Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings : Groovin'

reviewed by davelee

Take a good look at the cover of this album. Something strike you? Yes, that's The Commander's name getting top billing. So, out of the 14 tracks, guess how many Gary Brooker is on? Yes, that's right: Four.

Four?!!? In fact his sole credits are:

Piano on Georgie Fame's Rhythm King
Organ on the Jay Hawkins classic I Put a Spell On You
Vocals on a Wyman/TerryTaylor song Hole In The Wall
Vocals on the old Lovin' Spoonful track DayDream

If he was credited with arrangement duties, I could have understood his billing, but this activity is taken by Wyman and Taylor. Bewildering.

As for the album, it's a hotchpotch of songs from Bill Wyman's makeshift band, mainly all sung by Georgie Fame or Beverley Skeete. None of Beverley's songs leave much of a mark, I'm afraid, but then nor do Fame's, with the exception of the thoughtful Streamline Woman and possibly the aforementioned Rhythm King. Even Gary's Day Dream sounds a bit lackluster. His lively Hole In The Wall is so much better, and is definitely the Brooker track to hear on this album.

But the real gem on this album is the opening track, Tell You A Secret, which is head and shoulders above everything else (with Hole In The Wall only just in the same league). Sung by Adrian Byron Burns (who he?), it bombs along thanks to the chunky guitars of Andy Fairweather Lowe and Terry Taylor, with Graham Broad on drums. But look again at the cover. Neither Brooker, Fame, Taylor or Lee play on this track or many of the others, yet Graham drums throughout. It's rough being the drummer sometimes.

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