line up 1  (1973-75)

- Colin Gibson - bass, percussion

- Bobby Harrison -- vocals, percussion

- Tim Hinckley -- keyboards

- Mickey Moody -- guitar

- Terry Popple -- drums, percussion 

  line up 2  (1975-76)

NEW - Brian Chatton -- keyboards (replaced Pete Solley)

- Colin Gibson - bass, percussion

- Bobby Harrison -- vocals, percussion

NEW - Tim Hinckley -- keyboards (replaced Pete Solley)

- Mickey Moody -- guitar

- Terry Popple -- drums, percussion 

  backing musicians (1975)

- Liza Strike -- backing vocals

- Viola Wills -- backing vocals 

  line up 3  (1976)

NEW - Clem Clempson -- guitar (replaced Mickey Moody)

- Brian Chatton -- keyboards 

- Colin Gibson - bass, percussion

- Bobby Harrison -- vocals, percussion

- Tim Hinckley -- keyboards

- Terry Popple -- drums, percussion 

- 21st Century Schizoid Band (Mel Collins)

- The Assembly (Clem Clemson)

- Bakerloo (Clem Clemson)

- Ginger Baker's Airforce (Colin Gibson)

- Bo Street Runners (Tim Hinckley)

- Borderline (Mickey Moody)

- Boys Don't Cry (Brian Chatton)

- Arthur Brown

- Byron Band

- Camel (Mel Collins)

- Champion (Clem Clemson)

- Brian Chatton (solo efforts)

- Chicago Line (Tim Hinckley)

- Circus (Mel Collins)

- Clem Clemson (solo efforts)

- Mel Collins (solo efforts)

- Colosseum (Clem Clemson)

- The Company of Snakes (Mickey Moody)

- Mike Cotton (Mickey Moody)

- Fission Trip (Mel Collins)

- Flaming Youth (Brian Chatton)

- Fox

- Freedom (Bobby Harrison)

- The Golden Apples of the Sun (Bobby Harrison)

- Greenslade (Clem Clemson)

- Hamburg Blues Band (Clem Clemson)

- Bobby Harrison (solo efforts)

- Hickory (Brian Chatton)

- Tim Hinkley (solo efforts)

- Hinkley's Heroes (Tim Hinckley)

- Humble Pie (Clem Clemson)

- Jackson Heigths (Brian Chatton)

- Jody Grind (Tim Hinckley)

- Juicy Lucy (Mickey Moody)

- King Crimson (Mel Collins)

- Kokomo (Mel Collins)

- Alex Korner & Snape (Mel Collins)

- Alvin Lee

- Lindisfarne

- Little House Band (Mickey Moody)

- Los Bravos

- M3 (Mickey Moody)

- Magesticaires (Mickey Moody)

- Steve Marriott and the Allstars (Clem Clemson)

- Mezzoforte (Bobby Harrison)

- Denny Mitchell Soundstation (Tim Hinkley)

- Mickey Moody (solo efforts)

- The Moody Marsden Band (Mickey Moody)

- Nobody's Business (Bobby Harrison)

- Paladi

- Patto's People (Tim Hinckley)

- The Powerpack (Bobby Harrison)

- Procol Harum (Bobby Harrison)

- Rough Diamond (Clem Clemson)

- Tramline (Mickey Moody and Terry Popple)

- Snakecharmer (Mickey Moody)

- The Snakes (Mickey Moody)

- Strange Brew (Clem Clemson)

- The Streetwalkers (Tim Hinckley)

- Vinegar Joe (Tim Hinckley)

- The Warriors (Brian Chatton)

- Whitesnake (Mickey Moody)

- Young and Moody (Mickey Moody)

Genre: rock

Rating: 3 stars ***

Title:  All Funked Up

Company: Capitol

Catalog: ST-11473
Year: 1975

Country/State: UK

Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+

Comments: punch hole top right corner

Available: 1

Catalog ID: 20374

Price: $40.00

Best time to play:  while doing your income taxes

Snafu's third studio release was issued after the band underwent a personnel shake-up that saw original keyboardist Peter Solley replaced by Brian Chatton and Tim Hinckley.  Co-produced by Bob Potter and the band, 1975's "All Funked Up" found the band stepping towards a more open and commercial sound.  Like most things in life, the album offered up a mixed bag of material.  First the positives:

- Bobby Harrison's gravelly voice remained a pleasure to hear.  Harrison was one of those guys who could seemingly sing the hell out of anything.  That talent wasn't enough to salvage a crappy song, but was a nice characteristic for any band to sport.

- Guitarist Moody was one of rock's lost treasurers, adding value to virtually any song he played on.

- Exemplified by material such as their cover of The Allman Brothers' 'Please Don't Keep Me Wondering' and the original 'Deep Water', the band remained capable of turning in exceptional performances.

Now for the negatives.

- Harrison had a powerful voice, but like many of his contemporaries, frequent thought more was better.  Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.  Exemplified by 'Keep On Running', shrill, over-singing is never a good thing.

- The band had good tastes when it came to outside material, but in picking songs like Otis Redding's 'Hard To Handle', Brenda Holloway's 'Every Little Bit Hurts' and Stevie Wonder's 'Keep On Running' they picked classics tunes that they simply weren't going to be able to match.

- Original material like 'Lock and Key' and 'Bar Room Tan' found them falling victim to the dreaded British blues band disease.

- Shrill backing singers typically don't add much to a performance.

The result was a deeply inconsistent collection that resembled a bell curve.  To pull a page from Tymeshifter's rating book, the album would get 2 A's, 1 B, 4 C's, and 3 D's.

Given the album's meager sales and resulting scarcity, it seems that most of the band's two dozen fans were less than thrilled by the band's new musical direction.  Within a short period, SNAFU was history.

"All Funked Up" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Please Don't Keep Me Wondering   (Gregg Allman) - 5:29  rating: *** stars

So you had to admire the band for be willing to take on an Allman Brothers classic.  And while this cover wasn't going to make you forget the original, it wasn't without some pleasant moments.  The percussion heavy introduction gave you a hint this album was going in a direction that differed substantial from the first two sets. Admittedly the funky sound took a little getting acclimated tom but things shifted into a higher gear when Bobby Harrison's gritty voice kicked in.  Still, kicked along by Mickey Moody's nifty little guitar riff, the song got better with repeated spins.  On the other hand, every  time I listen to the song I get the sneaky feeling I'm listening to a bar band trying to do a Traffic cover.

2.) Bloodhound   (Mickey Moody - A. Fuller ) - 5:24  rating: *** stars

Coupled with the nifty title track refrain, Moody's slinky slide guitar got 'Bloodhound' off to a tasty start and kept it going for the full five plus minutes.

3.) Lock and Key   (Bobby Harrison - Mickey Moody - Pete Solley) - 3:10   rating: ** stars

The song's bluesy feel coupled with Moody's slide guitar gave 'Lock and Key' a Humble Pie, or Ten Years After vibe.  Some folks will love it.  Others not so much ...   YouTube has a clip of the band lip synching the tune on the British Supersonic television program.  Funny to see drummer Terry Popple placed upfront: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwcX-fZvnu4 

4.) Hard To Handle   (Otis Redding - Isbell - Booker T. Jones) - 3:05  rating: *** stars

Obviously no cover is ever going to beat Otis Redding's classic performance, but give Harrison and company credit for turning in a credible cover.  Always loved Moody's slashing guitar in this one.

5.) Every Little Bit Hurts   (Ed Cobb) - 4:25   rating: ** stars

The song's bluesy feel coupled with Moody's slide guitar gave 'Lock and Key' a Ten Years After vibe.  Some folks will love it.  Others not so much ...   YouTube has a clip of the band lip syn

What's the old saying?  Something along the lines that If you fly to close to the sun, your wings melt ...  In this case they may have recorded one too many classic soul tracks.  Brenda Holloway will always own this one.  The wailing backing singers (Viola Wills and Liza Strike) didn't help.

(side 2)

1.) Turn Around   (Brian Chatton) - 4:50  rating: *** stars

Perhaps the album's most mainstream song, 'Turn Around' was built on the combination of nice melody, some bubbling Moog and a fantastic Colin Gibson bass line.  This one had some commercial potential, though nobody was listening.

2.) Deep Water   (Mickey Moody - Fuller) - 5:32  rating: ***** stars

'Deep Water' found the band rolling it back, opting for a jazzier sound.  The song sported the album's best melody and was notable for Harrison's relatively restrained vocals.  I even enjoyed the Mel Collins sax solo.  The song would have made a nice single.

3.) Keep On Running   (Stevie Wonder) - 3:26   rating: ** stars

Subjecting Stevie Wonder's 'Keep On Running' to a full out rock treatment may have looked like a good idea on paper, but in execution it made for a plodding bar band rocker.  Not even Moody's scratchy guitar could save this one.

4.) Bar Room Tan   (Mickey Moody - Fuller) - 3:52  rating: *** stars

Even on pedestrian material like the bluesy 'Bar Room Tan', the combination of Harrison growl of a voice and Moody's guitar could generate considerable energy.

5.) Dancing Feet   (Bobby Harrison - Brian Chatton) - 5:20  rating: ***** stars

By all measures, I should have hated 'Dancing Feet', but the band's energetic performance; particularly Moody's performance, turned it into one of the album highlights.