Sharks, “Car Crash Supergroup” (Cherry Red)- The latest addition to Cherry Red’s seemingly never ending series of fascinating archive anthologies showcases the entire early seventies output of short lived British rock band Sharks. This impressive outfit were formed by Free bassist Andy Fraser after his departure from the “All Right Now” hitmakers in 1972, and found him joining forces with highly regarded session guitarist Chris Spedding, drummer Marty Simon and soulful vocalist Steve “Snips” Parsons to unleash a critically acclaimed debut album, “First Water” on an unsuspecting world a few months later. Fraser left the fold soon afterwards in the aftermath of a serious car accident and the reijigged outfit went on to record another excellent album, “Jab It In Yore Eye,” before finally giving up the ghost in 1974 after Island had shelved the follow up,”Music Breakout,” which is now available officially here for the very first time.
Return To Forever,”Musicmagic” (Floating World)-Return to Forever were one of the leading lights of the then highly influential jazz rock fusion movement during their creative heyday in the seventies, and this skilfully crafted 1977 offering was the last studio offering that they captured for posterity during the decade.Drummer Lenny White and guitarist Al DiMeola had already left the fold by this stage but founder members Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke still soldiered on regardless with a newly expanded line up, and although the finished product lacked some of the verve and confidence which had characterised their earlier commercially successful albums such as “Romantic Warrior” and “Where Have I Known You Before” the contents are still well worth investigating nonetheless.
Nikki O’Neill,”Stories I Only Tell My Friends” (Blackbird Record Label)- Inventive young singer-songwriters seem to be something of a dying breed on this side of the Atlantic but the situation couldn’t be more different in the U.S. of A., where gifted performers such as Nikki O’Neill seem to emerge on the scene with startling regularity. Chicago based R&B/Americana practitioner O’Neill marked her fairly recent relocation from Los Angeles to America’s Mid West by penning several deeply personal songs such as the acoustic “Newcomer Blues” which contrast sharply with the much more upbeat delights of “Drive” and “I Just Knew,” with lead guitarist Chris Corsale and keyboards ace Teddy Myers in sparkling form throughout.