Fanny - Rock and Roll Survivors & Rock and Roll Survivors Live Opera 1974

In 1973, shortly after the release of their fourth album, Mother’s Pride, two of Fanny’s four members left the group.  They were replaced by Patti Quatro (big sister of Suzi) on guitars and vocals and Brie Brandt (originally Berry), who had been a member of the pre-Fanny band The Svelts, on drums.  This new lineup, rounded out by original members Jean Millington on bass and vocals and Nickey Barclay on keyboards and vocals, released one more album Rock and Roll Survivors before calling it a day.  Newly remixed and remastered, the album has now been reissued in a deluxe version containing three live bonus covers and a previously unreleased live recording of their Rock And Roll Survivors Live Opera.  While it’s definitely not their strongest record and has a few weaker cuts, Rock and Roll Survivors is still quite a good album and even contained what would end up being their highest charting track with “Butter Boy, which hit number twenty-nine on the US charts.  It is a catchy, somewhat poppier song, with doo wop vocals and even fingersnaps that was written by Jean Millington and was inspired by her relationship with David Bowie.  Another high point is the title track, which opens the album, and is a solid pop-tinged rocker with some slower interludes that has a touch of soul and strings.  “Rockin’ (All Nite Long)” is a hard rocker driven by fuzzy guitars, driving drums and Deep Purple-ish organ, and “Get Out Of The Jungle” is a solid rock tune with a bit of a bluesy side.  Opening with a funky bass and then kicking in with a sultry vocal from Quatro, “Beggar Man” continues with a slow burning funk groove.  As they had done with all their preceding albums, this one includes several covers.  Their completely rearranged take on “Let’s Spend The Night Together” is a funkier version with some great honky tonk piano, but at the end of the day is one of their weaker covers.  As for “Sally Go ‘Round The Roses,” an often-covered song that was originally a 1963 one-hit wonder for the Jaynetts, they give their version their own stamp, but it still has a bouncy pop sound that isn’t too far removed from the original.  Lastly is “I’ve Had It, which was the album’s first single and hit number seventy-nine on the charts.  Originally a doo wop song released by The Bell Notes in 1958, in their hands it becomes more of a glam rock song.  Disc one closes out with three covers recorded live by the new lineup at the Whiskey-A-Go-Go on New Year's Eve in 1974.  Although it’s unfortunate that these recordings are a little rough, they show just how strong the band was when they played live. All three songs (“Back In My Arms Again,” “Young and Dumb” and “Oh Darling) have a raw, muscular sound that honestly would’ve been nice to hear more of on the studio album.  

As for the second disc in this set, it contains a previously unreleased recording of the Rock and Roll Survivors Live Opera.  It was recorded on an in-venue cassette machine during their 1974 US tour and is the only surviving copy from that tour.  They wanted their performances to have more substance, so the show was a combination of songs (many that were never released) and scripted sections with full staging and costumes.  As with the live covers on disc one, it once again shows the band firing on all cylinders live, and the songs come across heavier and muscular (a handful of the songs are from Rock and Roll Survivors and they are far less pop than the album versions).  It would have been interesting to see where they went from here and to hear studio versions of the new tracks, but luckily they were at least preserved on these live tracks.  It should be said that the recordings are again a little rough, but are very listenable, sounding like a good bootleg.  

(Cherry Red Records)