McGuinness Flint

Five radio sessions cut by McGuinness Flint between 1970 and 1974 for the BBC fill up this compilation. In the tradition of many live-at-the-BBC anthologies, there's not much to say about it that you couldn't say about the band's studio releases from the period. For fans, it's a good way to collect some alternative versions, in very good fidelity, including the group's two big British hits, "When I'm Dead and Gone" and "Malt and Barley Blues." It's heavily weighted toward their early-'70s period, with all but four of the 18 songs hailing from 1970-1971 sessions. McGuinness Flint sounded rather like an amiable British version of the Band during that time, sometimes blatantly so (as on "Rock On"), but more often just in its approximation of the Band's low-key roots rock mood than in specific emulation. The later sessions (not just the one from 1974, but also the final one from 1971) are a bit of a contrast to the rest of the material, as it found them moving away from the Benny Gallagher-Graham Lyle compositions that had dominated their repertoire. One of the 1971 cuts is a nice tune from ex-Bonzo Dog Band member Neil Innes, "Oh My Love," rather in the spirit of some of the folkier things Roy Wood penned for the Move. A notable loss, perhaps, is the absence of any of the obscure Bob Dylan covers they did for their critically acclaimed all-obscure-Dylan-covers album, Lo and Behold. Tom McGuinness contributed the informative and entertaining liner notes, though these are more about the band's general history than about these BBC sessions in particular. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide