Dick Heckstall Smith...

[Jules]

I've asked this before a few years ago but thought I'd run it past all the newer folks- can anyone recommend an album with a lot of Dick Heckstall Smith's playing on it? He's a personal favourite of mine but I've rarely been able to find an album which gives him a good slice of the action (aside from the free CD which came with his autobiography, which is superb).... not helped by the fact I've got, er, problems with Chris Farlow's singing- which seems to regularly accompany DHS...

 

[Nick Wyver]

Woza Nazu
Blues and Beyond
You Don't Know Dick
Live 1990

(May contain elements of Farlowe)

I'll think further on't, but I have to go out now.

 

[ArtyLady]

John Mayall's Bare Wires, Colosseum's Tomorrow's Blues

(sorry just seen the Farlowe bit lol!)

 

[Saxlicker]

I've asked this before a few years ago but thought I'd run it past all the newer folks- can anyone recommend an album with a lot of Dick Heckstall Smith's playing on it? He's a personal favourite of mine but I've rarely been able to find an album which gives him a good slice of the action (aside from the free CD which came with his autobiography, which is superb).... not helped by the fact I've got, er, problems with Chris Farlow's singing- which seems to regularly accompany DHS...

I know he done some stuff with Jon T bone Taylor.
Probably not as much as you are after in a slice and from what I remember not particularly what I'd associate with him but it's out there anyway. There were a couple of tracks where he featured more.

 

[Nick Wyver]

On reflection, Woza Nazu is the one you want. Quite jazzy and vocal free.

The Live 1990 is also very good but the sound quality isn't as good. John Etheridge is on guitar. I see it's on Spotify, if you've got that.

 

[Jules]

Woza Nazu
Blues and Beyond
You Don't Know Dick
Live 1990

(May contain elements of Farlowe)

I'll think further on't, but I have to go out now.

Ta... the splendidly titled 'You Don't Know Dick' is a classic, if only for Aquamarine, a standard of his live set but only available on this disc as far as I know. Never knew 'Waza Nazu' was an album, but the track is a corker...
'Blues and Beyond' was my prime offender, picked it up a while ago hoping for much tenor action.... sadly disappointed

 

[aheckstall]

Hi all,

I especially liked his playing with John Etheridge and rate Live 1990 highly in terms of musicianship - well worth bearing with the low quality of the recording to hear some inspirational solos from both of them, including Dick playing a small home-made horn that I still have. He made it using the wooden body of something like a whistle, a goat/sheep horn, I think, and a soprano sax mouthpiece, and it had entirely it's own scale, so he would bend the notes pretty strongly and make it produce what for me were some quite haunting sounds.

Going back, one of my very favourite albums which features a lot of his playing is Things We Like, with Jack Bruce, Jon Hiseman and John McLaughlin recorded in 1968 but not released until 1971, I think it was.

I would also add Colosseum's Valentyne Suite from 1969, their last album with James Litherland on vocals and guitar.

Great to read this thread!

Arthur 🙂

Ta... the splendidly titled 'You Don't Know Dick' is a classic, if only for Aquamarine, a standard of his live set but only available on this disc as far as I know. Never knew 'Waza Nazu' was an album, but the track is a corker...
'Blues and Beyond' was my prime offender, picked it up a while ago hoping for much tenor action.... sadly disappointed