SPLIT

Difficulties in life often bring out the best in artistic people like guitarist/vocalist Tony McPhee who suffered a nervous breakdown after smoking weed. The twisted black and white over is perfect for this record and the music certainly comes as advertised as this British trio offers up their brand of hard rocking blues. In my early 20's I loved blues based rock like LED ZEPPELIN, CREAM, FREE, early AEROSMITH etc. and while this album wouldn't out rank most of what these bands put out I have much respect for this band and in particular Tony McPhee who does it all from the compositions, to producing, the writing and of course being the lead guitarist and singer he is the focus but of course he needs a rhythm section and they are good just not top tier in my opinion.

The title track is split, yes it is into four parts but to be honest these four tracks sound nothing alike although the lyrics are the uniting factor here. Man we get some killer guitar throughout this four part section and some experimental stuff too reflecting Tony's mental state at the time. "Cherry Red" is the song to check out. Could have been a hit no? Catchy with that chorus bringing it home. Love when they jam on this song and album.

"A Year In The Life" might bring THE BEATLES to mind but to hear it always brings KRAAN to mind surprisingly. KRAAN at their most laid back as the vocals here sound very similar to them. The only weak track for me is "Junkman" but then the closer "Groundhog" makes up for it. A John Lee Hooker cover and a song that Tony named the band after. An old school sounding blues track with Tony even sounding the part vocally. Kind of cool.

A strong album that goes far beyond the straight forward blues/rock style. A solid 4 stars.