The most conventional of the Edgar Broughton Band's first (and best) three albums, 1971's Edgar Broughton Band finds the group dispensing with the no-holds-barred mania and theatricality responsible for such classics as "Out Demons Out," "Up Yours," and "Apache Drop Out" and concentrating instead on more musical endeavors. It's an approach that arguably captures the band at their very best at the same time as revealing them at their ugliest. The two-part epic "For Dr. Spock" conjures images of Gong, as it drifts closer to space rock than the Edgar Broughton Band had hitherto ventured, while "House of Turnabout" certainly restates the group's free-freak credentials with its rumbling percussion and scything guitars, a second cousin to the roars that punctuated Wasa Wasa and Sing Brother Sing. The heart of Edgar Broughton Band, however, lies elsewhere. The lilting chant "Thinking About You," with its spectral reminders of John Lennon's "Working Class Hero," is certainly one of their most rancorous concoctions, while "Evening Over Rooftops" rides an acoustic guitar as pretty as its flowery lyric, but you know there's something rotten squirming just below the surface, even if you can never quite put your finger on it. The pure pop backing vocals, all "sha-la-la" and "doo-be-doo-be-doo," of course, only add to your unease. And, as that is merely the opening number, you can guess what you're in for over the rest of the album long before you actually get it.
AMG Review by Dave Thompson
The Edgar Broughton Band was a psychedelic rock group, founded in 1968 in Warwick, England. The band started their career as a blues group under the name of The Edgar Broughton Blues Band, playing to a small following in the region around their hometown of Warwick. However, when the band began to lean towards the emerging psychedelic movement, dropping the 'Blues' from their name as well as their music, Victor Unitt left.
In 1971, the band decided that existence as a power trio was limiting, and asked Victor Unitt, who had been playing meanwhile in The Pretty Things, to rejoin the band.
In May, with the new lineup, they released their eponymous third album, which contained "Evening Over Rooftops".
The album is known amongst fans as "The Meat Album", as the album cover features lots of meat on hangers in a warehouse, a human can also be seen hanging amongst the meat.
1. Evening Over Rooftops
2. The Birth
3. Piece Of My Own
4. Poppy
5. Don’t Even Know Which Day It Is
6. House Of Turnabout
7. Madhatter
8. Getting Hard intro What Is A Woman For?
9. Thinking Of You
10. For Doctor Spock Parts 1 & 2
Edgar Broughton - Vocals, guitar
Arthur Grant - Bass guitar, vocals
Steve Broughton - Drums, vocals
Victor Unitt - Guitar, harmonica, piano, organ, vocals
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