Top Drawer play a straightforward blues rock, but with strong
psychedelic and hard rock underpinnings. The latter is best exemplified
by the guitar leads which are stronger than most from this era,
especially in the Midwest private press arena - in fact, it's a sound
you're most likely to encounter in the region circa 1972 or later (it turns out that the 1969 date was wrong too). So
Top Drawer were definitely ahead of the pack in that regard. The organ
is present only as dressing to the overall salad. The songwriting is
quite good throughout, with only the 'Baker's Boogie' track being
somewhat a waste of time, though I'm sure it was popular in the local
clubs of the day. I can see from other reviews that folks are frothing about 'Song of a
Sinner', but personally I hear it very much in league with the other
tracks here, perhaps drawn out a bit more with its bluesy vibe, though
arguably it's still the album's best composition - along with the hard
driving closer 'Lies'. Nothing on the album is extraordinary, but a very
solid release throughout, and much better than I had anticipated. A
little bit of an early Dragonwyck vibe here too (from nearby Cleveland),
minus the obvious Morrison-isms.
Top Drawer were not from
Kentucky as is widely cited in catalogs and on the internet, but rather
from Mansfield in north central Ohio.
Looks to be an album that has escaped a quality CD or LP reissue. Oh, there are many reissues, but they are either dubious or outright pirate. Would be a good title for a
psych / hard rock reissue specialist.
RYM erroneously has a listing for a
Repertoire release, which would be legit, except best I can tell it's a reissue of
this album: The Gods - To Samuel A Son
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