Chris Spedding - Backwood Progression (1970 uk, awesome classic rock with glam and folk traces, 2014 remaster)

Chris Spedding is a special character in the history of English rock of the 70s is somehow the most visible musicians and rock stars more discreet, still right in the middle, centrist total, neither white nor black, perfect gray. At least that's what we can conclude listening to albums of his solo career, a career that began in 1970 with the album "Backwood progression.

Born in Derbyshire June 17, 1944, raised in Sheffield and Birmingham by adoptive parents, Chris Spedding embrace a musical career in the late 60s by joining the Battered Ornaments, jazz and rock group led by the legendary Pete Brown, poet, Cream lyricist and future host Piblokto, interesting English progressive rock band in the early 70s.  when Brown left the Battered Ornaments, they enter in a phase of decay, and one that we sense as savior Chris Spedding. Guitarist gifted jazzman who is also coach at Nucleus, Spedding can only note that the Battered Ornaments do not want to continue the adventure or even enjoy free recording hours available to them at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London.

As the group is still bound to a contract Harvest label, Chris Spedding is alone on board with Abbey Road sessions to the eye and an obligation to put out a record as soon as possible. It is these circumstances that give rise to the first solo album by Spedding, "Backwood progression." But the good Chris is primarily a musician accompanying a shark studio that will also be found a part of his career on this lucrative business. As he has never written a single song before the album he jumped into the water and made a dozen titles for the occasion.

Solo artist and composer default, Chris Spedding is going to deliver a decent album but completely outside the trade routes of the time it released. Neither hard nor soft, neither experimental nor commercial, nor adventurous nor nerdy, neither aggressive nor soft nor provocative preservatives or rock or jazz or prog or psych, or anything or everything, in short, completely neutral, "Backwood progress" door its name: One step forward, one step back but in the end, something that can defy time with an album to consistent quality, without exaggeration or weakness, balanced on allowing federate various tastes .

Without knowing it, without want it, Chris Spedding commits good album par excellence, one that will produce no tub, the one the rock critics fail to catch, as it is without bumps. Chris Spedding shows "Please Mrs. Henry" Bob Dylan, in a friendly version. And the most remarkable is when he refers to the condition of a session musician, with a "Session Man" which allows him to copy several styles of guitar (Jimmy Nolen Ritchie Havens), something that he happily emerge in 1976 on his song "Guitar jamboree" where he likes to copy lots of famous musicians. For it may be that, Chris Spedding: a great imitator, a guitarist who can do many things, and can truly forge his own style.

by François Becquart