Duffy Power - Innovations (Expanded & Remastered) (1970/2022) [Official Digital Download]

Duffy Power (1941-2014) was among Britain’s first wave of late 50s rock’n’rollers, a protégé of impresario Larry Parnes alongside Billy Fury, Marty Wilde and Georgie Fame. In 1963, a musical epiphany saw him become one of Britain’s greatest bluesmen – an intensely soulful singer, songwriter and harmonica virtuoso whose career thereafter would be a rollercoaster of amazing recordings, off/on record deals, and periods of withdrawal before bowing out of music-making in 1973. In the mid-60s, Duffy recorded with future members of Cream, Pentangle and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. He never had any problem impressing fellow musicians, but a wider appreciation of his work would only come in the CD era.

Despite a string of lavishly produced singles for Parlophone and an attempted comeback on CBS with the single ‘Hell Hound’ / ‘Hummingbird’ in 1970, Duffy’s first real success since the Larry Parnes era was the result of an ‘archive trawl’ LP in 1971 – among the first of its kind for a living artist. Entitled Innovations, the album brought together a dozen unreleased recordings made between 1965-67 for his publisher, Marquis Music, including several co-writes between Power and guitar hero and Melody Maker poll-winner John McLaughlin, who had revolutionised Miles Davis’ sound in the intervening years. Other musicians on the album – Jack Bruce, Danny Thompson and Terry Cox – had since found the sweet spot between commercial success and acclaimed progressive music, while drummers Phil Seamen and Red Reece were legends of British jazz. Released on Transatlantic Records in February 1971, Innovations caused a sensation, selling 30,000 copies and seeing Duffy featured at length in the British music press, prompting CBS to reissue the ‘Hell Hound’ single (flipping the sides). In the CD era, 10 further recordings from these Marquis Music sessions filtered out on various anthologies.

"Though it was issued in the early '70s, the Innovations album, confusingly, actually consisted of 1965-1967 demos that didn't see the light of day until they surfaced on this LP. Inevitably, this meant that the music was more overlooked than it would have been had Duffy Power managed to release the material shortly after it was recorded. For these are his best recordings, as noteworthy for the players on the album as Power himself. Power (who sings and plays occasional guitar and harp) is backed here by a rotating ensemble including, at various points, John McLaughlin and Jack Bruce (before they gained fame), as well as future Pentangle members Danny Thompson and Terry Cox. Neither as rock-oriented as the Rolling Stones nor as strictly revivalist as Alexis Korner (with whom Power played for a time), this is one of the best British blues recordings, cutting straight down the middle between gutbucket blues and soulful R&B. Divided equally between Power originals and R&B blues covers, the material and performances are spare, powerful, and as consistent as any '60s British blues album. Adding to the confusion surrounding this record, it was reissued under entirely different titles in the 1980s (as Mary Open the Door) and the 1990s (as Little Boy Blue. A 2006 two-CD compilation, Vampers & Champers, is something of an expanded edition of the record, including all 14 tracks from the original Innovations LP, two quality previously unreleased cuts recorded around the same time, and an assortment of material (some likewise previously unissued) spanning 1969 to 2002. In whatever way you locate the tracks on Innovations, however, the music should not be missed by fans of '60s British R&B." (Richie Unterberger, AMG)

Tracklist:
1. Rosie (02:01)
2. Leaving Blues (03:03)
3. It's Funny (02:06)
4. God Bless the Child (04:13)
5. Coming Round No More (01:34)
6. Give Me One (01:54)
7. Mary Open the Door (03:34)
8. Help Me (02:33)
9. Louisiana Blues (03:32)
10. Little Boy Blue (02:26)
11. Exactly Like You (02:27)
12. One Night (02:30)
13. There You Go (02:26)
14. Red, White and Blue (02:13)
15. I'm so Glad You're Mine (02:35)
16. Little Girl (1965 Version) (02:19)
17. I Want You to Love Me (03:56)
18. Dollar Mamie (01:57)
19. Hound Dog (Alt Take) (02:30)
20. Rags and Old Iron (02:59)
21. Little Boy Blue (1966 Version) (02:34)
22. Little Girl (1966 Version) (02:24)
23. Mary Open the Door (1966 Version) (02:41)
24. Just Stay Blue (03:06)
25. Hound Dog (Single Version) (03:04)


Thanks to the Original customer!