20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection
English blues-rock pioneers Savoy Brown may not have been as musically incendiary asCream, as adventurous as theYardbirdsor as tastefully eclectic asFleetwood Mac. But their stubborn perseverance (and that of founding guitarist Kim Simmonds) has made them one of the longest-lived rock bands ever, and--for better or worse--the spiritual inspiration of generations of hard-slogging bar bands the world over. This 11-track anthology culls the best of Brown's '69-'72 prime years, highlighted by their bluesy reworking of the Temptations "I Can't Get Next to You," the greasy-rhythmed epic "Hellbound Train," and its lugubrious, primitive cousin, "Train to Nowhere." The uneasy footing spawned by the band's notorious personnel problems (guitarist Dave Peverett and drummer Roger Earl, who appear on the bulk of tracks here, went on to form fellow bar-godsFoghat) actually helped extend the expiration date of their obviously limited formula. The slide-guitar-driven "lost" classic "Tell Mama" is also ample testimony to the power of Savoy Brown when it slipped from its strict blues base and locked into a rollicking rock groove; few bar bands ever sounded so good.--Jerry McCulley