Tony McPhee & Friends – I Asked For Water, She Gave Me…Gasoline (1969)
Vinyl rip @ 24/96
FLAC
Artwork
1.16 GB
British Blues
1969 UK LP
Liberty LBS 83252

Asked for Water, She Gave Me…Gasoline is the second album of (mostly) acoustic blues stylings from Tony McPhee and some talented friends — including Jo-Ann Kelly, Andy Fernbach, Graham Hines and Brett Marvin –, but it’s not quite a repeat of the prior album (Me and The Devil). The playing is more incisive and the boldness is ratcheted up at least half a notch, vocally as well as instrumentally. The overall effect, at times, is one of the “blackest”-sounding blues albums ever generated by white Englishmen (and Englishwomen), even if the presence of drums does present a slightly modernistic intrusion. This is distinctly a more late-’60s record at times, in sound and intent, than its predecessor, but that’s not a problem when you’re dealing with talent this prodigious, because it’s all honest and unaffected. Bruce Eder, Allmusic.


Track listing:
01. Oh Death. Jo-Ann Kelly (vocal, guitar) Tony T.S. McPhee (vocal, guitar)
02. She’s Gone. Andy Fernbach Connexion
03. Factory Blues. Graham Hines (vocal, guitar)
04. Boogie Woman. John Lewis (piano, vocal)
05. Nervous. Jim Pitts (vocal, harmonica) John Lewis (piano)
06. Crazy With The Blues. Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts
07. Lord I Feel Tired. Jim James (vocal, guitar) Raphael Callaghan (harmonica)
08. Gasoline. Tony T.S. McPhee (vocal, guitar)
09. Rock Me. Jo-Ann Kelly (vocal), Groundhogs
10. London’s Got The Blues. John Lewis (vocal, piano)
11. Love’s In Vain. Graham Hines (vocal, guitar)
12. Dust My Blues. Jo-Ann Kelly (vocal), Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts
13. Built My Hopes Too High. Andy Fernbach Connexion
14. Don’t Pass The Hat Around. Tony T.S. McPhee (vocal, guitar)
15. When My Woman Is With Me. Jim James (vocal, guitar) Raphael Callaghan (harmonica)
16. I’m So Tired. Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts
Andy Fernbach Connexion:
Andy Fernbach (vocal guitar), J. D. Fanger (guitar)
Bob Rowe (bass), Philip Crowther (drums)
Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts:
Pete Gibson (vocal, trombone), Graham Hines (vocal, guitar)
Jim Pitts (vocal, mandolin, piano), John Randel (washboard)
Keith Truffell (zob stick)
Groundhogs:
Tony T.S. McPhee (guitar), Pete Cruickshank (bass), Ken Pustelnik (drums)
Produced by Tony T.S. McPhee for Groundhog Productions.
Recorded during June 1969 at Central Sound Studios, London.

Technicals:
Knosti RCM.
Michell GyroDec full version.
Funk Firm FXR II Tonearm.
Audio Technica AT33PTG/II MC Cartridge.
Harman Kardon HK990 Integrated Amplifier.
Gold Interconnects. E-MU 0204 Audio Interface.
Recording, split and manual de-click with Adobe Audition 3.0.1
Click Repair 3.9.1
Vinyl transfer by son-of-albion, December 2013