West One. 1971 Decca
Live. 1972 Universe
Pugh's Place / Children of Jubal / Rick and Dave - Child in Time. 1974 Universe
West One is a fairly substandard rock album for the era, with a particularly bad cover of The Beatles' 'Ride My Car'. Still, not all is a loss, and there's some mighty fine flute, guitar, and organ work here. Perhaps even best, is the driving bassist, who keeps the whole thing hopping along. But the songs, and especially the vocals, aren't up to snuff. Should have been much better and can only be considered a disappointment given the obvious talent. A bootleg exists for this title.
Much better is the Child in Time album, supposedly performed by "The Group". It's a thinly disguised moniker for Pugh's Place - as why else have their biography on the back cover? The album itself is definitely a cash-in job. Side 1 is two cover tracks, one by The Beatles, and the other is Deep Purple's namesake track. Pugh's Place perform both of these, and they're pretty decent covers, with some unique arrangements and added woodwinds.
But the real reason to consider this album is Side 2 and the original material by Children of Jubal and Rick & Dave. The latter are two musicians from the United States - one on guitar, the other on keys - and their one short track is quite good. But best of all is Children of Jubal, whose two tracks dominate the second side. They're very much from the jazz influenced progressive rock school - a style that was immensely popular in England at this time. It would be great to know if this band had more recordings hiding in a basement somewhere. Based on the material here, they would be a favorite group of mine.
Overall, a nice curio piece that would make good bonus tracks elsewhere. But if they could find more Children of Jubal material, then this would skyrocket to a Priority 1.
Priority: 3 (for Child in Time)
Pugh's Place / Children of Jubal / Rick and Dave - Child in Time. 1974 Universe
West One is a fairly substandard rock album for the era, with a particularly bad cover of The Beatles' 'Ride My Car'. Still, not all is a loss, and there's some mighty fine flute, guitar, and organ work here. Perhaps even best, is the driving bassist, who keeps the whole thing hopping along. But the songs, and especially the vocals, aren't up to snuff. Should have been much better and can only be considered a disappointment given the obvious talent. A bootleg exists for this title.
Much better is the Child in Time album, supposedly performed by "The Group". It's a thinly disguised moniker for Pugh's Place - as why else have their biography on the back cover? The album itself is definitely a cash-in job. Side 1 is two cover tracks, one by The Beatles, and the other is Deep Purple's namesake track. Pugh's Place perform both of these, and they're pretty decent covers, with some unique arrangements and added woodwinds.
But the real reason to consider this album is Side 2 and the original material by Children of Jubal and Rick & Dave. The latter are two musicians from the United States - one on guitar, the other on keys - and their one short track is quite good. But best of all is Children of Jubal, whose two tracks dominate the second side. They're very much from the jazz influenced progressive rock school - a style that was immensely popular in England at this time. It would be great to know if this band had more recordings hiding in a basement somewhere. Based on the material here, they would be a favorite group of mine.
Overall, a nice curio piece that would make good bonus tracks elsewhere. But if they could find more Children of Jubal material, then this would skyrocket to a Priority 1.
Priority: 3 (for Child in Time)
***West One reissued on LP by Music on Vinyl (2021)
3/2/11 (new entry)
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