FUZZY DUCK

This is one of the many harder-edged and organ dominated progressive bands that emerged in the early Seventies. FUZZY DUCK's music is simple but it touches me very much: pleasant vocals, a tight rhythm-section, strong guitarwork and, the most delightful element, floods of Hammond organ. This reminds me of Ken Hensley from early URIAH HEEP and Manfred Wieczorke from German heavy progressive band JANE. The guitarplay is also a good point, featuring fiery solos and catchy riffs. The final song "A word from bid D" includes the so called 'ducking vocals' from keyboardplayer Roy (Daze) Sharland, very funny to hear. FUZZY DUCK's music has echoes from ATOMIC ROOSTER, SPENCER DAVIES GROUP, VANILLA FUDGE and QUATERMASS. If you like the Hammond organ, don't miss this CD! By the way, I own the "Aftermath" CD version, it contains 11 tracks, including the previously unreleased "No Name Face".

My friend bought a remastered CD of this album impulsively, as he heard it being played in a Swedish record shop. I found it also sounding quite nice, loaned it and enjoyed. Though there are not any brass sections on this artistic 1970's heavy rock music, I think it otherwise somehow resembles the album by Mogul Thrash. I guess it's the rhythm section (especially the opening of the first track) and the sound textures of the instruments which feel similar to mentioned group. The Hammond organs seem to replace the missing horns on the compositions. "Mrs. Prout" is my favorite songs on this album, and I found the joke "duck vocal" parts in the end irritating. Though being a good record, I never grew to be very crazy about it, and have not spent hard earned cash for getting a vinyl copy of it. Maybe I am not also a devoted Hammond enthusiastic, though I don't hate the tone of that instrument. In addition of Hammond maniacs, I would recommend this to the fans of Uriah Heep and Atomic Rooster.

i remember years back seeing this album somewhere, and wished i'd bought it then, but lp's were expensive and if you bought a "turkey" there was no refund facilities in retail shops in those days. i was probably too busy saving up for albums by purple, zeppelin, genesis and yes then anyway. i recently saw "fuzzy duck" reviewed on PA and advertised on the internet on cd and vinyl by italian firm "akarma", and bought the akarma vinyl and the cd version by "repertoire". regarding sound quality, overall it is very good but a bit rough in places, on tracks such as "just look around you" and afternoon out". i found the vinyl version to be much clearer overall than the repertoire cd, which sounded a bit overblown and slightly muddy in comparison. very musical and melodic, i found "mrs. prout" and "more than i am" to be the most outstanding tracks, the latter reminding me very strongly of atomic rooster. "time will be your doctor" is also a very good song, my sentiments entirely, time heals! side 2 has some interesting moments, especially the tongue-in-cheek "a word from big d" , punctuated with duck noises! the bonus tracks are ok also, but not outstanding. the guys sounded like they had a lot of fun recording this album, that comes across very clearly, it is a very enjoyable lp to listen to and will be a favourite of mine for some time to come. not a masterpiece of progressive rock but a very uplifting listen - an excellent addition for afficionados of early 70's art rock!

The members of Fuzzy Duck were certainly not novices by the time they banded together and released their only studio album. Bassist Mick Hawksworth had spent the latter sixties with future Atomic Rooster alumnus John Du Cann in the hard-core psych band The Five Day Week Straw People, with both of them later moving on to the semi-legendary psych band Andromeda where they were joined by Fuzzy vocalist/guitarist the late Grahame White. Drummer Paul Francis had played with both The End and Tucky Buzzard. And Roy Sharland had been a member of the pre-Uriah Heep lineup known as Spice. So from that curriculum vitae you would expect a sound that included psych and blues guitar, heavy Hammond organ riffs, and above all very well-structured rhythms. Plus this was recorded in 1970 so throw in poor production, muddy bass notes and unremarkable male vocals straining outside their natural limits.

Well I’m happy to report that the band does not disappoint, as the previous paragraph describes Fuzzy Duck to a ‘T’. Presumably named after the old drinking game of the same name, Fuzzy Duck were a brief flash in the pan that apparently served as little more than a vehicle for the various professionals in it to move on to other things. The band doesn’t seem to have stayed together for more than a year or two, but they clearly had enough in the form of individual reputation and connections to land a record deal on the fledgling but up-and-coming MAM Records label.

But keep in mind that blues-based psych rock with heavy bass, lots of Hammond and strained male vocals were standard fare in 1970, so I’m not sure this really qualifies as progressive music unless we’re assuming just about everything from Canned Heat to Blind Faith qualifies as prog rock. Probably not.

That’s not to say this is a throwaway album though, because there’s some pretty good music on it. It’s just not substantively different from early Uriah Heep, Steppenwolf, Grand Funk, Jody Grind, Wishbone Ash or any of dozens of bands like them. As long as you are okay with that, this is a pretty decent album.

The album kicks off with a heavy bass, lively Hammond rocker titled “Time Will Be Your Doctor”. This is pure hard rock but well played (“Country Boy” later on the album falls into this category as well). And while “Mrs. Prout” is quite similar there is a move toward more psych-leaning guitar and drawn-out keyboards ala Ray Manzarek. After this comes “Just Look around You”, which borders on being a heavy folk tune but is backed with the heavy organ and bass emphasis again.

But then back comes the psych, this time quite heavy and extended thanks to White’s guitar and vocals on “Afternoon Out” and “More Than I Am”. These both sound a bit improvisational and hearken back to the late sixties, showing without a doubt the recent influences of several band members.

The CD reissue (unfortunately not remastered though) includes a handful of singles recorded after White left the band and was briefly replaced by Garth Watt-Roy (Living Daylights, Greatest Show on Earth, East of Eden). The production on these is a bit better, and a couple (“Double Time Woman” and “One More Hour”) were released as singles, presumably with the other two bonus tracks occupying their backsides. These are much lighter on organ, virtually devoid of bass and include horns. The sound is decidedly more AOR than the original album, and I suppose these were only included because the CD version had a lot more whitespace than the original forty minute vinyl version had.

No matter, this is a decent album that is representative of the early seventies heavy rock sound. It’s not too deep in the prog department though, but almost qualifies as proto-prog based on the various musicians’ backgrounds and it’s timing at the very end of the late sixties blues/psych musical era. Three stars and recommended as an interesting curio and as a nostalgic piece, but not as serious prog music.

peace

Made up of former members past-and-present from the likes of early psych-and-prog bands Five Day Week Straw People, Andromeda, The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown and The Greatest Show On Earth, North London's Fuzzy Duck came and when in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a single, self-titled, Cream-and-Deep Purple-inspired slice of heavy-style prog-rock that to this day remains one of the most valuable and sought after vinyl releases of the last fifty years. According to legend, only 500 copies of 'Fuzzy Duck' were actually pressed, and the album was lost in the midst of rock 'n' roll time until German label Repertoire Records reissued the record in a special edition mini vinyl-replica sleeve in the late 1990's, thus re- invigorating interest in this most obscure of records. Indeed, the fact that it was Repertoire and not some other independent specialist label that re-released 'Fuzzy Duck' is a good sign; Repertoire have a history of unearthing great 'lost' albums from the past, and have in recent years rescued the long-ignored reputations and discography's of some truly unique progressive rock and psychedelic rock bands whose careers, for whatever reason, failed to ignite. Bands such as Jade Warrior, Black Widow, Leaf Hound and May Blitz have all seen their music remastered and re-released to critical and commercial acclaim, building Repertoire an impressive catalogue of beautifully-packaged and wonderfully obscure albums that should delight the legions of prog fans who admire the likes of Pink Floyd, Genesis, Soft Machine and Hawkwind. 'Fuzzy Duck', which was released in 1970, had been long forgotten by the music world. However, now, in the 21st century, the album is being rightly re-evaluated and is now hailed as a prime example of classic British proto-prog, complete with heavy trimmings. Each song bristles with a funky, organ-driven gusto that lends the occasionally-ersatz material genuine power. It is by no means the most complex of releases, but their is a vibrant energy that is evident in almost every rock-solid song. Imagine Deep Purple jamming with The Who and Yes' organist extraordinaire Tony Kaye and you have the uniquely powerful sounds of Fuzzy Duck. Fascinating in the extreme, this is the sound of truly obscure British rock. STEFAN TURNER, LONDON, 2010

Fuzzy Duck was and still is an obscure band from early '70 from British progressive rock movement. Releasing only one album selftitled in 1971 they disbanded soon after , I guess a year after and gone into oblivion untill Repertoire records trace the album and issued on CD in 1993 first issue on CD btw. This is heavy prog and a quite good one, I like it, energic passages, nice organ and a great vocalist, so a worthy purchase. While for some listners this album is a standard one and tipycal for that period being in same category with Atomic Rooster, Indian Summer or even hints of Uriah Heep are present, mostly on organ parts, Fuzzy Duck manage to come with a good album for that period, maybe today is noting special but I think back then proved some potential that turned to be a metheoric career of almost 2 years. The highlits for me is for sure Mrs Mrs Prouts, Time wil be your doctor or Afternoon out, nice heavy bass, good organ parts, good voice coming from Graham White. So a pleasent album to me, nothing is spectacular here but is enjoyble most of thetime.3 stars easy. The Repertoire re issue has 4 bonus tracks that in my opinion are totaly forgetable, not bad but are far from what is on the album.

Obscure band from the early seventies, that only released a single, sefl titled, LP and promply disappeared. Fromed by seasoned and experienced musicians (who came form equally obscure bands of the 60´s), they managed to produce quite a good album in their short lifespan. It is ok that they had nothing original or groundbreaking on them. In fact, their sound is a lot like several other groups of the time like Atomic Rooster, Traffic, Paladin, Cactus and the like. So, expect lots of Hammond organ runs, fine bass and drums, blues influenced guitar lines and soul tinged vocals.

It´s easy to understand why they were not very notice at the time: there were simply too many artists sounding just the same at that specific period. Some had to be left out due to poor manangement, bad luck or some other reason. And Fuzzy Duck was one of them. Which is a bit of a shame, since their sole LP was very good, with no fillers and some excellent perfomances. If you like the style, you should check this out. I enjoyed it a lot. But I should also warn to anyone that there is very little prog on here, if any. Fuzzy Duck is a songs based band that differs very little from all other many, many heavy rock bands of that era.

Conclusion: good CD. Nothing exceptional, but still very well done, with strong songwriting and played by skilled musicians.In a heavy rock site Fuzzy Duck would surely deserve at least four stars. But on a prog site like PA a 3 star rating is adequate

What a strange name for a band and an even more ridiculous album cover for the one and only album of FUZZY DUCK which happens to be derived from a linguistic spoonerism of "Duzz 'E F-ck! FUZZY DUCK was a rare bird indeed. It flew in with the flock of hard and heavy rockers with a progressive leaning in 1970 London, released their sole eponymous album in 1971 and then flew off never to be heard from again. The history of this band seems to be as FUZZY as the DUCK they are named after. The band consisted of Paul Francis (drums, percussion who played in Tucky Buzzard), Mick Hawksworth (bass, vocals, acoustic 12-string, cello who also played in Andromeda and Five Day Week Straw People), Roy Sharland (organ, piano who played in Crazy World Of Arthur Brown) and Grahame White (guitar, vocals, acoustic guitar). On this album there is also some guitar and vocal help from Garth Watt Roy.

Upon first listen this album doesn't stand out remarkably amongst the other progressive leaning heavy rock of the early 70s but it does present some instantly catchy groovy riffs that beckon repeated listens. I personally got hooked upon first listen. I have heard of this album for a long time but the album cover kinda turned me off. It actually reminds me of a cartoon called "The Hair Bear Bunch" from the same era. Not exactly the image that conjures up some seriously delicious hard rockin' prog for me, however this album is very consistent from beginning to end and the four bonus tracks that are included on the later remastered versions are not so bad in their own right. The thing that makes this an excellent album for me is the outstanding tight musicianship on board. Although i wouldn't consider this the most original album of the day, it is just so pleasant to listen to. The band is rhythmically tight and heavily groovy and filled with energetic time sigs that are drenched in Hammand organ. Whereas many a band of this type sound good musically, it is the vocalist that usually keeps it from being totally pleasurable. No such problem for me here.

FUZZY DUCK has all the magical ingredients to take the already developed organ laden heavy rock of the early 70s and makes it all sound perfectly executed. They somehow manage to take the Captain Beyond meets Atomic Rooster and early Uriah Heep sound to unique DUCK ponds not overly far from Deep Purple territory. Catchy enough to garner instant satisfaction but proggy enough to keep the more engaged listener happy as well. This album is very good from the strong heavy prog opener "Time Will Be Your Doctor" to the excellent closer "A Word From Big D" that manages to create duck quackery with musical instruments! Don't let the silly album cover put you off with this one. This is some infectious early 70s progressive proto-metal going on here. Quack on heavy proggers!