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Rock Candy Records [Release date: 24.05.24]
In 1970, Strider formed in London.
Wrong place, right time? Right place, wrong time? Who knows.
Certainly wasn’t for lack of talent or quality songs.
Hugely popular with a core UK fanbase, Strider could quite easily have gone toe to toe with Bad Company, The Faces and Humble Pie.
And yet, despite incendiary live performances on the UK circuit, gig after gig, time after time, creating a reputation for consistently going above and beyond, they somehow managed to avoid commercial success.
Two albums, Exposed (1973) and Misunderstood (1974), and then they were gone.
Those two albums have now been resurrected and remastered by the UK’s leading reissue label, Rock Candy Records.
(The label has suffered some serious technical problems recently…flash floods knocked out their servers a couple of months back. It’s good to see the team back on track).
The band, guitarist Gary Grainger (who later did a ten year stint in Rod Stewart’s band), Ian Kewley, Lee Hunter and Jimmy Hawkins were a solid outfit, only a stomp and a holler away from success.
The latter two left after the debut album, to be replaced by Lee Strzelczyk and Tony Brock. This new lineup survived only one more album, and then it was goodbye.
The band’s music was rooted in American blues, and crafted to British rock specifications, which didn’t always come through in the studio.
‘Flying’ and ‘Ain’t Got No Love’ from the debut, and perhaps more especially ‘Open Your Eyes’ and ‘Seems So Easy’ from the follow up are fine examples of what a British band could accomplish without slavishly copying their US counterparts.
Perhaps lacking the light touch gloss shadings and the commercial edge enjoyed by the studio recordings of their peer group, the band’s career flamed out before it really caught fire.
Grainger went on to find success with Rod Stewart, while Brock moved onto The Babys, and subsequently Eddie Money’s backing band.
And there’s extra value on each remaster… both have 3 bonus tracks. ***
Review by Brian McGowan
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