MP3:
1. Helen Wheels (McCartney) (3:36)
2. Girl From The Isle of Wight (Humber) - (one of their own songs) (3:51)
3. Hide Away Girl (P. Sanders) - (another one) (4:01)
4. Flyin' High (D.Chandler) - (the drummer wrote this - the Derek Smalls of the band it seems ;-) NEVER let the drummer write songs!) (6:17)
5. Hey Tonight (Foggerty) (3:48)
I dunno what it was about the Seventies. maybe it was to do with being there as an awkward teenager, but it does seem to have been the decade when Average Geezerdom was monumentally unappealing. But I had lank hair, a greatcoat and The Yes Album back then so shouldn't talk.
This lot, were the summer season band at Pontins in Camber Sands in the early seventies apparently. This is a self produced effort, presumably to sell at gigs etc.
It turned up in a Streatham charity shop in the eighties and of course I had to buy it. Not to play you understand; though they are a perfectly competent covers band of their time, but for the brilliant cover.
For me the cover image has a horrible fascination. It's unashamedly what it is, a bunch of average geezers seemingly picked at random from some pub or other in some suburb or other plonked next to a canal, in freshly laundered trousers...
So why does that provoke even the smallest degree of fascination? I think it's the otherness of it. On one level it's perfect for who they are and what they are doing, I mean, you gotta say it's unpretentious, and you know pretty much what you are getting, but on another level it's just so BAAAAD! And not in the Isaac Hayes sense. The question "What is it that we are trying to convey in this picture?" doesn't seem to have been asked. Not that that in itself is particularly surprising, it's just that it's the kind of thing that has anyone of a Graphic Design persuasion banging their heads on the table...
I bet they never thought, when they were having the photo taken, that in fifteen years time, a bunch of stoned art students would spend significant amounts of time sniggering at their trousers...
The back cover has a profile of each of them and a list of their likes and dislikes. . great stuff. I'd give a lot for photo of "Deaf Cuckoo"...
The music is, to me at least, better than the cover might suggest, in that they are obviously a very pro covers band who feel quite able to mess with the arrangements of the songs they cover and who evidently know what they are doing. That doesn't mean that you will wanna listen to the album particularly, but I feel I should give them their due.
The A side is all covers, the B side has three originals, one a ploddy blues workout, one a Chuck Berry/Quo type thing and one that can be loosely described as a kind of prog psyche fest complete with phased drum solo... Hey, you could sample that!
I ripped side 2 for your listening pleasure. Enjoy, and If you're out there guys, the very best to all of you, and I bet you had some great laughs down in Camber Sands. Forgive me a smile or two at your expense ;-)
- Contributed by: Jon Allen
Images: Front Cover, Back Cover 1, Back Cover 2
Media: LP
Album: Maxwell Plumm - We Can Work It Out
Hey, Derek Smalls was/is the Spinal Tap bassist, bassists can write geat songs (think Paul McCartney, Jack Bruce, etc). Dave Chandler is more in Cozy Powell territory. Lead vocalist Alan Humber now works as a comedian under the name Maxwell Plumm - see his web page http://www.oao.co.uk/cabaret/comedy/maxplum/index.html - you can book him for your next cabaret show, hen night, Christmas party, or whatever.
Posted by: David Noades | July 30, 2007 at 07:54 AM
"Flyin' High" -- GREAT! A drummer 'writing' a song that is basically instrumental filler around his drum solos is so bad it's -- well ok, it's just bad. The fact that his drum kit is pathetically small doesn't help matters.
I had hopes of greatness when I read the back cover -- A mellotron, cool! As a 13 year old hooked on the early Moody Blues I had hopes of more prog leanings, but it wasn't to be.
To be fair, these guys and their clothes look appropriate for the time (we ALL looked like that then) and I really like the bands name. I googled some of the previous bands these guys were in, and Deaf Cuckoo is listed as one of this fellows musical influences, so Deaf Cuckoo must have layed down some wax sometime (this guy's WORTH checking out):
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=40807909
Posted by: Dale Hazelton | July 30, 2007 at 09:47 AM
"Flyin' High" is also on the compilation Working Man's Soul, which is a great collection of this sort of thing.
Posted by: Beau Levitt | July 30, 2007 at 10:55 PM
Thanks for the link to the Working Man's Soul comp. I know it's a class/culture thing, but the fascination these performers have for me is their total otherness to anything I was brought up with, ( lower middle class south east boy, me ) and their almost total invisibilty in the mainstream media. A bit like finding records from Mars or something. And yes, though I have great respect for anyone who can make a living performing, I think they are naff and funny. If that makes me a snob, and/or childish then that's what I am.
cheers, Jon
Posted by: Jon | July 31, 2007 at 03:55 AM
At least they didn't take the picture in front of the obligatory brick wall...
Posted by: Jenjen | July 31, 2007 at 11:38 AM
Please, can you upload the side 1?
Your blog is absolutely great!
Best wishes.
Posted by: George | August 24, 2007 at 08:23 AM
Managed to relive old memories with a group of friends last night...played Maxwll Plumm LP on old dusty Dansette record player, wonderful tone! Great time!
Here I am 24 hrs later playing the LP again...Great memories of them and our time at Pontins Camber Sands...proud to say I was there when there was 'just about standing room only, spilling out to the corridor' and yet above us the 'vast ballroom with a 'named band' playing and overpaid.... was almost empty!!
Well remember being on reception duty, you were all in the bar playing Albatross, or For the good times...most posts were deserted...well worth facing the 'sack' just to see you 'cover' them.
Well done guy's, would love to relive those day's.
Hope your all well.
PS got some great photo's!!!
Posted by: Laureen | February 07, 2008 at 01:15 PM
Hello,
My name is Joe and I just wanted to say how pleased I was to find this site. I had the pleasure of playing in the "Paul Sanders Band" in Ohio USA. We played a range of blues and older rock and Roll.
Paul and I became very close friends over the years. I met him when I owned a small record store. He traded me a Robin Tower CD for a few items. I never saw him again for about 3 years. I started managing our local music store and since he was a player he became part of the decor.
Sadly, Paul Passed away some time ago. We were playing one of the local clubs when it happened. He litteraly played right up to the end. What a fitting way for such a wonderfully creative musician to pass.
Thank you for your efforts with this site.
Sicerly,
Joe Routzon
Posted by: Joe Routzon | January 23, 2009 at 05:46 PM
Hi
Thanks for the kind comments about the Working Man's Soul compilation that we put out, featuring Dave Chandler's instrumental/drum solo 'Flying' High' off this Maxwell Plumm LP. If you like this sort of thing, we're releasing Working Man's Soul Volume 2 on 20th July 2009... even more obscure British cabaret band rock, soul, funk, jazz, latin... you name it! Details and track listing are here: http://www.licoricesoul.co.uk/lsd015.php
Cheers,
Chris, Ed & Simon
Licorice Soul
Posted by: Ed | July 10, 2009 at 08:55 AM
Hi
My name is Tina and reading the reviews about Maxwell Plumm brought back so many happy memories of Camber Sands in the 1970s.
My sis loved Butch and I was head over heels with Dave-what is it about drummers?
Posted by: tina smith | April 12, 2010 at 03:33 AM
On show #30: Ray hears from Peter Yaukey of the University of New Orleans about the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the bird populations in the Mississippi Delta; David Clapp from Mass.
Posted by: Best Online Sportsbook | October 07, 2012 at 02:21 PM