Plays On 1969 Album

Climax Blues Band

An immediate step up on a lot of levels. If the debut album established the mood, then the follow-up not only showcases the band's chops but also is surprisingly diverse. The lead-off track, "Flight", is a loose, free-flowing instrumental which takes inspiration from the Butterfield Blues Band's East-West album and has a noticeable space-rock feel to it as well. After that lengthy aside, Cooper's gruff yet cool vocal cuts in on the classic "Hey Baby, Everything's Gonna Be Alright, Yeh Yeh Yeh" which anchors on Haycock's screaming repetitive slide riff, and practically sets the tone for next few years going forward, never mind the rest of the album. In fact, Plays On from here is pretty much classic to these ears, except for the last two tracks, which play like warmed over leftovers from the debut record. In between, they rollick and roll away like no one business on the fascinating "Cubano Chant", quote "Also sprach Zarathustra" and branch off into the ethereal on "Mum's the Word", switch back and from their normal dank blues groove to ragtime and back again on "Twenty Past Two/Temptation Rag", and score their first slow-burning blues number with "So Many Roads". Still, there was a feeling that it was not altogether in place as of yet.