Keep on playing that rock'n'roll (Quincy Conserve)

Quincy Conserve - The Very Best Of Quincy Conserve (1971) ***

Nominated by: Kevy

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition:  Aire Of Good Feeling

There are only a few bands/songs that my mum, Dulcie, reacted against with fire and brimstone. They featured - in no particular order, Joe Cocker's Cocker Happy album (it was the title); Jethro Tull's Locomotive Breath single (grab him by the beeeep); T Rex's B side song Raw Ramp (the mention of breasts did it); and finally and really emphatically was Quincy Conserve's Slut. I had no defense against any of them really but Slut left absolutely nothing to the imagination. I couldn't even say that it was a good song or that it was a really unusual, out of character, song in their oeuvre.

That said, I've had a deep respect and love for the Malcolm Hayman led Quincy Conserve since they appeared on the Loxene Golden Disc 1970 edition with their song Ride The Rain (written by Bruno Lawrence). For the next couple of Loxenes they were suppliers of standout tracks.

There's something about the jazz rock melding of rock group with jazzy horns that I find really appealing. I'm thinking about John Mayall, Blood Sweat and Tears, and early Chicago.

Bands that Quincy Conserve clearly loved too.

Malcolm Hayman is very much in the tradition of jazz/rock vocalists like David Clayton-Thomas - a big presence is needed above all that racket!

Listening to this selection is a great way to experience all the highs of this iconic and unique kiwi band and a couple of lows (because it's a career wide compilation) such as earlier late sixties tracks like I've Been Loving You Baby (and some of the Hayman-less songs). This one shows a slightly alarming lurch towards a John Rowles direction that thankfully they quickly abandoned in favour of jazz rock.

The highlights come thick and fast: Alright In The City (huge plus on Loxene Disc 1971); Aire Of Good Feeling (a classic); Ride The Rain; Somebody Somewhere Help Me; and Lulu Belle.

With Hayman missing they lost their dynamic focal point to large extent. His distinctive pipes are the Quincy Conserve sound to a large degree. You can change other musicians without too many problems but a vocalist like a Jim Morrison, Stuart Adamson, David Clayton-Thomas, and a Hayman are crucial to the sound.

On the whole though, and at their peak, they were a great Nu Zild band who were under-rated I feel, and neglected over time, although they included some incredible musicians during their lifetime. 

This is a good place to start if you need to catch up.