Back Door - Vienna Breakdown
Back Door- Vienna Back Door – Vienna Breakdown (The Recording 1971 – 1976) Progressive Voyages PV 013
Back Door have almost invariably faded from even the most ardent music fans minds or memories, especially as their impact as a band was largely overlooked at the time. Despite making three individually unique albums that saw the light of day in those years.
Yet despite this there is a remnant of folks who will revel in this rather splendid and most comprehensive overview of this somewhat ground breaking jazz Rock trio as it is full of unreleased tracks and sessions. Which all add weight to the claim that they were really something unique for their time.
Back Door were formed in Redcar when bass player Colin Hodgkinson met saxophonist Ron Aspery to start playing together in a band in Redcar, it was to be the start of a long and fruitful partnership.
They were joined by drummer Tony Hicks and began what became known as Back Door.
The trio gelled well together creating a new take on a trio format mixing Jazz and Blues influences without either a lead guitarist or organist to make something altogether different.
They headed to Impulse studios in Wallsend (Newcastle Upon Tyne ) to record a demo tape in order to garner a record contract.
However they received endless rejections as their music was deemed unsuitable due to the lack of guitars and indeed the absence of a lead singer.
It was at this point that the owner of The Lion Inn at Blakely Ridge offered to fund fresh recordings for the group whose residency at the pub had made such an impression on him Landlord Brian Jones.
He believed in the band and told them to hire a studio and he would foot the bill. So with his support the band headed to Regent Sound studios in Soho London and laid down the 13 tracks without any overdubs being required, mixed them the next day in just 4 hours that became their self-released debut album One they sold over the bar at their gigs at the Lion inn. they then returned up north. Those recordings are featured on the first cd of this set and are called Back Door also included are those first impulse studio sessions offering a more spontaneous version of Back Door
Things improved rapidly for the band after securing a support slot with Chick Corea at Ronnie Scott’s club in Soho. In November 1972 and securing management from Alexis Korner after which they were signed by Warner Brothers within self-released album being re-released by the major label in 1973 their contract was for three albums initially.
The music is most definitely unique and the interaction between the three members is astonishing, with a very versatile and unique bass often taking centre stage the innovative sax of Ron Aspery and the precision drumming of Tony Hicks helping to contain everything neatly this is Jazz Rock as you’ve never heard it before! This all being years before Stanley Clarke and Jaco Pistorius were on the scene.
Their second album 8th Street nights was recorded at Electric Lady land studios in New York with former Cream producer Felix Pappalardi. This edition of the album is offered in its original form and has no bonus tracks whatsoever, that said it is still another vital part of the Back Door experience, in fact apart from the extended debut album each of the other three albums are like this.
So what actually does make this a worthwhile release is the extended debut and the previously unreleased Back Door At The BBC sessions album which pulls together all 21 tracks taken from sessions the band did for various radio shows for Bob Harris in 1973 (one of 5 tracks the other being 4 tracks) along with a 7 track “In Concert” set from 1973 and then finally with a John Peel 5 song session from 1974.
It is these sessions that are the real draw as they show the band in their playing i.e playing their music. The live show is especially worthwhile as it offers a totally new way to hear this exceptional band performing live for an audience. Especially when the covers some blues standards from Robert Johnson and Lead Belly along with their own compositions, this shows their crossover point between Jazz and Blues, all the more Astonishing when you consider there are only three of them making the music, some exceptionally tight playing between the trio with bass and horns playing complex melody lines in harmony together.
This particular album is for me at least the best representation of what Back Door were all about and it is wonderful to hear them firing on all cylinders here, a very unique band with a highly individual sound totally unlike any other band before or even indeed since. Bass players listen with envy and wonder to this remarkable set of music and skill.
Info here: Back Door- Vienna Breakdown – The Recordings 1971 - 1976, Remastered 5CD Box Set https://share.google/tQ8Od6vU0Nl9pXUMsDoor: Vienna Breakdown – The Recordings 1971 – 1976, Remastered 5CD Box Set https://share.google/tQ8Od6vU0Nl9pXUMs
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