Would you believe me if I told you that a guitarless duo (Lee Michaels on vocals and keyboard and a guy called Frosty on drums) can sound like Led Zeppelin? Not influenced by them, as they were slightly ahead of them timewise, but sound as powerful, soulful and (well, almost as) heavy as them? It's crazy that Lee Michaels is so little known - I had heard of him, but wasn't really familiar with his music when I spotted this used LP in the bargains section of my local record shop; the cover was a bit worse for wear visually, and the low-res photo didn't help, but it's what's in the grooves that matters. Lee was a young guy from LA who had passed through a few local groups, and even played with Hendrix for a while, but found out he'd rather play solo or with the help of a single drummer, eventually settling on Frosty. The two of them entered the recording studio at 5 p.m., June 2, 1969. They apparently came out before the midnight of the same day, having recorded -more or less live- a whole album. The result of having only two instruments is that both of them are very much upfront, and really loud. If you like the sound of the Hammond B3 (as I do) you'll love how huge it sounds here. Apart from being a great organist, Lee was also one of the great blue-eyed soul vocalists - think Stevie Winwood, Steve Marriott, Joe Cocker etc. The drummer is also fantastic, reminding me a lot of Zeppelin's John Bonham. Side One is a continuous medley; the focus here is on the playing, not the songs. "Tell Me How Do You Feel" and "Don't Want No Woman" have some powerful singing and drumming, as well as very loud amplified organ; "My Friends" (reprised from Lee's debut LP) is more soulful. These three short songs (less than 6'00'' total) segue into each other, and may be viewed as one track. This is followed by an 8-minute drumming tour de force. I think very few people actually enjoy these long solos, irrespectively of the drummer's skill; I, for one, enjoyed Frosty's playing more when he was banging along with the previous songs than during his solo. I was kind of relieved when the organ and vocals came back for "Think I'll Go Back" a more melodic blues soul number. Side Two features four "regular" size tracks, opening with a great cover of T Bone Walker's classic blues "Stormy Monday". The last three are markedly lighter than what preceded them, with the heavy, churchy, Hammond sound mostly replaced by jazzy piano. "Who Could Want More" sounds like late period Traffic, "Want My Baby" is a sort-of-ballad, and "Heighty Hi" a feelgood country-tinged tune with a catchy singalong chorus and pro-drug lyrics. It was released as a single, and narrowly missed the Top-100 - the LP did a bit better rising up to #53. It may sound a bit outdated today, but I'd certainly recommend it to fans of blues and classic rock. I was certainly impressed by the duo's playing as well as the sound quality: each of the two instruments sounds clear as a bell. Lee Michaels had a few more minor hits in the years that followed, never becoming a household name. To compete with rock guitarists, he was into the habit of amplifying the organ sound to the max, which is probably what cost him his hearing. He retired from music early, entering a completely different field: he's the founder of the very successful Killer Shrimp restaurants chain in California. After reviewing his LP, I hope to taste and review his food - If everything goes well, I'll be in his neighborhood in April 2024.
**** for Tell Me How Do You Feel/Don't Want No Woman/My Friends, Stormy Monday, Who Could Want More, Heighty Hi
*** for Frosty's, Think I'll Go Back, Want My Baby
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