Buying the albums sampled on “You Can All Join In”.
Track 3 on Side 1 is “Walk in my Shadow”, which is probably the first example of the slightly menacing songs that became something of a trademark of the group. It is certainly a truly superb piece, and wonderfully showcases Andy Fraser’s bass and Paul Rodgers’ vocals.
Track 4 is “Wild Indian Woman”, a song which has always seemed to me to be a bit cliched. Nevertheless, it rocks along splendidly, and is the first Rodgers-Fraser composition on the record, the previous ones all having been credited to Rodgers alone.
The final song on Side 1 is Track 5 “Goin’ Down Slow” (Oden), which clocks in at a massive 8.08. This is the longest track on the LP, and one of only two on the album not to have been composed in-house. It is pure, unadulterated Chicago blues in the old tradition, and fair enough as far as it goes. Certainly the band make an admirable job of it, but in my view it was a waste of their considerable talents. It has always been my least favourite song on the LP, but it remains a most respectable tour de force, and I’m glad they did it. Still, it was the first and last time they ever recorded anything like this, and that is a good thing.
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