May Blitz
(alongside
Rory Gallagher
's
Taste
) were among the first of the newly formed
hard rock
power trios to take up the challenge of
Cream
and the
Jimi Hendrix Experience
; that is, making the biggest possible noise with the smallest available lineup, but never losing sight of melody and finesse while they did so. Certainly anyone catching their early live show was guaranteed to leave with their ears ringing but their brainbox humming, and the band's debut album was a seamless reiteration of their in-concert impact, all the way down to the extended riffing and miniature solos.
's strongest point, in terms of audience recognition, was drummer
Tony Newman
, and fans of the
jazz
-inflected style that he injected into the
Jeff Beck Group
certainly won't be disappointed by what they find here -- indeed, with guitarist
James Black
beside him, it's not difficult to compare
to the
Beck
band's
Beck-Ola
, and find the better-known disc come up wanting every time. The epic
"Smoking the Day Away"
kicks things off in dynamic form, laying down the grinding, almost proto-metallic assault that was
's raison d'etre; later in the set,
"Dreaming,"
"Virgin Waters,"
and
"Squeet"
all howl with a vengeance that might sound a little old-fashioned today, but was breathtakingly fresh at the time. Even better is
"Fire Queen,"
which essentially blueprints the best parts of every
metal
act from
Judas Priest
to
the Cult
, except it doesn't hang around long enough to spoil the effect. Rather like
themselves, in fact. ~ Dave Thompson