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"BLOODLETTING" |
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Recorded 1976, Released 1979 |
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Virgin Records V2073 (UK) |
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Produced by Mike Patto and Nigel Thomas |
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| SIDE A | SIDE B | ||
| HEY BULLDOG (Lennon/McCartney) | WHY PICK ON ME (Patto) | ||
| THE BLIZZARD (Patto) | LOVE HAS GOT ME (Patto) | ||
| RICH MAN'S DAUGHTER (Patto) | DINAH-LOW (Stamp/Avery) | ||
| BIG CITY FEVER (Patto) | TEACHERS (Leonard Cohen) | ||
| THE LONER (Neil Young) | |||
| Mike
Patto - vocals and keyboards Ollie Halsall - guitar and keyboards Keith Ellis - bass guitar Tony Newman - drums |
All titles published by Virgin Music except "Hey Bulldog" published by Northern Songs Ltd, "The Loner" published by Warner Bros. Music Ltd., "Dinah-Low" published by Gas Songs/Cookaway Music, and "Teachers" published by MAM Music Publishing. | ||
| Chris Stainton - Many thanks for additional keyboard wizardry | Album cover design: Nigel Thomas | ||
| Boz
Burrell, Bobby Tench, Tim Hinkley - contribution unclear |
Cover art: Tony Wright | ||
| Recorded
courtesy of The Manor, and the Manor Mobile |
Mixed
at AIR Studios, London Engineer: John Kelly |
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"Bloodletting" was recorded in 1976, but for some reason was not released to the general public until 1979. Strange, because it is a great album, despite the fact that half of the album's songs are cover versions and Ollie has no writing credits. Every track is strong, and the band has a fuller sounding production than on the "Below The Belt" debut. All of the original compositions are credited solely to Mike, and the "The Blizzard", "Rich Man's Daughter", and "Big City Fever" are perhaps some of the catchiest tunes he wrote on his own. He redid "Rich Man's Daughter" for the 1977 Boxer album, "Absolutely". "Bloodletting" includes four great cover tunes. "Hey Bulldog" rocks hard and includes some great guitar. "Dinah-Low" is a fantastic version of the Terry Stamp/Jim Avery song from Terry's 1975 "Fatsticks" album, which both Ollie and Tony Newman played on. Perhaps the star track on the album, though, is the live version of Leonard Cohen's "Teachers". It is a smoking performance by the band, which features a bit of Ollie jamming alone towards the end. Unlike the first album, other musicians guested on "Bloodletting". Chris Stainton was acknowledged in large print on the album cover for his keyboards. Boz Burrell (King Crimson, Alexis Korner, Bad Company et al.), Bobby Tench (Jeff Beck Group et al.), and Tim Hinkley (Bo Street Runners, Jody Grind, Alexis Korner et al.) all played in Chapman/Whitney's Streetwalkers and were involved in the Hinkley's Heroes jam band, which Mike Patto was also involved with. The three are only listed in small print on the record label, so their contributions to "Bloodletting" are unclear -- likely just backing vocals and minor instrumentation. Supposedly, a number of promotional copies were pressed in 1976. Expect to pay a lot for one of these rare pressings -- if they actually exist and you can find one. However, there seems to be a general misconception that this album was never released to the public, and some record dealers are asking as much as $100 for the 1979 stock copies. That seems a bit inflated. Near mint copies of the 1979 pressing can usually be obtained from a knowledgeable dealers for $20-$30. Buyers beware! The album was reissued on CD in 1997 by Virgin Records (Cat. # CDV2073). It was reissued on CD in 2012 by Esoteric Recordings (ECLEC2342), including expanded liner notes. |
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