Forever More are one of the great neglected treasures of the 70s. The core of the band went on to fame as the Average White Band - Onnie Mair is Onnie Maclntyre of AWB, and the horns went with him and Alan. Mick Travis was briefly in Glencoe, split before they recorded, and has not been heard from since.
Stuart Francis was in Glencoe and is on their 2 LPs, which I recall as bland. Forever More were in a Lindsay Shonteff film, a dreadful sexploitation flick that does feature their music and some live, though murky, footage. For completists only.
The roots of the band lie in various Scottish aggregations that recorded a few singles in the 60s. Alan Gorrie, the main singer and songwriter as well as fabulous bass player, also recorded a few folkish sole tunes. Alan also did quite a few sessions in the 60s and early 70s.
The horn section on their records, also later to feature in AWB, is mostly guys from Mogul Thrash, one of John Wetton's earliest bands. Mogul Thrash made one LP.
Somewhere someone compared Forever More to the Beatles circa Abbey Road. Believe it or not, this is an apt comparison. The songs are consistently tuneful, go through some unexpected turns without seeming contrived, and build to emotional highs in a very convincing fashion. Some of the finest guitar playing by people you never heard of is on their 2 albums (Words on Black Plastic is the second, and in my opinion marginally superior).
In my alternate universe, "Put Your Money on a Pony" was a mega-hit and "Cut the Cake" never happened.
CD Liner-notes
Tracks
Yours
1.Back In The States Again (Mick Travis) - 2:47
2.We Sing (Sam Hedd) - 4:08
3.It's Home (Mick Travis) - 1:37
4.Home Country Blues (Mick Travis) - 3:01
5.Good To Me (Sam Hedd) - 6:00
6.Yours (Alan Gorrie) - 2:13
7.Beautiful Afternoon (Sam Hedd) - 2:20
8.8 O'clock & All's Well (Sam Hedd) - 3:20
9.Mean Pappie Blues (Mick Travis) - 1:37
10.You Too Can Have A Body Like Mine (Sam Hedd) - 2:43
11.Sylvester's Last Voyage (Alan Gorrie) - 3:39
Words On Black Plastic
12.Promises Of Spring - 4:57
13.The Wrong Person - 3:34
14.Last Breakfast - 3:16
15.Get Behind Me Satan - 6:00
16.Put Your Money On A Pony - 4:01
17.Lookin' Through The Water - 3:20
18.O'brien's Last Stand - 3:01
19.Angel Of The Lord - 3:44
20.What A Lovely Day - 6:07
Tracks 12-20 written by Mick Travis and Alan Gorrie
Forever More
*Alan Gorrie - Piano, Bass Guitar, Teapot
*Mick Travis - Guitar
*Onnie Mair - Guitar, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
*Stuart Francis - Drums, Backing Vocals
*Molly Duncan - Tenor Sax
Free Text
the Free Text
Nice album. Unfortunately the links are for the previous post [Argent]. Thanks very much...
ReplyDeleteSorry, fixed now....
ReplyDelete...I was testing your reflexes... lol
Where do you keep coming up with these ultra obscurities? Most of them are are deservedly obscure of course because they're rubbish but thanks for all your efforts. Every now and then you pop a weird winner like The Human Beast 1970 on me and it is appreciated. Terry Reid isn't obscure and there's some outstanding things on that. Anyways, thanks for a third time. I'll stop now.
ReplyDeletethanks a lot!
ReplyDeleteUnknown for me but interesting.Thank you Marios.
ReplyDeleteQUOTE ~ In my alternate universe, "Put Your Money on a Pony" was a mega-hit and "Cut the Cake" never happened.
ReplyDeleteCD Liner-notes ~ UNQUOTE
Very strange indeed... I can't find "Cut the Cake" in the tracklist. I guess it never really did happen!!! Or is there another explanation?
Thanks
Ahmond
Cut the Cake was by Average White Band, Forever More's mediocre successor band. They had a hit in the U.S. with Pick Up the Pieces.
Deleteno conozco al grupo, hay que escucharlo, muchas gracias. Saludos
ReplyDeleteActually the Shonteff film, PERMISSIVE, is one of the best British films of the period, and you get to see Forever More perform LIVE on-stage. Very worthwhile film, was on Netflix streaming for a while and might still be. And hey it got me into the group.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Permissive was a great movie..love, love LOVE this band now, after seeing it!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat album, along with it's predecessor, "Yours, Forever More". Absolutely great!
ReplyDeleteYou lost Mick! He lives in France and has three (and counting?) good solo albums which are available through his website, mickstrode.com. You won't be sorry if you hunt up Forever More, and if you like it, you won't be sorry you order any or all of Mick's CDs, (or downloads).