Bloodrock - ST 1969 (hard rock)

From Fort Worth, Texas, this band evolved out of Crowd + 1 and desite quite a prolific output, met with little success. Probably their best known track is D.O.A. from their second album, which is a heavy organ-based threatening piece with police sirens, and is very much in the anti-war, anti-space race, anti-everything vein of the era. Another notable cut Breach Of Lease off their third album is intense, starting slowly and building up to an amazingly heavy climax. The live version is also particularly hot, whilst the humorous Melvin Laid An Egg from the debut is another musical high point.
Actually, Cobb didn't play on the debut album; Rutledge played drums on it and early on, John Nitzinger too was considered (somewhat) a member of the band and wrote or co-wrote many of the songs.
After the live album, Rutledge and Pickens left and Warren Ham joined as a vocalist and woodwind player for the last two albums. For their final album (Whirlwind Tongues), Cobb left and was replaced by drummer Randy Reeder who had previously played in John Nitzinger's band and later played with a group called Alexis. Warren Ham later went on to form the Ham Brothers and released an album as such in 1977. Later still, he went on to play in former Kansas guitarist/keyboardist Kerry Livgren's Christian rock group AD for, we believe, two LPs - Time Line and Art Of The State. In the eighties Warren was also in Black Rose.
Producer Terry Knight was involved in the first three albums after which the band did the production themselves or co-produced (Peter Granet and Ed Grundy on the last two LPs; with John Palladino on USA).

1. Gotta Find a Way (6:31)

2. Castle of Thoughts (3:26)

3. Fatback (3:20)

4. Double Cross (5:18)

5. Timepiece (5:57)

6. Wicked Truth (4:45)

7. Gimme Your Head (2:42)

8. Fantastic Piece of Architecture (8:45)

9. Melvin Laid an Egg (7:25)

Bloodrock - ST 1969