Savoy Brown – Blues All Around

Few bands in the history of rock n’ roll tread the earth as long as Savoy Brown. Over the course of 57 years, the band released 29 studio albums and played thousands of shows all over the globe, which is why discussing them in the past tense is still quite surreal. This is, after all, a band who was playing live as recent as 2021, when we were just starting to come to grips with a post-pandemic world. Yet on December 13, 2022, Savoy Brown’s seemingly invincible frontman, guitarist, and songwriter, Kim Simmonds, succumbed to the cruel beast that is cancer. He was 75 years old. However, even an incurable illness couldn’t stop Savoy Brown from recording their 30th and final studio album, Blues All Around.

Accompanied by his longtime rhythm section of Pat DeSalvo on bass and Garnet Grimm on drums, Simmonds stuck to his guns on this aptly titled posthumous release. There are no flirtations with modern rock to be heard here, or soulless attempts to “keep up with the times”. Blues All Around sees Savoy Brown laying down the same old, straightforward, honest to goodness blues rock they played from day one; a unique, electrified spin on traditional blues that ended up influencing everyone from ZZ Top and Gary Moore, to Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. Little did Simmonds know he was helping lay down the groundwork for hard rock, and subsequently, metal.

The opening “Black Heart” sets the tone for this release, basking in its simplistic arrangement, soulful delivery, and gutsy soloing from Simmonds which always packs a punch. “Going Down South”, a dirty, heavy, southern blues rocker with no shortage of groove and attitude, is one of my favorite cuts on here, as is the lumbering “Hurting Spell”. Other cuts on here with musical nods to the Lonestar State include the slow and low “Gypsy Healer” and the aptly titled, shuffling “Texas Love”. Make no mistake, if Simmonds, Johnny Winter, and Billy F. Gibbons were ever in a room together, a blues rock riot would’ve broke out.

Contrary to these observations, Blues All Around isn’t exclusively focused on southern blues, as there is indeed blues all around. There’s the anthemic title cut and boogie rocking “My Baby”, both of which boast tasty musicianship characteristic of the English blues boom Savoy Brown spearheaded nearly 60 years ago. “California Days Gone By” mixes classic blues rock with an underlying country rock swagger, while “Can’t Go Back to My Hometown” hones in on exotic Latin influences, especially in the riffing and percussion. Closing the album out, and Savoy Brown’s career for that matter, is a no frills blues number entitled “Falling Through the Cracks”. Featuring the unaccompanied vocals and guitar of Simmonds, it’s a fitting farewell to the Savoy Brown saga.

Savoy Brown may be no more, but the spirit of Kim Simmonds lives on. Not just through 30 studio albums and tens of thousands of rabid fans, but through the playing of countless proteges keeping the blues rock torch lit. Whether it be Eric Gales or Joe Bonamassa or Gary Clark Jr. or so forth, the impact of the 60s blues rock revolution is still being felt today. Bands and guitarists are still finding new ways to twist and turn the music of Simmonds and Savoy Brown, just as Simmonds found new ways to twist and turn the music of his blues heroes all those decades ago. In this regard, Savoy Brown will never die. Long live Savoy Brown. Long live Kim Simmonds.

7 out of 10

Label: Quarto Valley Records

Genre: Blues Rock

For fans of: ZZ Top, Robin Trower, Chicken Shack