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(Originally finalized on April 28, 2024)
Preface: If you listen to British rock bands from the early '70s, you might notice that a lot of them have released CDs of material recorded for the BBC. As I explained on my own college radio show almost twenty(!) years ago, British radio limited airplay (called "needle time") for popular records in the misguided belief that if people could just turn on the radio and hear their favorite songs any time they want, they wouldn't go out and buy the records. So, to get around this restriction (and compete with pirate radio stations), the BBC got into the habit of bringing bands in to perform exclusively for broadcast. As a result, we have some pretty cool recordings of many prominent bands reworking their own songs, covering other bands' songs, generally trying out new things, or otherwise doing what they did best - all in a relaxed and creatively supportive atmosphere. Shall we listen to some of it?
Monday: The Who - Shakin' All Over [BBC Sessions, this track recorded 1970]
Comments: As the story goes, The Guess Who made waves early on with a cover of Shakin' All Over, originally by Johnny Kidd & The Pirates. But people would get the band's name confused, and habitually request the song at The Who's concerts, so they gave in and started playing it, too. I think The Who's version sounds great, and this rendition even mixes in a little bit of Spoonful (penned by Willie Dixon, performed by Howlin' Wolf, and popularized by Cream) at the end - a live flourish that many other bands of the era also picked up.
Tuesday: Cream - Steppin' Out [BBC Sessions, this track recorded 1968]
Comments: Speaking of the Cream! I think one of the things I like about BBC Sessions is that they capture the energy of a live performance, but with the clean sound of a studio recording. The songs are tight but loose (to borrow a phrase from Led Zeppelin's playbook), with crunchy guitars and frequently extended solos. Here, Eric Clapton pulls out an instrumental from his days with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, and Cream's power trio format just lets loose on it.
Wednesday: The Yardbirds - Smokestack Lightning [BBC Sessions, this track recorded 1965]
Comments: From their middle period with Jeff Beck on guitar, here are The Yardbirds with one of the early staples of their live shows - Howlin' Wolf's Smokestack Lightning, in an adaptation that features one of the band's signature "rave-ups". Note the instrumental bridge that builds to a swelling crescendo (a technique not unlike what post-rock would later utilize), before concluding with a resurrection of the main motif.
Thursday: Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac - Rattlesnake Shake [Live At The BBC, this track recorded 1970]
Comments: Believe it or not, this collection was my first proper introduction to Peter Green's founding era of Fleetwood Mac (splintered off from the Bluesbreakers, and long before Buckingham-Nicks were a twinkle in the record company execs' eyes). With 36 tracks spread across two CDs, it's a broad exhibition of what the band liked to play, covering the field from rock and blues to their vaudeville act, in which they would imitate all kinds of musical styles - competently, but with tongue (one imagines) planted firmly in cheek. Half of it or more feels like a novelty, but the moments of brilliance it captures in between are some of the best tracks this band ever committed to record (a couple of which I've already shared). This recording of Rattlesnake Shake bridges the gap between the three-and-a-half minute studio version from Then Play On, and their concert jams that would extend the song to as long as 25 minutes!
Friday: Robin Trower - Too Rolling Stoned [At The BBC, this track recorded 1974]
Comments: Although they are the least mainstream band on this list, the original Robin Trower Band - a power trio like Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience - is one of my favorites. I was excited to learn that the band had released their own collection of recordings for the BBC not that long ago. For the most part, they play it straight down the line, but there's some wiggle room for improvisation, and the core material is so good to begin with. Featured here is a recording of one of their best songs, Too Rolling Stoned, with its bumping rhythm and long instrumental coda.
Saturday: Led Zeppelin - Dazed And Confused [BBC Sessions, this track recorded 1969]
Comments: Here's an early recording of another song that would eventually stretch to 25 minutes (or longer!) in concert. "Borrowed" from acid folkie Jake Holmes by the Yardbirds during Jimmy Page's tenure with the band, Page brought it over to his new band to be recorded for Led Zeppelin's debut album in 1969. Listen to Robert Plant wailing like a banshee, while Jimmy Page attacks his guitar with a violin bow. This is rock history being made right before your very ears.
Sunday: The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Hey Joe/Sunshine Of Your Love [BBC Sessions, this track recorded 1969]
Comments: The Jimi Hendrix Experience have what must be one of the most playful sets of BBC Sessions recordings ever - at least that I've heard. Covering songs by Bob Dylan and The Beatles, recording radio jingles, and barking like dogs while playing Hound Dog... there's so much to enjoy! I'm going to save a couple of my favorite tracks for potential future themes, but for now, we'll finish the week with the infamous live TV spot in which the Experience hijacked their own set to perform a tribute to recently disbanded Cream - until the producers cut them off.