The Pirates - Out of Their Skulls

 

This 1977 release of the Pirates - the fantastic and inspirational Mick Green on guitar, Johnny Spence on bass and lead vocals and Frank Farley keeping the rockin' rhythm - is of course, the living members from the amazing 60's combo, Johnny Kidd and the Pirates, minus Kidd, who had passed by this time. Spence's vocals are grittier, but totally works with the edgier, energetic sound that they were producing at this time.

Their set list is mostly old numbers here, but given a new life under their fingers, with songs they made famous in the 60's like "Shakin' All Over" and "Please Don't Touch" side-by-side with blistering takes on "I Can Tell", "Peter Gunn", "Lonesome Train" and "Milk Cow Blues" and the live first side of the album.

The studio side is no less rockin', with Pirating takes on "Drinkin' Wine Spo'De'O'D", "Do the Dog", "Gibson, Martin Fender", "Don't Munchen It" (hah!), "That's the Way You Are" and "You Don't Own Me", the last four being new originals that fit right in with the rest of the rockers.

I bought this one when it came out and it's been my fall-back LP any time I'm in the mood for high-energy R'n'B. Although Kidd's vocals are missed, this is almost better than the 60's cuts since they did not have to cow-tow to producers and they just flat-out git-it!