Heads, Hands & Feet
Tracks

I'm a true music nerd. I like to seek out unknown albums from unknown bands and perhaps praise them to make myself look cool.

This is a band I discovered by chance, which doesn’t even have a page on Italian Wikipedia, and most of the songs on this album aren’t even uploaded on YouTube. Why am I reviewing this album? Simply because it's worth it. The genre is folk rock/country, and the band consists of five members, among whom is the great Albert Lee.

It was the year 2000 when I first heard "Road Show," rummaging through my father's 45s, who at the time (between the '60s and '70s) managed Juke-Boxes. I have unfortunately lost that record today, but I searched in vain on the internet for this song under Albert Lee's name without finding anything, until a few months ago when I discovered that Albert Lee is actually the composer but the band is Heads, Hands & Feet. The emotion of listening to it again after 12 years was indescribable. We are in 1972, in the full swing of the Hard Rock era, and this band vaguely resembles the Deep Purple, even if this statement should be taken with a pinch of salt: no hard rock, no distortions, just the pristine guitar work of Albert Lee. The country vein is strongly noticeable in almost all the songs, starting with "Let's Get This Show On The Road," featuring a catchy refrain in Jerry Lee Lewis style. The second track, "Safety in Numbers," although not bad, is the one I always skip because it doesn't particularly appeal to me. The third, as I've already mentioned, is "Road Show": a great piece where the piano and feeling reign supreme. I've listened to it a hundred times and never tire of it. Apparently, it's perhaps the only single from the album, by Capitol Records. The following folk track is "Harlequin," a slow acoustic piece with excellent guitar solos, while the fifth track, "Dancer," is almost an interlude containing some verses and a carefree chorus sung a cappella. The following piece "Hot Property" starts with an excellent breathtaking bluegrass burst that features amazing banjo and electric guitar lines, really not bad, while the rest is a nice song with a cool guitar riff. Some notes from an electric piano introduce us to the anthem of the famous whiskey par excellence: Jack Daniel's Old No. 7, Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey, a song with violin solos that take us directly to the southern United States even though the band is English. Things calm down with the next two songs. "Rhyme & Time" is, as the title suggests, a poem set to the notes of an acoustic guitar, while the following "Paper Chase" is the most unusual song on the album: genre-wise it's similar to "Road Show," but it's dark, melancholic and for this very reason, quite interesting, with reverberating and distant choirs that are truly something epic. "Song & Dance" ends the album beautifully, another guitar riff for a folk rock song where you can already notice Albert Lee’s guitar style which will distinguish this great guitarist in his solo career. As a true music nerd, I've made this album my own and keep it as dear as other albums from the era of giants like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, because it wouldn’t look out of place next to a Led Zeppelin III or a Fireball. If I've piqued your curiosity, then try hopping on YouTube and search for "Road Show," "Hot Property," Jack Daniels Old No.7, or some other songs. You won’t be disappointed if you're a classic rock lover.