Guitarist Micky Moody’s pre- Whitesnake outfit are caught in one of their final stage appearances at Trent Poly. Newly arrived keyboardist Tim Hinkley must have felt at home, as Snafu were very much in the mould of his previous employers Vinegar Joe – albeit without the bonus of Elkie Brooks.
This is US-influenced blues-rock all the way, the opening cover of the Allman Brothers’ Please Don’t Keep Me Wondering being followed by Long Gone, a self-penned soundalike of Little Feat’s Spanish Moon. Singer/leader Bobby Harrison’s bellowing and the overall sameness of the material finds things wearing thinner as the night goes on, Brenda Holloway’s ballad Every Little Bit Hurts a welcome change of pace. That said, the musicianship is tighter than tight, abetted by a class rhythm section in Colin Gibson and Terry Popple.
This would have been a short show had the six live tracks been its sum, so four very much heavier efforts from Harrison’s later outfit Niagra round out the package. Cut for Tommy Vance’s radio show, they feature guitarist Gus Isadore (later of Seal) and may well fill a gap for completists, but don’t totally gel with their predecessors.
