Wolfe - Wolfe (1972)

Wolfe - Wolfe (1972)

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Wolfe were essentially the same band John Pantry, Nick Ryan & John Richmond had been putting out killer popsike singles since the mid sixties under various aliases (Norman Conquest, The Bunch, Sounds Around, Peter & The Wolves etc).  Recorded in 1972 at IBC Studios in London where Pantry had engineered recordings for the likes of The Small Faces, Bee Gees & The Kinks to name a few.  Where as most of the British psych bands of the sixties would develop into Prog or Hard Rock, Wolfe remained pop. There is nothing remotely heavy or proggy on Wolfe and only one track exceeds 4 minutes.

The record was released only in the US by Rare Earth (a Motown subsidiary for white acts) and must have been aimed at the last remnants of the bubblegum market.  Five out of the albums twelve songs are covers of popular songs of the day and although an eclectic mix, they all fit perfectly between the Pantry/Ryan originals.

Wolfe split after this album but the members worked together throughout the 70's on a few religious albums produced by John Pantry who eventually became an Anglican Minister...

http://biteitdeep.blogspot.com/2011/11/wolfe-wolfe-1972.html

http://vinylantiquity.blogspot.com/2012/03/peter-and-wolves-as-wolfe-now-they-get.html

https://kossoff1963progandpsychrock.blogspot.com/2016/02/wolfe-uk-wolfe-1972-psych-pop.html

https://vataga-rocker.livejournal.com/438406.html

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Tracks

  A:1. Ballad Of The Unloved , 2. Bite It Deep , 3. Love Song , 4. Something In The Way She Moves , 5. Funny, Funny , 6. Dead From The Head Down .

B: 7. Dancing In The Moonlight , 8. Tale Of Two Cities , 9. Us , 10. Mama Lion , 11. Time Is Money , 12. Song With No Name

Wolf are:

John Richmond: lead guitar, banjo, piano

John Pantry: keyboards

Nick Ryan: bass guitar

Mike Wade: drums, vocals

Robin Slater: rhythm guitar, vocals

Musicians also credited:

Chris West: electric guitar on "Bite It Deep" (A2) and "Mama Lion" (B4), and acoustic guitar on "Us" (B3).

Frank: harmonica on "Dead From The Head Down" (A6)

"The self penned songs are definitely winners – the Beatles influenced ‘Us’, ‘Bite It Deep’ is a highly catchy song with single worthy written all over it. ‘Tale Of Two Cities’ drives along at a good clip with a solid organ melody and then slows things down halfway through. The sound effect laden pop psychish ‘Dad From The Head Down’ is cool. They also do a few covers – standout ‘Funny Funny’, the fuzzed up ‘Dancing In The Moonlight’ bests its original version and the country-fied ‘Mama Lion’."~ Recorddigger

"Now some albums take a week, some take a month, some take more than a year or longer to really impress- this one took one play! DO NOT let the fact that some of the tracks are bubblegum and popular covers detract you- this album is really the 60s Mod pop psych group Peter And The Wolves on their one album release, an album that even in their native England was believed not to exist! When I played the record the beautiful harmonies and tough fuzz guitars blended together in a delicious way and boy do they work some magic up with "Funny Funny" by Sweet and "Dancing In The Moonlight" by King Harvest even!" ~ Blake Mitchner