"...Lock And
Key..."
Taking their name from the famous World War II/Vietnam War slang phrase
(Situation Normal All F***ed Up) - SNAFU were a five-piece British Rock band
that managed three albums between early 1974 and early 1976.
Their first and self-titled debut "Snafu" hit the shops in
January 1974 (copyright date is 1973) on WWA Records WWA 003 with its Roger
Dean gatefold cover - whilst their last - and sporting a move towards
mid-Seventies Funk-Rock - came in January 1976 as "All Funked Up" on
Capitol Records E-ST 11473 (copyright date 1975).
Angel Air Records of the UK (with the band's permission) has the
exclusive CD reissues on their catalogue. Released January 2013 their debut
"Snafu" is on Angel Air SJPCD407 (Barcode 5055011704077) - while
released January 2000 "All Funked Up" – their third and last LP - is
on Angel Air SJPCD032 (Barcode 5055011700321).
What you have here is a firm fan fave - the one in the middle with the
Boeing 737 plane in the middle (of the artwork that is). Their second platter
was not surprisingly called "Situation Normal" - released October
1974 in Blighty (and like the debut, again on WWA Records). After that factoid
preamble, let’s get to the wind turbulence…
UK released 11 February 2013 - "Situation Normal" by SNAFU on
Angel Air Records SJPCD048 (Barcode 5055011704084) is a straightforward
transfer of their second studio album from 1974 (no bonus tracks) onto CD reissue and
remaster and plays out as follows (37:27 minutes):
1. No More [Side 1]
2. No Bitter Taste
3. Brown Eyed Beauty & The Blue Assed Fly
4. Lock & Key
5. Big Dog Lusty
6. Playboy Blues [Side 2]
7. Jessie Lee
8. Ragtime Roll
Tracks 1 to 8 are their second album "Situation Normal" -
released October 1974 in the UK on WWA Records WWA 010 and May 1975 in the USA
on Capitol Records ST-11343. Produced by STEVE ROWLAND (of Pretty Things fame)
and Engineered by MARTIN RUSHENT - the album didn't chart in either country.
There is a Picture CD using the Gregory Holdal front cover artwork, an
8-page booklet with new liner notes from CLAES JOHANSEN that includes
interviews with Bobby Harrison and Micky Moody. It talks of their formation,
tours as a support act with The Doobie Brothers, Eagles and War and features a
few period photos. It's small but perfectly formed. The Remaster is by NICK
WATSON at SRT Studios in Cambridge and its nice and beefy. You can hear its
power the second the Bass and Drums of "No More" kicks in.
Vocalist Bobby Harrison hailed from Procol Harum and Freedom (BH was on
the "Whiter Shade Of Pale" single) whilst Lead Guitarist Micky Moody
started in the Vertigo and Bronze Records rockers Juicy Lucy, passed through
Snafu and would eventually end up with Nazareth and Whitesnake. Keyboardist
Peter Solley had done stints with Chris Farlowe and The Thunderbirds, Fox and
Paladin to name but a few - whilst Bassist Colin Gibson had played with a huge
number of acts including Skip Bifferty, Ginger Baker's Air Force and Heavy
Jelly. Drummer Terry Popple had whacked his kit for the obscure Island Records
band Tramline, the even more obscure Australian Prog Rock band McPhee in 1971
and would eventually land in Alan Hull’s Lindisfarne offshoot group Radiator in
1977.
With all songs written by the trio of Bobby Harrison, Micky Moody and
Peter Solley - together the five-piece SNAFU created a sort of more soulful
Savoy Brown meets Juicy Lucy meets the Country-Rock of Brinsley Schwarz kind of
sound - with Micky Moody's stunning slide guitar work evident on the standout
track "Lock And Key" - while Bobby Harrison could get Paul Rodgers
soulful like on funky tunes like "No More" and "Playboy
Blues". A trio of guest horn players feature on the Side 2 finisher
"Ragtime Roll" - Mel Collins, Bud Beadle and Steve Gregory.
The Funk-Rock of "No More" is typical of their sound – mid
Seventies Cado Belle (over on Anchor Records) – Moody going into Boogie any
chance he gets. Things get Souther-Hillman-Furay Country Rock with the Pedal
Steel of "No Bitter Taste" – a postcard with a month-old date – our
poor boy is hoping against hope. Slim Chance type Mandolin opens the hoedown of
"Brown Eyed Beauty & The Blue Assed Fly" where the album suddenly
descends into a Gram Parsons pastiche – a yee haw misstep for me.
But then we hit 2:45 minutes of pure Juicy Lucy "Who Do You
Love" slide-guitar magic – the wildly sexy "Lock & Key"
where Moody lets rip with fantastic Elmore James slashing. Its here that you
realize if Snafu had more of this – they might have made a bigger impact than
flitting around between too many styles. In fact they knew the song was so good
that they returned to it for album number three, only that version is not Blues
Slide but Funk Rock more akin to Mother's Finest (both versions are cool by
me). Side One ends on the only-OK "Big Dog Lusty" – a Little Feat funk
tune that chugs along but feels like its trying too hard.
We return to Stevie Wonder clavinet Funk-Rock for Side 2's "Playboy
Blues" – a look back on my life song that has a great guitar break and
double-vocal chorus. "Jessie Lee" is a surprisingly pretty Country-Rock
bopper where Snafu sounds like Help Yourself and it all comes to an end with
five minutes of "Ragtime Doll" – a piano roller that starts out slow
but soon goes into a rather obvious rock and roller romp to the end.
Snafu was like so many bands in the mid 70ts – good – but never really
good enough to be anything more than a support-act for the main event that
invariably had the hit tunes needed to make it. But those who love
"Situation Normal" will need this really great sounding CD reissue to
get their fix...
