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Juicy Lucy
The Best Of

Q Magazine, 45-1990, page 123:

Following the failure of The Misunderstood, Amreican pedal-steel guitarist Glen Campbell (no relation) formed a hardcore boogie band over here in '69. Though the original line-up featured players who'd been around with otfits like Bluesology and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (including saxist Chris Mercer and guitarist Neil Hubbard), the best thing about Juicy Lucy was undoubtedly Campbell's searing steel work. The worst was their name (taken from a character in The Virgin Soldiers) and the titles of their LPs: Juicy Lucy, Lie Back And Enjoy It and Get A Whiff Of This. We won't go into the sleeve illustrations.

This 65-minute compilation features 14 tracks from these three LPs (released 1969-'71) and two cuts - I'm A Thief and Changed My Sign (both serviceable) - that never made the debut album. Their solitary (minor) hit was Who Do You Love, a ferocious version of Bo Diddley's stomper that's the exact opposite of Quicksilver's languid reworking: fast, hard and screeching. By the time of the difficult third album, gruff vocalist Ray Owen had been replaced by Paul Williams (ex-Zoot Money) adn Hubbard's place had gone to Mick Moody (who went on to greater success with Whitesnake). To its detriment, their sound mellowed the longer they stayed on the road, but their choice of material could be ambitious (Frank Zappa's Willie The Pimp), adventurous (Spirit's Mr.Skin) or apposite (Delaney Bramlett's Hello LA, Bye Bye Birmingham) while their own compositions stayed reassuringly close to Campbell and co's blues roots.

© 1990 Monty Smith - Q Magazine