Ahead Rings Out

Ahead Rings Out is the debut album by British blues-rock band Blodwyn Pig, released in 1969. The band had been formed in 1969 by Mick Abrahams, the former guitarist of Jethro Tull,[5] and sales of Ahead Rings Out rivalled those of Jethro Tull’s next album, Stand Up,[6] reaching No. 9 on the British album chart.[7][8]

Ahead Rings Out
Studio album by
Blodwyn Pig
Released25 July 1969[1]
RecordedMorgan Studios, Willesden, England, April 1969
GenreBlues rock[2]
Length41:46
LabelIsland
ProducerAndy Johns
Blodwyn Pig chronology
Ahead Rings Out
(1969)		 Getting to This
(1970)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]

The album contained a healthy mixture of various styles of progressive blues and “The Modern Alchemist” displayed the jazz influence and saxophone skills of Jack Lancaster.[9]

It was voted number 15 in the All-Time 50 Long Forgotten Gems from Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[10]

Background

In liner notes for the 2001 re-issue of the album, songwriter and singer Mick Abrahams recalled:

The producer was Andy Johns (little brother to Glyn Johns of Rolling Stones production fame). I think the tape operator was Robin Black, who later went on to produce Jethro Tull and other notable acts of the time.

I recall that we were all quite chuffed with the end result of this, our first offering after my not too long ago departure from Jethro Tull.

One of the first songs we laid down was ‘It’s Only Love’ and it was cool at the time to have the availability of an eight-track machine to record with. Great for overdubs and thickening out the sound ...

‘Dear Jill’ (a favourite of mine to this day) was the next track we laid down and the nice thing about it was that by double-tracking the guitar, which was an Eko 12-string with only 9-10 strings on it (depending on my mood or how many strings I could afford on the day) it sounded akin to a modern chorus effect pedal which, coupled with Jack’s haunting soprano sax, made it into a solid stand up song. It was featured in Cameron Crowe’s movie Almost Famous as part of the background music to reflect the theme and time of the film.

About “See My Way”, he comments: “It was a solid two days work to get it just how we felt it should be with all the odd changes of tempo and feel, i.e. the section that sounds like Ravel’s Boléro ... That song didn’t go on the UK version of Ahead Rings Out, but instead the powers that be decided in their wisdom to put it on the USA version and left it until we recorded the second album, Getting to This.”

He described “The Modern Alchemist” as “a great composition of Jack Lancaster’s that brought a mixture of hard hybrid jazz-rock flavour to the album.”[11]

The album art inspired the mascot and art for KSHE 95.

Track listing
U.K. release
  1. “It's Only Love” (Mick Abrahams) 3:23
  2. “Dear Jill” (Abrahams) – 5:19
  3. “Sing Me a Song That I Know” (Abrahams) – 3:08
  4. “The Modern Alchemist” (Jack Lancaster) – 5:38
  5. “Up and Coming” (Abrahams, Lancaster, Andy Pyle, Ron Berg) – 5:31
  6. “Leave It With Me” (Lancaster) – 3:52
  7. “The Change Song” (Abrahams) – 3:45
  8. “Backwash” (Abrahams, Lancaster, Pyle, Berg) – 0:53
  9. “Ain’t Ya Coming’ Home, Babe?” (Abrahams, Lancaster, Pyle) – 6:04
  • Bonus tracks on 2006 EMI Digital Remaster reissue CD:
10. “Sweet Caroline” (Abrahams) – 2:51
11. “Walk on the Water” (Abrahams) – 3:42
12. “Summer Day” (Abrahams, Pyle) – 3:44
13. “Same Old Story” (Abrahams) – 2:36
14. “Slow Down” (Larry Williams) – 4:20
15. “Meanie Mornay” (Abrahams) – 4:45
16. “Backwash” (Abrahams, Lancaster, Pyle, Berg) – 0:53

NB: CD reissue has track 8 as "See My Way", as per comments above regarding US track listing, hence track 8 from the UK release "Backwash" being included as a bonus track 16.

U.S. release
  1. “It's Only Love” (Mick Abrahams) – 3:23
  2. “Dear Jill” (Abrahams) – 5:19
  3. “Walk on the Water” (Abrahams) – 3:42
  4. “The Modern Alchemist” (Jack Lancaster) – 5:38
  5. "See My Way" (Abrahams) – 5:00
  6. “Summer Day” (Abrahams, Pyle) – 3:44
  7. “The Change Song” (Abrahams) – 3:45
  8. “Backwash” (Abrahams, Lancaster, Pyle, Berg) – 0:53
  9. “Ain’t Ya Coming’ Home, Babe?” (Abrahams, Lancaster, Pyle) – 6:04

Personnel

Reception

Melody Maker stated, "An excellent debut with lots of exciting music. The album has direction and thought and gives a great deal of hope for the future of the often maligned progressive pop scene."[12] New Musical Express wrote, "Hooting grunting blues mingled with snorts of jazz adds up to an excellent debut album from one of our most promising groups."[13]

References
  1. "A funny name and a peculiar sleeve doesn't make a good album (Advertisement)." Melody Maker, July 26, 1969. p. 11. "Released July 25 on Island Records."
  2. "The Top 30 British Blues Rock Albums Of All Time". Classic Rock. Future plc. 23 March 2007. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  3. Ahead Rings Out at AllMusic
  4. Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0857125958.
  5. “Q Rock Stars Encyclopedia”, ed. Dafydd Rees and Luke Crampton, Dorling Kindersley, 1996
  6. BBC website record review
  7. Guinness Book of Hits of the 60s by Tim Rise et al., GRRR Books, 1984. ISBN 0-85112-416-X
  8. "Blodwyn Pig | Artist | Official Charts". OfficialCharts.com. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  9. The Virgin Encyclopedia of Seventies Music by Colin Larkin. Muze UK Ltd, 1997. ISBN 0-7535-0154-6
  10. Colin Larkin, ed. (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 27. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
  11. Liner notes to 2001 re-issue of Ahead Rings Out.
  12. "Impressive debut album from Blodwyn Pig". Melody Maker. July 26, 1969. 23.
  13. "Got the lot!" New Musical Express. August 9, 1969. 10.
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