West, Bruce & Laing – Out Into The Fields : The Albums 1972-1974
Ex Mountain men, singer-guitarist Leslie West and drummer Corky Laing, in musical cahoots with Jack Bruce, should have been a post Mountain and Cream power trio tour-de-force.
To be fair, with the quality of their debut studio album and live shows, W,B&L were, for a short time, just that.
Sadly, however, the trio were soon to be filed in the coulda-shoulda archives of 70s supergroup rock.
The how’s and whys of the trio’s get together, recorded output, and subsequent split, is documented in the 16 page booklet that accompanies Out Into The Fields, a fully remastered, 3CD document of the band’s three album legacy.
West, Bruce & Laing wasn’t just a union of Mountain and Cream parts in name, it’s very much what you hear, as evidenced by 1972 debut album Why Dontcha and the opening title track.
A raw rock-blues sung by Leslie West, 'Why Dontcha' would have sat comfortably on any of the first three Mountain albums, with the added bonus of those unmistakable, bubbly bass lines from Jack Bruce.
By contrast, following number, the Jack Bruce sung 'Out Into The Fields,' carries such a strong Bruce stamp that it would have been a highlight on any of his post Cream solo albums – indeed, such is the piano backed sweep of this gospel meets blues number, it would have made more of a statement as the album closer.
(That Bruce re-recorded it for his 2001 album Shadows in the Air, and gives its name to this collection, nods further to its weight).
Other highlights of the ten-track debut include insistent blues rocker 'The Doctor,' a cover of Eddie Boyd’s 50s blues number 'Third Degree' (with pacey power-jam finale/ fade), the gritty, decidedly Mountain-esque 'Love is Worth the Blues' and closing number, the Americana-blues styled 'Pollution Woman.'
Why Dontcha was a Top 30 success in the USA, and while the ensuing live dates were also well received (as were two sold-out, pre debut album shows at Carnegie Hall, NY) cracks were showing by the time of second album Whatever Turns You On.
Released in 1973, the album’s title was reflected in the cartoon cover, which depicted the band member’s alleged vices (Leslie West - food, Jack Bruce - alcohol, Corky Laing - sex), although as later confirmed by Bruce, drugs were are the heart of the ever splintering matter.
Said issues and indulgences led to a more hit and miss affair, although there were still highlights – country rock opener 'Backfire' was a surprising but welcome addition to the W,B&L sound, while the muscly brace of Mountain-sounding 'Rock n Roll Machine' and 'Token' (the latter featuring woozy backing vocal arrangements and some tasty Leslie West six-string licks), matched the best the debut album had to offer.
However, that there was more Jack Bruce at play than three-way collaboration was evident by the inclusion of two Jack Bruce-Pete Brown penned tracks, piano led ballad 'November Song' (almost a Jack Bruce solo spot) and closing number, the 60s styled psychedelia of 'Like a Plate.'
That Bruce had to finish the album by adding some guitar and drum overdubs (West and Laing had since returned to the States) also tells you the band had run its course.
With the album only placing as a Top 100 Billboard album, the writing was on the wall, but there was a final sign-off in the shape 1974’s Live ‘n’ Kickin’, released a few weeks after the official announcement of the split.
The album only contained four tracks, but each caught the live energy, and spirit, of W,B&L at their three-way interplay best.
Opening with an extended version of the Rolling Stones’ 'Play With Fire' (interestingly, debut album number 'Love is Worth The Blues' was loosely influenced by the Stones number), Live ‘n’ Kickin’ also features debut album nugget 'The Doctor,' Cream classic 'Politician,' and Jack Bruce showcase/ solo piece 'Powerhouse Sod' (the latter had been a staple of Bruce’s sets since 1970).
West, Bruce & Laing promised more than they ever delivered, but Out Into The Fields is an excellent document of what they managed to say in a short time.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
To be fair, with the quality of their debut studio album and live shows, W,B&L were, for a short time, just that.
Sadly, however, the trio were soon to be filed in the coulda-shoulda archives of 70s supergroup rock.
The how’s and whys of the trio’s get together, recorded output, and subsequent split, is documented in the 16 page booklet that accompanies Out Into The Fields, a fully remastered, 3CD document of the band’s three album legacy.
West, Bruce & Laing wasn’t just a union of Mountain and Cream parts in name, it’s very much what you hear, as evidenced by 1972 debut album Why Dontcha and the opening title track.
A raw rock-blues sung by Leslie West, 'Why Dontcha' would have sat comfortably on any of the first three Mountain albums, with the added bonus of those unmistakable, bubbly bass lines from Jack Bruce.
By contrast, following number, the Jack Bruce sung 'Out Into The Fields,' carries such a strong Bruce stamp that it would have been a highlight on any of his post Cream solo albums – indeed, such is the piano backed sweep of this gospel meets blues number, it would have made more of a statement as the album closer.
(That Bruce re-recorded it for his 2001 album Shadows in the Air, and gives its name to this collection, nods further to its weight).
Other highlights of the ten-track debut include insistent blues rocker 'The Doctor,' a cover of Eddie Boyd’s 50s blues number 'Third Degree' (with pacey power-jam finale/ fade), the gritty, decidedly Mountain-esque 'Love is Worth the Blues' and closing number, the Americana-blues styled 'Pollution Woman.'
Why Dontcha was a Top 30 success in the USA, and while the ensuing live dates were also well received (as were two sold-out, pre debut album shows at Carnegie Hall, NY) cracks were showing by the time of second album Whatever Turns You On.
Released in 1973, the album’s title was reflected in the cartoon cover, which depicted the band member’s alleged vices (Leslie West - food, Jack Bruce - alcohol, Corky Laing - sex), although as later confirmed by Bruce, drugs were are the heart of the ever splintering matter.
Said issues and indulgences led to a more hit and miss affair, although there were still highlights – country rock opener 'Backfire' was a surprising but welcome addition to the W,B&L sound, while the muscly brace of Mountain-sounding 'Rock n Roll Machine' and 'Token' (the latter featuring woozy backing vocal arrangements and some tasty Leslie West six-string licks), matched the best the debut album had to offer.
However, that there was more Jack Bruce at play than three-way collaboration was evident by the inclusion of two Jack Bruce-Pete Brown penned tracks, piano led ballad 'November Song' (almost a Jack Bruce solo spot) and closing number, the 60s styled psychedelia of 'Like a Plate.'
That Bruce had to finish the album by adding some guitar and drum overdubs (West and Laing had since returned to the States) also tells you the band had run its course.
With the album only placing as a Top 100 Billboard album, the writing was on the wall, but there was a final sign-off in the shape 1974’s Live ‘n’ Kickin’, released a few weeks after the official announcement of the split.
The album only contained four tracks, but each caught the live energy, and spirit, of W,B&L at their three-way interplay best.
Opening with an extended version of the Rolling Stones’ 'Play With Fire' (interestingly, debut album number 'Love is Worth The Blues' was loosely influenced by the Stones number), Live ‘n’ Kickin’ also features debut album nugget 'The Doctor,' Cream classic 'Politician,' and Jack Bruce showcase/ solo piece 'Powerhouse Sod' (the latter had been a staple of Bruce’s sets since 1970).
West, Bruce & Laing promised more than they ever delivered, but Out Into The Fields is an excellent document of what they managed to say in a short time.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ