Andwella
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1967) as Mission - Gordon Barton -- drums, percussion - Dave Lewis -- vocals, guitar, keyboards - Nigel Portman-Smith -- bass, baking vocals
line up 1 (1968) as Andwella's Dream - Gordon Barton -- drums, percussion - Dave Lewis -- vocals, guitar, keyboards - Nigel Portman-Smith -- bass, baking vocals
supporting musicians: - Wilgar Campbell -- drums - Bob Downes -- sax, flute
line up 3 (1970) as Andwella - David Lewis -- vocals, guitar, keyboards, flute NEW - Jack McCulloch -- drums (replaced Gordon Barton) - Dave McDougall -- keyboards - Nigel Smith (aka Nigel Portman-Smith) -- bass, vocals
line up 4 (1970) - David Lewis -- vocals, guitar, keyboards - Jack McCulloch -- drums - Dave McDougall -- keyboards NEW - Dave Struthers -- bass vocals (replaced Nigel Portman-Smith)
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- Andromeda ( Jack McCulloch) - Andwella's Dream (Gordon Barton - Dave Lewis - Jack McCulloch - Nigel Portman-Smith - - Bent Frame (Dave McDougal - The Bridge ( Jack McCulloch) - The Five Day Week Straw People (Jack McCulloch) - Khan (Nigel Portman-Smith) - Dave Lewis (solo efforts) - The Magic Mixture ( Jack McCulloch) - Magna Carta (Nigel Portman-Smith) - Jimmy McCulloch and White Line ( Jack McCulloch) - The Method (Dave Lewis - Dave McDougal - One In a Million ( Jack McCulloch) - The Pentangle (Nigel Portman-Smith) - Razar (Gordon Barton) - The Societie (Dave McDougal - Dave Struthers - Wild Country ( Jack McCulloch) - A Wild Uncertainly (Gordon Barton)
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Genre: rock Rating: 3 stars *** Title: World's End Company: Dunhill Catalog: DS
50095 Country/State: Northern Ireland Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: gatefold sleeve Available: 1 Catalog ID: 1 Price: $50.00
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Having added keyboardist Dave McDugall to the line-up, in 1970 the band signed with Andrew Cameron Miller's Reflections label. For some reason ABC Dunhill acquired US distribution rights. Now working as Andwella (goodbye to the Dream), the band released 1970's "World's End". Co-produced by Lewis, label owner Miller and John Hawkins, the album was recorded in London's Trident Studios. With singer/multi-instrumentalist David Lewis responsible for ten of the eleven compositions, the collection all but abandoned their earlier psychedelic sound in favor of a more conventional blues-rock attack. Lewis handled lead vocals and while had a somewhat anonymous voice, his performances were uniformly enjoyable. As reflected on the instrumental 'Michael Fitzhenry', 'Open On To Your Mind' and 'Just How Long' he was also a credible lead guitarist. Complete with horn and string arrangements, most of the eleven songs would have sounded right at home on FM radio. You could also tell what Lewis and company had been listening to in their spare time. With a jazzy sheen 'Hold On To Your Mind', 'Reason for Living' and 'Shadow of the Night' reflected a distinctive Stevie Winwood and Traffic vibe. As a big Traffic fan, that didn't bother me at all. 'Back On the Road' bore more than a passing The Band influence, while the ballad 'Lady Love', 'I'm Just Happy To See You Get Her' and 'Just How Long' were more commercial offerings.
I've always wondered if the cover image was supposed to be an image of Jesus Christ ...
"World's
End" track listing: 1.) Hold On To Your Mind (David Lewis) - 3:52 rating: **** stars The good news was 'Hold On To Your Mind' started the album off with a blazing rocker. The percussion rich melody was irritatingly good. Lead singer Lewis was quite impressive and the lyrics were far better than your standard early-'70s self-indulgent sludge. The bad news is the opening was a blatant rip off of The Stones' 'Sympathy for the Devil'. Kudos to them given if you were going to appropriate material you might as well borrow from the best. Add to that they were clever enough to blend The Stones-inspired opening with what sounded like late-period Steve Winwood and Traffic. Easy to see why it was released as a single:
- 1970's 'Hold On To Your Mind' b/w 'Shadow of the Night' (Reflection catalog R.S.3) 2.) Lady Love (David Lewis) - 4:16 rating: **** stars I'm usually not a fan of big ballads, but powered by Lewis' lovely voice and some tasty bass from Portman-Smith , 'Lady Love' was an exception to the rule. The track was tapped as a Dutch single:
- 1970's 'Lady Love' b/w 'Just How Long' (Pink elephant catalog number PE.22.556-H))
3.) Michael Fitzhenry (instrumental) (David Lewis) - 3:30 rating: *** stars Perhaps it was the prominent flute arrangement, but the blues-rock instrumental 'Michael Fitzhenry' has always reminded me of a Traffic effort. Drummer Gordon Barton's fills shone on this one. As a big Traffic fan, the Traffic comparison was a good thing ... This one always drops my blood pressure by a couple of points. 4.) I'm Just Happy To See You Get Her (Dave Lewis) - 3:00 rating: **** stars The orchestrated ballad, 'I'm Just Happy To See You Get Her' seemed to be the band's bid for commercial acceptance. Not only did it have a really strong melody, but it unleashed the band's lovely harmony vocals. Beautiful 5.) Just How Long (David Lewis) - 3:18 rating: **** stars Powered by Barton's opening drums, another strong melody and the nice combination of Lewis' guitar and McDougall's organ, the rocker 'Just How Long' was another album highlight. To my ear this one had sort of an early Uriah Heep feel. This is probably the track I would have picked as the single. 6.) The World's End (Part 1) (Bobby Scott) - 2:57 rating: *** stars My experience has been bands that dive into extended instrumental suites are normally just looking to fill out album space, or want to show off their sophistication. In the case of Adnwella the two part title track was a totally different beast. The lone non-original, the instrumental 'Part 1' melody was nothing short of beautiful and could easily be applied to a movie soundtrack. 7.) World's End (Part II) (David Lewis) - 2:27 rating: **** stars Adding a forlorn Lewis vocal to the melody made the song even better.
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2) The album's breeziest tune, 'Back On the Road' managed to blend a great country-tinged melody with some Band-styled harmonies and one of the prettiest trumpet solos I've ever heard. Every time I hear the multi-part harmonies I think of 'The Weight'. Another beautiful tune. 3.) I Got a Woman (David Lewis) - 2:58 rating: **** stars 'I Got a Woman' incorporate sort of a Bossa Nova flavor into the jazzy grooves. Slinky and quite sexy with an awesome guitar solo that would have made Carlos Santana happy ... The song was tapped as a promotional US single:
- 'I Got a Woman' b/w World's End (Part 2)'' (Dunhill catalog number D-4275)
4.) Reason for Living (David Lewis) - 3:11 rating: *** stars As reflected on 'Reason for Living' Lewis clearly had a knack for penning pretty melodies. In this case the only real complaint came from the rather abrupt ending. 5.) Shadow of the Night (David Lewis) - 3:36 The closing track 'Shadow of the Night' was another tune that's always reminded me of late-inning Stevie Winwood and Traffic. Similar to Traffic, the song had a jazzy vibe, kicked along by Bob Downes sax and flute.
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