Jack The Toad 1973 Album

Savoy Brown

By now, Simmonds had already swapped out a chunk of Foghat for a fairly good-sized piece of Brit blues warriors Chicken Shack, then lost those guys to general attrition – vocalist Dave Walker having famously decamped for a flop album with Fleetwood Mac – and here we are now with Savoy bubbling over with musicians, including guest ones listed in the credits. Jack the Toad is definitely slicker than earlier efforts, and even has Simmonds on lead vocals on a couple of tracks. But the erstwhile lead is a relative unknown – some dude named Jackie Lynton – whose thick English accent really comes out in the title track finale, about a Western gunslinger, who gets a little too “high” in his final, fatal battle. As per usual, it does not suck, but it’s not great, either – just your typical, workmanlike blues grooves and not-very-adventurous fare to have a whiskey or three to.