Strider - Exposed (2007)

Strider released two albums in 1973 and '74 respectively. 1973's "Exposed" is a lost gem of an album and deserves attention. They played an excellent brand of Hard Rock/Blues in line with Status Quo, Deep Purple, Humble Pie, and Free. Their legacy post-Strider far out lived their brief carreer as a band. The record hit the shops in the prolific period of February, 1973, It mirrored much of what was changing about blues based rock. Humble Pie was moving into the mainstream with "Smokin'", Foghat just released their debut with the Willie Dixon penned "I Just Wanna Make Love to You" getting serious airplay on the FM dial, and Zeppelin was still burning from the "Zoso" release. Most notable was what the Rolling Stones left with "Exile on Mainstreet" permeating every record for the next two years.
Strider took their best club show and committed it to 40 minutes of vinyl. They were a tight R&B band with a biting guitar sound.
Where other bands were dousing their audience with American standard Blues/Rock, Strider was blasting R&B tunes. Of the seven songs of their debut, two of them were R&B classics. Jackie Wilsons "Higher and Higher", and the Temptations "Get Ready." The later becoming a stoned out jam with some searing guitar melee closing down the second side.Ian Kewley (vocals, keyboards) wrote on the liner notes, "I think we should have started with the second album, then we'd have been better prepared for this one" But peole loved the grit of the first one and it landed them openeing tour slots with the Faces, and Rory Galagher. "Flying" was definitely the bands signature song.
However, with the release of their second L.P., The band had reached their plateau. Rod Stewart was to grab up their guitar player before embarking on a solo career in the U.S., other members would start The Babys w/Jon Waite, and go on to play with Roger Daltry and John Entwistle.