Stone The Crows

By the time we got to the third Stone The Crows album TEENAGE LICKS, the band's line up had changed. James Dewar and John McGinnis were out and had been replaced by Steve Thompson and Ronnie Leahy.

Some of the hard rockers may well have preferred this line up, and first track ‘Big Jim Salter’ will tell you precisely why: there's nothing retro about Ronnie Leahy, and Maggie Bell and Les Harvey are still well to the fore. I mean, who on earth could belt it out like this woman? Joplin? It was always interesting to hear this band do covers, and Dylan's (yes, him again) 'Don't Think Twice' is, of course, a real treat. After the rockin’ 'Keep on Rollin' we even get an old Scots traditional, 'Ailen Mochree' (which basically is a twenty second solo rendition), before taking off into space on the McGinnis-penned ‘One Five Eight’. ‘Seven Lakes’ is an opportune closer.
As for the bonus tracks highlight: Very few could take on a B.B. King cover, in this case 'Going Down' (and with a female vocalist); although the lyrics are a little different here, with a reference to Glasgow.

Just as the band was ready for fourth album ONTINUOUS PERFORMANCE, tragedy struck: Leslie Harvey was electrocuted on stage! Who knows, he may have become better known than brother Alex, but what's the point of pondering over it. Sadly, this was really the end for the band. Ontinuous Performance is very sad in this respect. In hiring Jimmie McCulloch the tragic Leslie was replaced by a very competent guitarist indeed. Unfortunately, McCulloch did not possess Les' writing skills. You can compare both versions of Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry's bravura number ‘Penicillin Blues’ (Maggie is still singing it now). Track 3 on the album has Les on bottleneck, whereas the live bonus track (9) features Jimmie. Make up your own mind. That said, ‘Sunset Cowboy’ - the anthem for a first rate guitar player who died far too young (he’s not the only one) is a very worthy tribute indeed.
Have a night off from the pub and get these albums instead - something you can listen to repeatedly without getting bored (unless you are totally brain-dead).