7315 - AMERICAN BLUES - Do Their Thing (1968)

AMERICAN BLUES
''DO THEIR THING''
1968
27:33

1 - You Were So Close To Me 2:32
2 - Wonder Man 2:03
3 - Just Plain Jane 5:29
4 - Shady 3:20
5 - Comin' Back Home 3:06
6 - Captain Fire 3:26
7 - Chocolate Ego 2:57
8 - Nightmare Of A Wise Man 2:34
9 - Dreams 2:14
10 - Softly To The Sun 1:32

Frank Beard /Drums
Doug Davis /Piano
Dusty Hill /Bass, Vocals
Rocky Hill /Guitar, Vocals

REVIEW
American Blues were Dusty Hill [Joe Michael Hill] (bass), Rocky Hill [John Rockford Hill] (guitar), Frank Beard (drums), Doug Davis (piano, 1968). Dusty Hill and Frank Beard went on to ZZ Top after the group disbanded in 1969.

Released by MCA’s Uni subsidiary, 1969’s “The American Blues Do Their Thing” was a major improvement (over their first lp).. Self-produced, the collection found the band opting for a major change in direction.

Written by the Hills, material such as the lead-off “You Were So Close To Me”, “Captain Fire” and “Just Plain Jane” found the band attempting to capitalize on San Francisco-styled psychedelics. Elsewhere, the collection found the group mining a more conventional rock format; “Wonder Man” and “Shady” reflecting a distinctive Cream-influence, while the blazing “Comin’ Back Home” (complete with Beard and Rocky Hill meltdown solos) offered up a nice Hendrix imitation. Sure, it was largely derivative, but that didn’t lessen the enjoyment factor. A commercial failure, Uni promptly dropped the band.

(On a personal note, we’ve always wondered about the discrepancy between the front and back covers showing a trio and the liner notes listing four members.) Beard promptly left to join the newly formed ZZ Top, quickly recruiting Dusty as bassist. (Bad Cat)

BIOGRAPHY
BY ALLMUSIC
Formed in Dallas, Texas, USA, in 1968, the American Blues evolved out of local club attraction the Warlocks when Rocky Hill (guitar), Dusty Hill (b. Joe Hill, 19 May 1949, Dallas, Texas, USA; bass), Doug Davis (organ) and Frank Beard (b. 11 June 1949, Frankston, Texas, USA; drums) took their new name upon adopting a more ‘progressive’ sound. The American Blues Is Here, released on the local Karma Records label, featured their reworking of Tim Hardin’s ‘If I Were A Carpenter’ and generated sufficient interest to secure a major contract with Uni Records. The American Blues Do Their Thing offered a form of hard rock psychedelia, as evinced by such titles as ‘Chocolate Ego’ and ‘Nightmare Of A Wise Man’, but the album failed to spark national interest. The group disintegrated soon afterwards, with first Beard, then Dusty Hill, joining ZZ Top.

7314 - AMERICAN BLUES (1967)

AMERICAN BLUES
''AMERICAN BLUES''
1967
27:33

1 /If I Were a Carpenter
Tim Hardin 5:26
2 /All I Saw Was You
R. Hill 3:46
3 /She'll Be Mine 1:51
4 /Fugue for Lady Cheriff 2:14
5 /It's Gone 1:59
6 /Keep My Heart in a Rage 2:40
7 /Mercury Blues 4:14
8 /Melted Like Snow 3:15
9 /Mellow 2:08

Frank Beard /Drums
Doug Davis /Keyboards
Dusty Hill /Bass
Rocky Hill /Guitar, Vocals

REVIEW
by Mark Deming
Some bands make their greatest contribution by being reduced to parts, and that sadly seems to be where the American Blues fit into rock & roll history. Despite their name, the Dallas, Texas-based group had very little to do with the blues, instead playing a curious mishmash of hard rock, psychedelia, country-rock, and what would come to be known as progressive rock, and they didn't make much of an impact out of town. However, after they broke up, they contributed bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard to ZZ Top, which is the main reason their debut album, The American Blues Is Here, is remembered today. The band is not bad at all; then as now, Dusty and Frank were a solid rhythm section (though Beard sometimes overplays a bit here), and Rocky Hill (Dusty's brother) was a fine lead guitarist, but their material is what sinks this particular ship. The opening freakout revision of Tim Hardin's "If I Were a Carpenter" is a wobbly mess that loses momentum at the halfway point, and "All I Saw Was You," "Fugue for Lady Cheriff," and "Mellow" confirm that songwriting was not this group's strong point, and Rocky's vocals do little to mask the occasional inanity of the lyrics. The best track is a slow, swaggering version of "Mercury Blues" that's also the only indication of the sort of music Hill and Beard would soon make their bread and butter, and it stands out like a sore thumb in this context. The American Blues Is Here is a less than stellar example of the fading end of Texas psychedelia, and it's the sort of album that would be forgotten except by hardcore record collectors if it weren't for the rhythm section moving on to bigger and better things.

BIOGRAPHY
BY ALLMUSIC
Formed in Dallas, Texas, USA, in 1968, the American Blues evolved out of local club attraction the Warlocks when Rocky Hill (guitar), Dusty Hill (b. Joe Hill, 19 May 1949, Dallas, Texas, USA; bass), Doug Davis (organ) and Frank Beard (b. 11 June 1949, Frankston, Texas, USA; drums) took their new name upon adopting a more ‘progressive’ sound. The American Blues Is Here, released on the local Karma Records label, featured their reworking of Tim Hardin’s ‘If I Were A Carpenter’ and generated sufficient interest to secure a major contract with Uni Records. The American Blues Do Their Thing offered a form of hard rock psychedelia, as evinced by such titles as ‘Chocolate Ego’ and ‘Nightmare Of A Wise Man’, but the album failed to spark national interest. The group disintegrated soon afterwards, with first Beard, then Dusty Hill, joining ZZ Top.