Album review : THE BYRON BAND – On The Rocks… Again, 3CD Box Set

Cherry Red [Release date : 28.06.24]

CD1: On The Rocks (1981)
CD2: Demos recorded for unreleased second album (1982)
CD3: Rehearsal Recording (1981), plus Live In Liverpool (1980)

The title of the Byron Band’s debut album, On The Rocks, is a less than subtle reference to Byron’s lifetime battle with the bottle. An addiction that led to his expulsion from Uriah Heep.

Rock fans who’re unaware that Byron was Heep’s vocalist on nine (studio) albums run from 1970 to 1976 will be sparingly few.

According to the music media: His vocals were “an integral element in establishing the band, and remain central to the lasting appeal of their classic albums”.

A few poorly received solo albums led to him forming the Byron Band with rising star, guitarist/singer/writer/producer, Robin George, in 1980.

This 3 CD set lays out a detailed resume of that musical adventure:
An ambitious studio album, a live album and a bunch of demos – full of promise, full of life – and an equally vibrant rehearsal tape transferred to disc.
It’s an exhaustive collection of tracks, an enlarged snapshot of what was and what could have been. Little did we know…

Bryon’s expressive, larger than life vocals light up ‘On The Rocks’.. a patchwork quilt of musical pieces, colourful, faded in places, imbued with a sense of renewal, some of which never quite make it. But others … the sweet sound of the soulful ‘Little By Little’ and the driving rock with funk tendencies of ‘Piece Of My Love’, suggest the pairing had artistic ambitions beyond seventies’ rock tropes. (Saxophonist, Mel Collins takes a lot of the credit on these two tracks).

To the original album, this remastered reissue adds half a dozen bonus tracks… a mix of non album stuff, single B-sides, and material destined for the follow up.

The second disc comprises demos for the “next” album plus barebones versions, recorded at writing sessions in George’s home studio. These can be fascinatingly revealing, learning just how a basic idea can be transformed into a great rock song.

‘Fool For A Pretty Face’ and ‘Learn The Dance’ are illustrative of this phenomenon. At minimum, both emphasise George’s skill as a producer and an arranger.

CD3 is mainly a live gig, featuring material from the forthcoming On The Rocks. These songs sound vital in a live setting. ‘Bad Girl’, ‘Start Believing’ and ‘Piece Of My Love’ find Byron in superb voice, winning over the crowd, and indeed, winning his own personal fight.
It’s arguably the most entertaining disc in the set.

Byron’s health finally gave up a few years later, leading to his death in 1985. He was 38 years old.
Robin George died earlier this year, aged 68.

This 3 CD reissue is a fitting tribute to both men. ****

Review by Brian McGowan

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Gig review: TOBY JEPSON- 02 Academy 2, Islington, 9 June 2024

The format of a spoken word tour, interspersed with a few songs, is growing in popularity, but not everyone has the right skill set to carry it off. Toby Jepson is one such with his cunningly titled ‘My Life in Words’. He was among the early adopters of home webcasting during lockdown and is an accomplished rock radio broadcaster. Moreover he has always been an articulate songwriter from a young age, who has successfully played acoustic shows regularly over the years.

This London leg of an extensive tour had an unusual opening with a stand up comedian in Scot Pete K Mally who had people laughing, and though his routine was varied some rock references did getting this audience on side no harm.

His set was followed by a shortish one from the talented Matt Mitchell, minus his Coldhearts. I’ve been a fan of his voice for a long time dating back to Pride in the early 2000s and he won the Toby Jepson crowd over by saying he became a Little Angels fan after seeing them at the Milton Keynes Bowl with Bon Jovi in 1993.

He played songs from both Coldhearts albums such as ‘Home’ and ‘Where In the World’ and the best was left to last. A stripped down version of ‘Paranoid’ brought out the darkness in the song, not least as it was clearer to make out the lyrics, while the acoustic solo was something to behold, then he even got a bit of audience participation going to the former Planet Rock playlisted ‘Black Diamonds’.

The way Toby Jepson came on stage to the theme tunes of Dad’s Army and Roobarb and Custard were a reminder that he was of my exact generation, and I could therefore relate to many of his formative musical and other influences. He opened with a couple of Little Angels favourites in ‘Young Gods’ with long time cohort Dave Kemp supplying the melody lines on piano and ‘Big Bad World’.

Dave also made a witty speech and I did wonder if he would be part of a double act but from then on the talking was nearly all Toby’s. Songs were interspersed with audience questions and his own reflections on life in the music business. Whether or not it was a plant, the first question from the front was one that many of us have pondered, which was when Little Angels might reform and the good news was he suggested that in spite of their busy day jobs some form of reunion was planned for 2026. We then went back to the very start of the band with a rare ‘90 In The Shade’. Boy did that bring back some memories of the Marquee circa 1988!

However the set covered his whole career, from gems from his wilderness period like ‘Unwind’, ‘Four Letter Word’ and the particularly impressive ‘Viewfinder’, as well as reminders of his often neglected role as songwriter for others. One such was ‘Shadow Boxing’, written for Katie Melua but never used, which gave Dave the opportunity to show off his sax prowess for the only time in the night.

In more recent years he has returned to a band environment with Wayward Sons and there was also a question about their plans after a relatively quiet period, the gist of the response being they were under no pressure other than to get together when they wanted. (Though he did reveal that when signing for Frontiers they were really looking for a Little Angels reunion rather than a new band!) So ‘Bloody Typical’ and later on a lively ‘Joke’s On You’ represented that chapter of his life.

Two themes recurred as the mix of songs, questions and chat which flowed surprisingly well. One was his searching honesty about having struggled with mental health issues over many years and the importance of men talking about it, which cannot be overstated.

The other was that while he gave insights into the darker side of music, especially how the business can only promote new talent by denigrating and discarding what has gone before, he was nothing but warm and respectful about individual musicians. Little Angels’ status on every support bill going meant he had worked with the very best and he got quite angry in defending Jon Bon Jovi from his armchair critics, while Eddie Van Halen and Axl Rose were others to emerge with credit from his little anecdotes.

Returning to those Little Angels days we all sang along, albeit not too loudly, to ‘Don’t Pray for Me’, ‘Ain’t Gonna Cry’ and ‘Womankind’. They were reminders that a band now forgotten about by the wider world were top 40 singles regulars in the early nineties, and the enjoyment was enhanced by the feeling we had been getting to know better what made their songwriter tick.

‘Out of Sight, Out of Mind’ from the underrated Toby and the Whole Truth was dark as you’d expect from a guy going from the Albert Hall to making his own low-fi albums within a year while ‘Falling in Love is Harder’ was dedicated to his wife. A near two hour set (an 11 o’clock finish on a Sunday night was my only gripe) ended with a communal singalong to ‘Kicking Up Dust’, and ‘Too Much, Too Young’, brought to its big conclusion.

I never expected to enjoy the evening quite as much as I did, reliving my past but also gaining a very insightful window into a honest, thoughtful and engaging character. Toby Jepson has endured that difficult journey through music and life’s highs and lows seemingly with sanity, or at least perspective, intact.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan