line-up 1 (1976-77)

- Trevor Burton -- bass, guitar, backing vocals

- Dave Carroll -- lead guitar

- Steve Gibbons -- vocals, rhythm guitar

- Bob Lamb -- drums, percussion

- Bob Wilson -- guitar, keyboards, backing vocals

- B.L & G (Trevor Burton)

- Balls (Steve Gibbons)

- Bronco (Robbie Blunt)

- The Trevor Burton Band (Trevor Burton)

- Crushed Butler (Trevor Burton)

- The Roy Harper Band (Bob Wilson) 

- The Idle Race (Dave Carroll and Bob Wilson) 

- The Move (Trevor Burton)

- The Pink Fairies (Trevor Burton)

- The Don Powell Band (Bob Wilson) 

- The System (Bob Wilson) 

- Tea and Symphony (Dave Carroll and Bob Wilson) 

- The Uglys (Steve Gibbons)

Genre: rock

Rating: **** (4 stars)

Title:  Rollin' On

Company: MCA

Catalog: MCA-2243

Year: 1974

Country/State: Birmingham, UK

Grade (cover/record): VG/VG+

Comments: cut lower right corner

Available: 1

Catalog ID: 4680

Price: $15.00

Cost: $66.00

As a military brat living in Europe during the mid-1970s I listened to hours and hours of local radio.  The BBC, Radio Luxemburg and the pirate stations like Radio Caroline that broadcast from the English Channel were favorites for the incredibly diverse selection of music (at least by American standards) they played.  Listening to those stations, one of my personal discoveries was The Steve Gibbons Band.  

Critics have labeled Gibbons as the English Bob Seger, but such a comparison is little more than superficial, doing credit to neither party.  The two share a love for basic, no frills rock and roll but that's pretty much where the comparisons end.  Well, no - they both had beards and don't-give-a-f*ck-attitudes to their critics.

Produced by Ken Laguna, 1977's "Rollin' On" represents prime Gibbons and stands as one of his best collections.  Credited with penning twelve of the fourteen tracks, original material such as the blazing rocker 'Light Up Your Face', 'Please Don't Say Goodbye' and a live 'Tupelo Mississippi Flash' showcased Gibbons' knack for crafting material that was tuneful, commercial, yet rocked with an intensity that's all but absent from music these days.  Personally I loved Gibbons' dry, sinewy rasp of voice.  You just didn't want to meet this guy in a dark alley.  Besides, how could songs like 'Wild Flowers' and 'Low Down Man' not have garnered top-40 airplay?  Other highlights included the radio-friendly 'Till the Fire Burns Out', the hard-rocking title track, and the sweet ballad 'Cross Me Over the Road'.  Interestingly, the album's cover of Chuck Berry's 'Tulane' provided Gibbon's with an unexpected UK hit.   Admittedly the set wasn't perfect.  Exemplified by tracks like 'Now You Know Me' and 'Till the Well Runs Dry' Gibbons' brushes with country music didn't do much for me.  And the rockabilly single 'Tupelo Mississippi Flash' was a waste of vinyl.

"Rollin' On" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Wild Flowers   (Steve Gibbons) - 4:09  rating: **** stars

Showcasing one of the pretties melodies he ever crafted, 'Wild Flowers' beautifully showcased Gibbons' dry, craggy voice.  Framed by nice acoustic guitars and a sweet chorus, I always wondered why MCA didn't select this one as a single.

2.) Light Up Your Face   (Steve Gibbons)  - 3:07  rating: **** stars

It was easy to hear why the blazing rocker 'Light Up Your Face' was a standard in the band's live repertoire.  Gibbons' sinewy voice sounded like a rattlesnake getting ready to take a bite out of your arm.

3.) Now You Know Me   (Steve Gibbons)  - 3:36   rating: *** stars

I'm normally not a big fan of country music, but 'Now You Know Me' was one of those rare exceptions.  Might have been the hypnotic banjo pattern, or Gibbons' dry, gasping vocals.

4.) Mr. Jones   (Steve Gibbons) - 4:33   rating: ** stars

The first modest disappointment, 'Mr. Jones' found Gibbons' talked his way more than singing through this dark tale of a drug mule experience.  YouTube has a November 1977 performance of the tune taken from the BBC's "Sight and Sound" show: Steve Gibbons Band – Mr Jones - BBC ‘Sight and Sound’, Nov 1977 - YouTube

5.) Till the Well Runs Dry   (Steve Gibbons) - 4:13   rating: ** star

'Till the Well Runs Dry' was another country-tinged track.  The melody and backing vocals were pretty, but this one didn't do much for me.

6.) Tulane   (Chuck Berry) - 2:52   rating: *** stars

Mind you there was noting wrong with Gibbons' energetic cover of this Chuck Berry classic.  In fact, it's one of the better covers.  At the same time there was something disappointing seeing MCA tap it as the leadoff single given the quality originals on the album.  Not sure when or where it was filmed, but YouTube has a clip of the band lip-synching the song for television: Steve Gibbons Band - Tulane [1977] - YouTube

- 1974's 'Tulane' b/w 'Now You Know Me' (Polydor catalog number 2058 889)

(side 2)
1.) Low Down Man   (Steve Gibbons) - 3:06  rating: **** stars

Sporting a sweet blue-eyed soul melody and some funny Mamas and the Papas harmonies, 'Low Down Man' was another performance with considerable commercial potential.

2.) Till the Fire Burns Out   (Steve Gibbons) - 3:00  rating: **** stars

'Till the Fire Burns Out' was the album's most commercial and radio-ready pop tune.  Fans of Gibbons' hard edge might not be all that thrilled, but I love it.

3.) Cross Me Over the Road   (Steve Gibbons)  - 3:13   rating: *** stars

Always loved the opening guitar segment and from there 'Cross Me Over the Road' offered up a sweet ballad revealing Gibbons' softer side.

4.) Right Side of Heaven   (Steve Gibbons)  - 0:55   rating: ** stars

The a cappella 'Right Side of Heaven' was more of song fragment than a full composition.  Forgettable.

5.) Rollin On   (Steve Gibbons)  - 3:53   rating: **** stars

Thankfully 'Rollin On' found Gibbons and company returning to more conventional hard rock.  Still trying to figure out how you transition from an a cappella number to 'Rollin On.'   One of my favorite performances.  If anything the live version is even better - Another clip from their Sight and Sound appearance: Steve Gibbons Band – BBC ‘Sight and Sound’, Nov 1977 – Rollin’ - YouTube

6.) Please Don't Say Goodbye   (Steve Gibbons) - 3:07   rating: **** stars

With a melody that managed to mash-up bubblegum catchiness with a strong country-rock melody, 'Please Don't Say Goodbye' just screamed play-me-on-radio.  Nice display of the band's awesome harmonies.  Hitting the mid-'70s television circuit, YouTube has a clip of the band seemingly singing over a canned backing track for the ITV Supersonic program.  Steve Gibbons Band - Please Don't Say Goodbye - on the ITV show Supersonic - YouTube

7.) Tupelo Mississippi Flash   (Jerry Reed) - 4:39   rating: ** stars

Almost a rockabilly tune, I'm not sure why MCA tapped it as the album's second single.  Here's a link to an October 1977 appearance on The Top of the Pops:  Steve Gibbons Band - Tupelo Mississippi Flash (TOTP 1977) HD - YouTube

- 1974's 'Tupelo Mississippi Flash' b/w 'Till the Fire Burns Out' (Polydor catalog number 2058 940)

8.) Rounden   (Steve Gibbons)  - rating ** stars

Aged 73 in 2014 - Gibbons is still touring to this day and is surely one of the most underrated and overlooked treasures British Rock 'n' Roll has. Buy with confidence... Read more 3 people found this helpful Helpful Report abuse Ralph Quirino 4.0 out of 5 stars Double Dose Dynamite Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2000 Like so many British rockers of the mid-seventies, Gibbons grew up influenced by fifties r&r and British skiffle. His long, hard work gigging up & down pubs adding hue to his rock. This double CD courtesy Road Goes On Forever teams up two great Gibbons albums on a double CD set that's surprisingly affordable and still enjoyable after all these years (both albums had seen limited North American release on MCA at the time). Like Dire Straits, the guitars tend to be bendable and fluid, the vocals a little grimy and unpolished, the production edgy and bright. But these are all pluses, especially on cuts like "Spark Of Love", "Rollin'", "Now You Know Me" and "Till The Fire Burns Out". Both CDs also boast bonus tracks (five in all) that sound like they fit right in. Like Sniff N'The Tears and Ducks Deluxe, Steve Gibbons serves up great British-flavored rock that's winning and heartening to hear. Fans won't be disappointed. Now, is there any chance somebody will reissue DOWN IN THE BUNKER, Steve's superb 1978 album? 8 people found this helpful Helpful Report abuse A. Edward Harvey 5.0 out of 5 stars TWICE AS GOOD...! Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2009 I SURE HOPE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN PAYING ATTENTION LATELY TO THE SITUATION THAT EXISTS WITH STEVE GIBBONS & RGF RECORDS. RGF IS DOING WHAT EVERY FAN OF STEVE'S HAS BEEN PRAYING FOR......RE-RELEASING ALMOST ALL OF HIS WORK. AND THEY'RE DOING A GREAT JOB OF IT, TOO...! PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING INCLUDES BONUS TRACKS, AND THERE ARE SOME HIDDEN GEMS AMONGST THESE. I BECAME A STEVE GIBBONS FAN BACK IN '76, AFTER SEEING HIM OPEN FOR NILS LOFGREN IN BALTIMORE. TOUGH NIGHT FOR NILS IT WAS, BUT THAT STEVE GIBBONS BAND WAS SOME KIND OF GOOD. THIS PACKAGE FEATURES RE-RELEASES OF "ANY ROAD UP" AND "ROLLIN' ON." IT'S AS GOOD A 1-2 PUNCH AS YOU CAN FETCH ANYWHERE, AND THE BONUS TRACKS ARE SIMPLY RIGHTEOUS. NOW, WHAT TO DO?! SIMPLE, REALLY, JUST 2 STEPS: (1) BUY THIS PRODUCT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE; (2) CHECK OUT RGF'S WEBSITE FOR FURTHER INFO ON WHAT THEY'RE DOING WITH THE REST OF THIS EXCELLENT ARTIST'S CATALOGUE. MAXIMUM ENJOYMENT IS A GIVEN WITH THIS 2-DISC SET. PLAY THEM LOUDLY & ENJOY...! THIS ONE DESERVES MORE THAN 5 STARS.........REALLY. Helpful Report abuse Rick Chenault 4.0 out of 5 stars Any road you want... Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2001 I have only just relistened to the the "Any Road Up" portion of this disc and it brought back a lot of great memories for me. I saw SGB with the WHO in a little gymnasium in Sindlefingen, Germany back in 76. The show was amazing!!! Gibbons rocked and his version of Watching the River Flow was stupendous. At the time that their album "Down In The Bunker" was released he was being touted as a "British Bob Seger" which I feel did him a real disservice. Seger had started the sharp decline into AOR mediocrity which he has since continued but Gibbons was still vital, rockin and relevant. The Real Shame was that he was never accepted stateside because at the time he was needed on american radio. Just a note he has an album/cd available thru import of dylan covers which are great. YOU MUST BUY THIS CD IF YOU VALUE GOOD,SMART, HONEST, ROCK N ROLL!!! 3 people found this helpful Helpful Report abuse Kenneth J. Pettifer 5.0 out of 5 stars Choch full of memories Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2009 I used to go see the Steve Gibbons Band in Birmingham back in the mid 70's and listening to "Any Road Up' brings back many memories. But it's more than an album of memories. It's full of well crafted rockin' tunes with a live feel to them. So much so that you can almost smell the beer and cigarettes when you play it! Wonderful, absolutely wonderful.

Rollin' On is also a great album and it's songs rank up there with the best of them.

All in all, this is a great package and, as they say in Brum.......Oil give it foyve.

New boxset that includes the four albums that Brum music legend Steve Gibbons recorded with his band from 1976 to 1978, plus a BBC Radio In Concert session and many bonus tracks. Found amongst this collection is the 1977 UK Top Twenty hit single Tulane. Ian Canty gets a cob on

Steve Gibbons had already enjoyed quite a musical career even before forming the band that bore his name. The former frontman of The Uglys was a fixture on the Birmingham beat scene from its inception and had joined Jeff Lynne’s old outfit The Idle Race just before they spluttered to a halt in 1972. The last line up of that band junked the name and eventually became The Steve Gibbons Band. In this newly christened group Trevor Burton, who was a member of The Move in their 60s pomp, was on bass. The line up also included guitarists Bob Wilson (not the ex-Arsenal goalie/consummate sports presenter) and Dave Carroll, drummer Bob Lamb and of course Steve himself. They then quickly set about a building a top reputation as a hard gigging aggregation.

Peter Meaden, the ace mod face of the 1960s youth subculture, was impressed by the band’s no-holds barred approach at a gig they played at the legendary Islington rock pub The Hope & Anchor. He followed them to their next engagement back in Birmingham and soon signed them up by to a management deal in partnership with The Who’s representative Bill Curbishley, the brother of footballer Alan. Curbishley’s first task was to extricate Steve and the band from a long-term contract with The Move’s former manager Tony Secunda, which was accomplished with a large amount of money changing hands.

As a result of their link up with Peter and Bill, three quarters of The Who got directly involved with the affairs of The Steve Gibbons Band, with John Entwhistle even working on their first two albums, starting with the first mix of 1976 debut album Any Road Up. Entwhistle was scheduled to produce the finished version of the record, but all did not go according to plan, as the Ramport version didn’t hit the spot. As a result, US bubblegum mastermind Kenny Laguna was brought in to carry out a salvage job at Advision Studios, Fiztorvia. The LP, issued by the Polydor label, takes up most of the first disc of Rollin’. There are two bonus bonus efforts as well in Back Street Cat, a powerful rock & roll number with some dicey lyrics and the gravel-voiced, red-hot hard rock of Dick Malone.

While Steve notes in the accompanying booklet that they didn’t fit in with punk as such, it’s real no surprise that Stiff Records were interested before the Polydor deal. The evidence Any Road Up furnishes us with shows a bunch of older musicians with a main stock-in-trade that consisted of a brand of occasionally bluesy, totally unfashionable but tough street rock. In a nutshell, not unlike the pub rock that morphed into new wave on Stiff. While what they did was was far from the stark change punk offered, it was still something of a contrast to the easy listening pop mainstream of the time.

The pounding Take Me Home acts as a good curtain raiser. To prove that The Steve Gibbons Band weren’t one trick ponies, there are mellower moments though. Like Spark Of Love and Strange World for instance, both of which meld pure pop with some nice jazz guitar inflections. This is a decent, entirely self-penned debut that sets out the band’s stall pretty well. The excellent pop rocker Standing On The Bridge and the jagged riffing of Speed Kills are my favourites of the whole set. On the downside, the diversion into disco Natural Thing does not really work at all.

There seems to be some disagreement between Steve and producer Laguna as to whether the band had much original material in the lead up to their second album Rollin’ On, which was issued a year later in 1977. If that was the case, it strangely enough may have worked in their favour. Tulane, an old Chuck Berry number, was one of the two covers and it surprised everyone, including The Steve Gibbons Band themselves, in become a bona-fide hit single. The album ensues with the good-time pop rock of Wild Flowers, but Rollin’ On really slips into gear with the more punchy Light Up Your Face, which segues into a smart country rock influence on Now You Know Me.

Mr Jones is a cool r&b shuffle with a drug themed lyric and Tulane shows the band’s strengths in reinterpreting the Chuck Berry song as a revved up late 1970s rocker. What they come up with Dave Edmunds or Nick Lowe would have been proud of. Cross Me Over The Road is one of The SGB’s better slower songs and they even dip into acapella for Right Side Of Heaven, before the title track takes the listener back to an urgent street rock sound. A live version of Jerry Reid’s Tupelo Mississippi Flash kicks up a real storm and another short burst of vocals in Rounden finishes off an album that was pretty adept in portraying The Steve Gibbons Band as a viable rock & roll force on the 1977 music scene.

On this disc we get five bonuses, setting off with a power-packed non-LP single Gave His Life To Rock ‘n’ Roll. Make The Good Times Last is another up-tempo and meaty barn burner and the Dick Malone story gets an update on Dick Leaps In. To end with there are two tracks from their February 1977 John Peel session, with a bouncy take of Please Don’t Say Goodbye and Rollin’ On both shining bright.

The next step for The Steve Gibbons Band was a quickfire follow up in the shape of live album, as one senses that onstage was where they really came into their element. As such, it appeared a banker move all round, with the set featuring the hit single, a few numbers from their back catalogue, a large helping of covers and a couple of unreleased items. In the sleeve note Laguna asserts that the LP was drawn from shows at Akron, Ohio and London’s Dingwalls. It also comes to light that The Steve Gibbons Band’s cover of The Beatles’ Day Tripper may have been a wholly studio creation and overdubs of audience noise taken from other live LPs were added.

Whatever the circumstances, Caught In the Act presents itself perhaps as the key Steve Gibbons Band document. Ensuing with a raw blues rock version of Bob Dylan’s Watching The River Flow, throughout the album the listener is presented with a thoroughly unpretentious, totally honest outfit that thrived in a live environment. The solid instrumental base and sheer hard work of the band set the scene for Steve’s songs to work their magic. A nicely judged cut of The Coasters’ Shopping For Clothes is cool and funky and it is followed by a jumping take of rockabilly oldie Git It.

The version of He Gave His Life To Rock ‘n’ Roll could be The Steve Gibbons Band’s appeal in a nutshell: driving 1970s street rock with r&b accoutrements, all rendered with a ball of good-natured energy. And The Music Plays On is more restrained, but beats a path marvellously and builds to a neat climax. One Of The Boys, which doesn’t appear on any of the three studio sets, is an excellent high power hard rocker with smart guitar interplay and You Gotta Pay, which similarly didn’t show up on the studio albums, is nippy and natty. This all sets up Caught In The Act for a quite explosive three-pronged finale of Tulane, Speed Kills and Rollin’. Like many albums of this type, the question of how “live” the LP actually is remains in question, but what is certain is that it is a great set that caught the atmosphere of a Steve Gibbons Band in concert well.

The bonus tracks for this disc are drawn from a second visit to BBC Studios to record for John Peel in July 1977. The band nip into Carl Perkins’ songbook for the pure rock & roll of Boppin’ The Blues, but elsewhere opt to record singles Tulane and He Gave His Life To Rock ‘n’ Roll. As was usual with BBC sessions, these are dynamic, clear versions which benefit from the simplicity of the recording methods. The Music Plays On, which featured on the live section of this disc, gets a good studio outing too.

By the band’s fourth long player Down In The Bunker, Kenny Laguna had fallen out with Peter Meaden and as a result David Bowie cohort Tony Visconti was drafted in to produce. The percussion driven intro to No Spitting On The Bus gets us underway and the title Any Road Up gets reused for a song boosted by a really infectious rhythm and handclaps. Gibbons and Co dip their toe in a mix of country gospel on Big J.C. and Down In The City adds faint reggae touches to its rockin’ bustle.

Brass is used extensively on Let’s Do It Again and the energetic and catchy Eddy Vortex restored the band to the lower reaches of the UK singles chart. When You Get Outside is a neat strut with some fine guitar and overall Down In The Bunker is a decent selection, but possibly one that sacrifices a little of the band’s own unique identity as a complete unit with the added instrumentation.

Finally for disc four of Rollin’ – The Albums 1976-1978 we have eight bonus tracks appended to Down In The Bunker. This section kicks off in style with Gold Coast, which mixes rock and funk ably and pop tune Body Talk. Steve and band post a more overt attempt at reggae with Let Me Go and I Am Here’s restraint and moody setting help it become one of their better slow numbers. Non-LP single Get Up And Dance, a dance tune which relies on saxophone in part for its impact and Eddy Vortex’s b side punky Little Suzie ends this part of the set.

The final disc documents an appearance on the BBC Radio One/BBC2 Sight And Sound In Concert. After an intro from Anne Nightingale, The Steve Gibbons Band hurtle out of the traps with a fine and fiery One Of the Boys, before launching into a good version of early single Johnny Cool. Among the 14 songs here there is obviously a bit of a crossover with Caught In The Act, but we also get couple of previews for the Down In The Bunker album in the Bo Diddley beat of No Spitting On The Bus and an early go at the blues-picking of the title track, named here as Girl In The Bunker. This one has an oddball golf/sex/war theme! Mr Jones from Rollin’ On also crops up and a great performance of Speed Kills from the debut is a highlight.

They vamp the intro of Shopping For Clothes while tuning up, but it doesn’t take anything away from the tune and Boppin’ The Blues jives along nicely. Tulane is smartly delivered and the band are canny in gradually winding the set up with Tupelo Mississippi Flash and a raucous He Gave His Life To Rock ‘n’ Roll, before the climax of Rollin’, with some neatly phazed guitar and lastly a stomp through Day Tripper. On the whole, with on stage patter intact, this disc just eclipses Caught In The Act – it’s a very enjoyable live set that shows The Steve Gibbons Band’s awesome might in performance.

Rollin’ – The Albums 1976-1978 brings together a lot of activity from The Steve Gibbons band in a short period of time. That their excellent live sets tend to outshine the studio collections here confirms their repute as a hard-working, entertaining band on stage that were best enjoyed in that environment. Having said that, they did cut some sterling material among the three studio LPs and very much deserved their success at the time. The booklet included with the set has lyrics and a full history of the band’s turbulent two years stretch, with contributions from Steve himself and Kenny Laguna. It is all drawn together with typical style and panache by the late Malcolm Dome.

Like Mick Green’s mighty Pirates, The Steve Gibbons Band turned up at The Hope & Anchor Front Row Festival, rubbing shoulders with many new wave/punk acts. Both The Pirates and The SGB had the similar approach of no airs or graces, they simply took to the new age and got down to providing pure rock & roll fun. In that way these two older bands bridged the Year Zero divide. Steve Gibbons and his colleagues worked solidly during the two years documented here and to their credit they did experiment with some different sounds and styles too. For me The Steve Gibbons Band were always better going flat out for it on stage and the two examples included here are top notch, but the industry and craft that was their trademark yielded a fair number of high points on their studio work too.

The Steve Gibbons Band are on Facebook here and his website is here