Genre: blues-rock
Rating: *** (3 stars)
Title: Imagination Lady
Company: Deram
Catalog: DES 18063
Year: 1972
Country/State: UK
Grade (cover/record): VG/VG
Comments: gatefold sleeve
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 4478
Price: $25.00
Cost: $66.00
I'd forgotten that Stan Webb and Chicken Shack had recorded so much material ...
1972's "Imagination Lady" was Webb and company's fifth studio set. Luckily, the Neil Slaven produced set is also one of the band's best efforts. Down to a trio consisting of bassist John Glascock, drummer Paul Hancox and vocalist/lead guitarist Webb, the predominant sound remained standard English blues-rock, but this time around there was a distinctive rock feel to tracks such as the opener 'Crying Won't Help You Now' and 'their cover of Don Nix's 'Going Down. Elsewhere, 'Daughter of the Hillside' sounds like a top-notch Cream outtake, while the Webb-penned closer 'The Loser' almost qualifies as a piece of top-40 pop. Webb's a surprisingly good singer and a vastly overlooked guitarist - check out the band's vamped up cover of Tim Hardin's 'If I Were a Carpenter'. The only real disappointment comes in the form of a needless and seemingly endless Hancox drum solo on the 11 minute plus 'Telling Your Fortune'. That said, the band's blues-oriented fans aren't particularly fond of this set, but precisely because it's more diverse and openly commercial, I'd give it the nod.
"Imagination Lady" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Crying Won't Help You Now (Whittaker) - 5:09
2.) Daughter of the Hillside (Stan Webb) - 3:52
3.) If I Were a Carpenter (Tim Hardin) - 6:33
4.) Going Down (Don Nix) - 3:32
(side 2)
1.) Poor Boy (Stan Webb) - 5:09
2.) Telling Your Fortune (Stan Webb) - 11:09
3.) The Loser (Stan Webb) - 2:32