Warhorse - s/t. 1970 England

The debut of Warhorse is quite a powerful tour de force for 1970. Bassist Nick Simper is the big name here, coming fresh off his firing from Deep Purple. Probably no surprise then that vocalist Ashley Holt is a screamer in the Ian Gillan mold, by then certainly Simper's arch enemy. The band also originally had Rick Wakeman in its ranks, but replacement Frank Wilson pounds on the organ with the best of them. But it's guitarist Ged Peck who steals the show here, and lays out a blueprint for the riffing style that was to come years later. There's little from 1970 that has the pure force of 'Burning', the album's highlight along with the raucous closer 'Woman of the Devil'. Of the 7 tracks here, 5 are excellent or beyond. 'Ritual' is, as other's have noted, a bit too close to 'Mandrake Root' for comfort. 'St. Louis' is the only skip over track as it sounds like Deep Purple playing with.... The Partridge Family. I'm serious! Two small marks on an otherwise brilliant hard rock album, a pioneer of the genre honestly.

Personal collection
CD: 1999 Angel Air

The CD comes with excellent liner notes and photos and 5 bonus tracks. 4 are live versions from the album proper, and the other is the demo track 'Miss Jane', which was best left on the cutting room floor.