British Lions - Selftitled (Superb Rock Album UK 1978)

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British Lions is a 1977 album released on the Vertigo label in the UK and the RSO label in the US. The band was made up of former members of Mott the Hoople and Medicine Head.

With a band patched together from the remnants of Mott the Hoople, British Lions is all swagger and little substance; music performed as though it's very important and vital, but with little in the way of memorable tunes or attitude. That's the late-'70s hard rock mainstream for you, and it's easy to imagine these guys slogging it out in arenas as a support act, which in fact they did for Blue Öyster Cult and UFO. Really, it's hard to hear this without sniggering a little. Worse, it sort of recalls the pathetic fictional '70s band featured in the British movie Still Crazy that was posited as a group once very popular and meaningful, but played songs so shallow and derivative that any viewer with a reasonably deep background in music appreciation would fail to be convinced. It's convenient to blame British Lions' lack of major success upon their being stuck between the hard rock-glam and punk-new wave eras, but that's a red herring. 

No, the real cause was their dull material, absence of striking originality, and irritating bombast, throwing in elements of glam, pub rock, Bob Dylan, hard rock, and prog that don't cohere into anything significant or enjoyable. The compilers of this CD obviously do not agree, viewing this phase of the band's development important enough to merit a reissue with extensive liner notes by drummer Dale Buffin Griffin and no less than eight previously unreleased bonus tracks taken from a 1978 BBC Peel session, a live 1978 show, and demos. Actually, the last three of those demos -- recorded in 1979 by British Lions members John Fiddler and Ray Major -- are passable, much lower-key things, occasionally rather folky, that don't sound at all like the stuff on the rest of the disc. [Released in 1978, British Lions was reissued with bonus tracks in 2006.]

01. One More Chance to Run John Fiddler British Lions (3:36) 
02. Wild in the Streets (Lyrics) Garland Jeffreys British Lions (3:00) 
03. Break This Fool John Fiddler, Pete Watts British Lions (4:20) 
04. International Heroes Kim Fowley, Kerry Scott British Lions (4:19) 
05. Fork Talking Man Morgan Fisher, John Fiddler, Pete Watts British Lions (5:30) 
06. My Life's in Your Hands John Fiddler British Lions (5:17) 
07. Big Drift Away John Fiddler British Lions (8:29) 
08. Booster John Fiddler, Pete Watts British Lions (4:07) 
09. Eat the Rich John Fiddler British Lions (3:40) 

Bonus Tracks:
10. One More Chance to Run John Fiddler British Lions (3:49) 
11. Break This Fool John Fiddler, Pete Watts British Lions (5:10) 
12. Wild in the Streets Garland Jeffreys British Lions (3:23) 
13. Wild One [LIVE]John Fiddler British Lions (6:12) 
14. Eat the Rich: the Second Course [Demo Version] John Fiddler British Lions (3:52) 
15. Can't Get over You Version] John Fiddler British Lions (3:05) 
16. Long Distance Love [Demo Version] John Fiddler British Lions (3:30) 
17. You Got Everything [Demo Version] John Fiddler British Lions (3:00)

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