Gibbons,Steve Band Rollin: The Albums 1976-1978 CD

Five CDs. Esoteric Recordings is pleased to announce the release of Rollin', a box set featuring all of the albums recorded by The Steve Gibbons Band released between 1976 and 1978. This legendary rock band was formed in the mid-1970s and comprised some of the finest musicians on the Birmingham rock scene. Steve Gibbons had been a figure on the Birmingham scene since the early 1960s and had been a frontman of the group The Uglys until they disbanded in late 1968. In 1969 Gibbons founded the group Balls with Trevor Burton and Denny Laine, but that group fell apart within 14 months before Gibbons to join the last incarnation of The Idle Race in 1971. This line-up, which also featured Dave Carroll and Bob Wilson on guitars and Bob Lamb on drums eventually evolved into The Steve Gibbons Band with the arrival of Trevor Burton on bass and vocals. Burton had been a member of The Move until 1969 and was a member of the group Balls. With this line-up in place, the band perfected their hard, driving blend of rhythm and blues and rock, touring the pub and club circuit in Britain. In 1975 they were spotted by Peter Meaden (The Who's first manager) and were soon signed to The Who's management stable. Their first album, Any Road Up, featured a guest appearance from John Entwistle and was issued in 1976. The same year the band supported The Who on tour and also toured the USA supporting acts such as Little Feat, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Nils Lofgren. In 1977 the band supported Be Bop Deluxe on their UK tour and recorded the album Rollin' On, which featured the hit single 'Tulane'. Later that year the live album Caught In The Act was released and sold well in Europe. This was followed in 1978 with another studio album, Down In The Bunker, produced by Tony Visconti.

1. Take Me Home 2. Johnny Cool 3. Rollin' 4. Spark of Love 5. Standing on the Bridge 6. Natural Thing 7. Speed Kills 8. Strange World 9. Sweetheart 10. Back Street Cat 11. Dick Malone 12. Rollin' 13. Tupelo Mississippi Flash 14. Johnny Cool 15. Spark of Love 16. Wild Flowers 17. Light Up Your Face 18. Now You Know Me 19. Mr Jones 20. Till the Well Runs Dry 21. Tulane 22. Cross Me Over the Road 23. Till the Fire Burns Out 24. Low Down Man 25. Right Side of Heaven 26. Rollin' on 27. Please Don't Say Goodbye 28. Tupelo Mississippi Flash 29. Rounden 30. Gave His Life to Rock N' Roll 31. Make the Good Times Last 32. Dick Leaps in 33. Please Don't Say Goodbye 34. Right Side of Heaven / Rollin' on 35. One of the Boys 36. Watching the River Flow 37. Light Up Your Face 38. Shopping for Clothes 39. Git It 40. He Gave His Life to Rock 'N' Roll 41. And the Music Plays on 42. Day Tripper 43. One of the Boys 44. You Gotta Pay 45. Tulane 46. Speed Kills 47. Rollin' 48. Tulane 49. The Music Plays on 50. He Gave His Life to Rock 'N' Roll 51. Boppin' the Blues 52. No Spitting on the Bus 53. Any Road Up 54. Down in the Bunker 55. Big JC 56. Mary Ain't Goin' Home 57. Down in the City 58. Let's Do It Again 59. Eddy Vortex 60. Chelita 61. When You Get Outside 62. Grace 63. Gold Coast 64. Body Talk 65. Let Me Go 66. Satisfying Moves 67. I Am Here 68. The Great Escape 69. Get Up and Dance 70. Little Suzie 71. One of the Boys 72. Johnny Cool 73. Speed Kills 74. Shopping for Clothes 75. Girl in the Bunker 76. No Spitting on the Bus 77. Mr Jones 78. Boppin' the Blues 79. Tulane 80. Git It 81. Tupelo Mississippi Flash 82. He Gave His Life to Rock 'N' Roll 83. Rollin' 84. Day Tripper