So Many Roads: Cherry Red, Esoteric Collect Climax Blues Band's Early Albums on New Box Set

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The Climax Chicago Blues Band didn't begin life in America's Windy City, but rather in Stafford, England. Colin Cooper, Peter Haycock, Arthur Wood, Derek Holt, Richard Jones, and George Newsome bonded over their love of Chicago-style blues, and in 1969, the group released its first album on the Parlophone label. The self-titled LP featured classic blues from Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Bill Broonzy, and Big Joe Turner but also made room for Lee Hazlewood country-folk (The Shacklefords' "A Stranger in Your Town") and a Scott Joplin rag ("The Entertainer," years before Marvin Hamlisch adapted it into a pop smash). That eclectic spirit guided the band through its first years, and now, those early albums have been collected on a new 5-CD box set from Cherry Red's Esoteric Recordings imprint. The Albums 1969-1972 collects expanded editions of the first five LPs from the group billed as The Climax Chicago Blues Band, Climax Chicago, and, finally, The Climax Blues Band.

Part of the vanguard of the British blues boom that also included the original Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and even Led Zeppelin, Cream and the Rolling Stones, The Climax Chicago Blues Band recorded its first album at Abbey Road under the auspices of budding producer Chris Thomas for George Martin's AIR production company. Geoff Emerick was among its engineers. CCBB was recorded in just two days and largely based on the group's well-honed live stage routine. The Climax Chicago Blues Band emphasized the blues part of the blues-rock equation, though the heavier tracks like "And Lonely" certainly fit the bill for blues-rock. This edition, reprised from a 2013 reissue, has a full complement of seven bonus tracks including alternate takes of "Don't Start Me Talkin'," "You've Been Drinking" and "And Lonely" and outtakes of four other songs including Sonny Boy Williamson's "Checking On My Baby" and T-Bone Walker's torrid "Stormy Monday."

Before the band recorded its sophomore outing Plays On later in 1969, there were a couple of key behind-the-scenes changes. Personnel-wise, Richard Jones left the band to be replaced by Anton Farmer. And name-wise, the group dropped "Chicago," reportedly at the urging of management affiliated with America's Chicago Transit Authority...who, in turn, would later drop the Transit Authority at the urging of the city government of Chicago. Plays On picked up where its predecessor left off in one key way: Chris Thomas was once again manning the desk at Abbey Road. This time, though, the music was even more eclectic. Group composition "Mum's the Word," the original Side One closer, drew its influence not from Chicago blues but from "Also Sprach Zarathustra," and a stab at Ray Bryant's "Cubano Chant" channeled a Latin flavor, à la Santana. Touches of jazz, progressive rock and boogie-woogie mark Plays On as among the rechristened Climax Blues Band's finest accomplishments, with six of its nine tracks co-written by the bandmates. It cracked the lower reaches of the U.S. Billboard chart at No. 197 and helped solidify the group's fame; Esoteric's reissue (first released in 2013) appends a non-LP single ("Like Uncle Charlie" b/w "Loving Machine"), an early mix of album opener "Flight" and the outtake "Dance of the Mountain King's Daughter."

1970's A Lot of Bottle found the band both pursuing and eschewing the more expansive direction introduced on Plays On. Still signed to AIR, the group was shifted to EMI's progressive-rock Harvest label, but the sound was once again more explicitly rooted in the blues, as on the debut record. Yet, like Plays On, A Lot of Bottle was almost entirely written by the group, making room only for covers of Willie Dixon's "Seventh Son" and Muddy Waters' "Louisiana Blues." Chris Thomas returned as producer, this time recording at AIR's own facility. A gentle acoustic opening song, "Country Hat," showed one direction the band might have pursued, while "Brief Case" emphasized an instrument atypical to the blues, a saxophone, in its arrangement. "Alright Blue?" turned attention to the more expected harmonica, and the Muddy Waters cover even took in country influences. "Reap What I've Sowed" was heavy guitar rock complete with a majestic Haycock solo. Esoteric adds three previously unreleased tracks to the original album from a 1971 show at London's Blow-Up Club: "Flight," Seventh Son" and "Reap What I've Sowed."

1971's Tightly Knit, perhaps the band's finest album from this period, features eight original band compositions out of nine tracks - with Robert Johnson's "Come on in My Kitchen" a solid cover choice. Haycock earned his progressive credentials with his guitar work on the epic "St. Michael Blues," while the band again displayed their diversity with a couple of country-rock originals, "Shoot Her if She Runs" and "Little Link." Three bonus tracks have been added here, as on Esoteric's previous standalone reissue; all are from the Blow-Up show. The final album in the box set, Rich Man, set the stage for the next chapter of the group's career as it juxtaposed heavy blues-rock with a lighter, more pop-centric approach. The single version of the album's "Mole on the Dole" has been added as a bonus cut.

The Climax Blues Band had its commercial breakthrough with 1975's Stamp Album, and the following year's Gold Plated yielded the band's most enduring hit, the surprisingly smooth "Couldn't Get It Right." The central trio of Haycock, Cooper and Holt remained intact through 1983. Cooper stayed with the band until his death from cancer in 2008, but a new line-up continues to maintain the spirit of the original group. The box set features Ben Wiseman's remasters, and each album is housed in an individual mini-LP replica sleeve. While there isn't a booklet included, a foldout poster features album credits on one side. Later this month, Esoteric will present the next chapter of the Climax Blues Band story on The Albums 1973-1976. In the meantime, you can order this chronicle of the band's early years at the links below. (It's available now in the U.K. and on Friday, July 5, in North America.)

Climax Blues Band, The Albums 1969-1972 (Cherry Red/Esoteric ECLEC 52679, 2019) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1: The Climax Chicago Blues Band (Parlophone PCS 7069, 1969)

Mean Old World
Insurance
Going Down This Road
You've Been Drinking
Don't Start Me Talkin'
Wee Baby Blues
Twenty Past One
A Stranger in Your Town
How Many More Years
Looking For My Baby
And Lonely
The Entertainer
Checking On My Baby
Arthur's Boogie
Stormy Monday
Don't Start Me Talkin' (Take One)
Anybody's Boogie
You've Been Drinking (Take One)
And Lonely (Take One)

Tracks 13-19 originally previously unreleased, first issued on Esoteric ECLEC 2373, 2013

CD 2: Plays On (Parlophone PCS 7084, 1969)

Flight
Hey Baby, Everything's Gonna Be All Right, Yeh Yeh Yeh
Cubano Chant
Little Girl
Mum's the Word
Twenty Past Two/Temptation Rag
So Many Roads
City Ways
Crazy 'Bout My Baby
Like Uncle Charlie
Loving Machine
Dance of the Mountain King's Daughter
Flight (First Mix)

Tracks 10-11 from Parlophone single R-5809, 1969
Tracks 12-13 originally previously unreleased, recorded June 1969, first issued on Esoteric ECLEC 2374, 2013

CD 3: A Lot of Bottle (Harvest SHSP 4009, 1970)