Week of December 14, 2003

Capability Brown

Personnel:
Tony Ferguson - Vocals, Guitar, Bass
Dave Nevin - Keyboards, Guitar, Vocals, Bass
Kenny Rowe - Bass, Vocals, Percussion
Grahame White - Vocals, Guitar, Bass
Joe Williams - Vocals, Percussion
Roger Willis - Vocals, Drums, Keyboards

Albums:
(up to 1976) 
From Scratch (Charisma CAS 1056) 1972
Voice (Charisma CAS 1068) May 1973
Liar (Compilation) (Charisma CS 5) 1976

45s:
War (PS) (Charisma BCP 7) 1971
Wake Up Little Sister/Windfall (Charisma CB 193) 1972
Liar/Keep Death Off The Road (Charisma CB 217) 1973

This band's staple diet was mainstream rock with some arty pop leanings. Their "From Scratch" album had a couple of tracks with more progressive leanings: 'Rayge' and 'Sole Survivor'. This latter song was about the escape from the coming war with a time machine and culminated in some fine guitar work imitating time machine travel! There are reasonable stabs at Rare Bird's 'Beautiful Scarlet' and Russ Ballard's 'Liar'. They also covered another Rare Bird song, 'Redman', which dealt with the fate of the American Indians. The "Liar" album is a compilation of their recordings from 1972 and 1973.

Kenny Rowe had earlier been in The Moments and both he and Tony Ferguson had been in Harmony Grass. Joe Williams and Dave Nevin may also have been later members of Harmony Grass, whilst Roger Willis had played with The Gremlins. Willis, White and Ferguson went on to Krazy Kat in 1976.

'Wake Up Little Sister' later surfaced on the "One More Chance" compilation. 

(Vernon Joynson/Costas Arvanitis/Jim McMaster)

Taken from The Tapestry of Delights - The Comprehensive Guide to British Music of the Beat, R&B, Psychedelic and Progressive Eras 1963-1976, Vernon Joynson
ISBN 1 899855 04 1


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