (“Fool For A Pretty Face”, “Safety In Numbers” and “One Minute More”) are the heavy on the funk rocker “Learn The Dance” and the straight-ahead rock of “I Need Love”.  There is also a demo of “Bad Girl”, a song that was included on the On The Rocks.  The second half of the disc contains songwriting demos, written at David’s house, that are largely just over or under a minute, and are just him on vocals and Robin on acoustic guitar, along with the occasional studio banter (a handful of them only exist in these short snippets). They give an interesting insight into the basic foundation of what can be heard elsewhere here in its entirety.  

Rounding out the box set on disc three are a couple of live recordings. First up is a rehearsal from 1981 that was recorded on a tape recorder so they could listen to their progress before going on tour.  While it definitely sounds more like a bootleg, considering it was recorded on a tape recorder, the sound quality is really good and stands up to repeat listens.  Along with two cuts from the first album, and a couple more that were demo’d for the second, are “Goodnight Blues” and “Last Chance Jam”, which don’t appear elsewhere.  The other live set was recorded in Liverpool in 1980 and along with four On The Rocks tracks contain Uriah Heep’s “July Morning” and “Sweet Lorraine” (both of which sound great with this band), the previously unheard “Liverpool Blues” and a cover of “Roll Over Beethoven”.  Byron’s vocals are in fine form, the band sounds great and along with the crowd it sounds like everyone had a fantastic time.  As with the first set, the recording is a little rough, but really quite good considering it’s not professional.  The disc closes with “Angelsong”, a touching, very melancholy song that Robin originally released in 1985 and said was a tribute to Byron, Phil Lynott, and other musicians with whom he’d collaborated over the years.  Also included is a very informative booklet with a lot of insight from Robin about his time working with David.  Sadly, David passed away in 1985 from alcohol related complications and Robin left us just a few months ago in April.  

(HNE Recordings)