Out Of Uranus

Out of Uranus is rawer and more irreverent than most second-line British blues-rock of the late '60s and early '70s, as indicated by the title itself. That doesn't mean the all-original songs are that good, that they're especially imaginative players, or that Bill Thorndycraft's semi-barked vocals are so special. But it makes for a refreshing change from the normal not-so-well-known British blues-rock albums of the era, with a brash streak to both the lean arrangements (particularly in the frequent rushed tempos and Bas Smith's crisp drumming) and lyrics missing from many of their peers. Slight nods to the world of underground rock outside of the blues form are heard in the yearning hippie ethos of "Soon There Will Be Everything," where the violin of Paul Spencer Mac again takes them a little outside of the standard framework for the genre. The countercultural mindset of the time is occasionally reflected in numbers like "Call for the Politicians" and the wittily titled "Fido Castrol," somewhat in the bluntly sardonic manner of another band of the day, the Deviants. ~ Richie Unterberger