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May Blitz: May Blitz (1970)  
Reviewer: Ben Miler | See all reviews by Ben Miler
Section: Reviews | Category: Music | Area: UK | Topic: Music  
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May Blitz was a short lived British-based trio that consisted of two Canadians and an Englishman. The two Canadians were guitarist and vocalist James Black and bassist Reid Hudson, with the Englishman being drummer Tony Newman, formerly of the Jeff Beck Group. This band basically combined psychedelia with blues and hard rock that's not unlike the Jimi Hendrix Experience or Cream.

May Blitz only released two albums, this one, which is their debut, and The 2nd of May in 1971 before breaking up. The opening song, "Smoking The Day Away" sounds a lot like Hendrix, in fact, my brother was convinced it was Hendrix when he first heard it. The song has tends to be drug-oriented, and you can practically smell the marijuana smoke hearing this. The song is also loaded with some killer guitar jams. "I Don't Know" is much in the same vein, with rather strong hippie overtones (the lyrics deal with the back to the land movement of the hippies of that time).

"Dreaming" starts off acoustic and mellow, but before you know it, you get blasted with some truly insane drumming and more killer solos. "Squeet" is one of my favorites, I can't really explain it, but the lyrics are pretty silly, it keeps "Squeet all over the walls" over and over, then the band goes off soloing again.

"Tomorrow May Come" is another favorite of mine, it's a really cool and mellow psychedelic piece. "Fire Queen" is a totally wild song that sounds a whole lot like The Crazy World of Arthur Brown (James Black sounds a whole lot like Brown on this song), the only difference is this song is dominated by guitar rather than Hammond organ.

The album closes with "Virgin Waters", it's the closest thing to prog rock on this album, but still sticks to their bluesy hard rock roots. I really love that spoken dialog. This is a truly wild album and if the description of their music sounds interesting to you, get this album.

More Info

Year of release: 1970
Members:
- James Black: lead vocals, guitar
- Reid Hudson: bass
- Tony Newman: drums

Originally released on Vertigo Records in the U.K. and on Paramount Records in the U.S.

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Visitor Comments about May Blitz: May Blitz (1970)
Posted by Tstohler on 2008-03-12 22:42:49
My Score:

Comment: I was glad to see this site. My Vinyl is still in great shape no pops. Nobody new about them much. My friends Boof and Mavis turned me on to them one night in Isla Vista. They have passed the test of time.
New Monsoon

Posted by bradley coppola on 2008-02-11 20:51:20
My Score:

Comment: I liked this review it was very informitive.

Posted by geo on 2007-09-29 15:16:53
My Score:

Comment: i had the privalege to first hear the music of may blitz from an old friend [ex hells angel and a decent bloke] i was only young and was blown away by the sound they achieved. i had the misfortune to lose my whole record collection yrs ago and have been trying to replace may blitz for ages now. but there music seems hidden away in obscurity land for some reason. very, very underated band

Posted by Desi on 2007-01-19 20:33:25
My Score:

Comment: May Blitz were and still are one of the greatest bands that came out of the 70''s, OK I am bias I was lucky enough to be One of MAY BLITZ road managers. let me tell you about the time we opened up for BLACK SABBATH in Brussels or headliner at the Marque Club in London, or the time MAY BLITZ played the Round House in Camden Town.... To be continued.

Posted by on 2004-07-20 19:09:39
My Score:

Comment: i have been into May Blitz for a long time.. i sincerely think that they are possibly the most overlooked of the uk heavy bands of the early 1970''s.. next to maybe Patto.. the second of may might very well be the most frightful album of the genre.. the music itself makes me feel empowered...i cannot believe thatthese records have become so obscure... it is a damn shame..

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