Savoy Brown Featuring Kim Simmonds - The Savoy Brown Collection (1993)

Savoy Brown and the finger wizardry of Kim Simmonds unleashed some of the smoothest and most mesmerizing rock & roll of the 1970s. Their ingenious blend of contented blues and hard-edged rock resulted in some wholesome yet somewhat bypassed guitar music. The Savoy Brown Collection is a two-disc compilation that takes their best tunes from 14 different albums and presents the listener with a sufficient amount of material that never becomes tiresome. Some of the meatier material comes from 1971's Street Corner Talking, like the ultra-smooth "I Can't Get Next to You" and Willie Dixon's "Wang Dang Doodle." Equally impressive is the haunting "Poor Girl" or the desperate guitar cry of "Leavin' Again," both from the sensational Looking In album. The real treasures are the lone tunes taken from some of their lesser-known albums. "I'm Tired," from A Step Further, emanates pathos through instrumentation, while "Stranger Blues" is a startling example of prime guitar manipulation. Early material from albums like Shake Down and Blue Matter have former lead singer Chris Youlden at the helm, who departed before the Looking In album, replaced by Lonesome Dave Peverett who later formed Foghat. Overshadowed by bands like the Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin, Savoy Brown didn't get the acclaim they actually deserved. Rightfully so, the words "Featuring Kim Simmonds" are underneath the title of this two CD set, since his craftsmanship is truly the heart of this talented band. Everything that is even the least bit important from this group is strewn across this compilation.(Mike DeGagne)