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| Superlungs, My Terry Reid By Heidi Lee (SugarBuzz Michigan) SugarBuzz Magazine Way-Back Machine |
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| Yes, I know, the title of the song is “Superlungs My Super Girl”, but sometimes when you discover a gem like Terry Reid, you feel a little possessive. However, if it were not for the generosity of a dear friend of mine in sharing their own admiration of this amazing talent with me, I would never have had the pleasure of discovering Terry Reid myself. Born in Cambridgeshire, England in 1959, he started exercising his vocal pipes at a young age for anybody who would listen. This included entertaining his mother’s co-workers at a fruit-picking orchard around five. The guitar ended up becoming his instrument of choice as he grew up, and by the time he was 15, Terry was fronting an R&B group called The Jaywalkers. This group gigged about quite a lot in the mid-sixties, and all their hard work paid off as they ended up touring with the Rolling Stones and Ike and Tina Turner. The Jaywalkers’ recording career that followed was short-lived and fairly unsuccessful. By late 1967, Terry left the Jaywalkers, forming a three-piece rock’n roll oriented combo called The Terry Reid Group. |
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In December of 1968, Reid’s first album, “Bang Bang, You’re Terry Reid” (produced by Mickie Most) was released. Despite containing some amazing tracks, and a tour with some of the most popular acts of the time like Cream and Jimi Hendrix, Reid remained a mostly underground rock favorite, never having much commercial success. 1968 was also the year that with a simple twist of fate could have completely changed his life forever. Jimmy Page was looking for a singer for a band he was putting together…Led Zeppelin. Believing that Terry was the best choice for the sound he was looking for, Page asked Reid if he would like to try fronting the new group. Reid passed, and referred Page to another soulful singer he knew, Robert Plant. |
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| Reid may have missed an opportunity with Zeppelin, but he continued on with another album in 1969, “Move Over for Terry Reid”, to little commercial acclaim. Production quarrels and bandmate changes over the following years contributed to the “never quite getting there” theme to Reid’s career. He toured much over the 70’s, becoming one of rocks most underrated and largely undiscovered voices. In 2005, Astralwerks released a fantastic compilation of some of Reid’s best work entitled “Terry Reid, Superlungs”. Digitally remastered for optimum soul sounds, his voice washes over anybody who takes a chance and listens to this masterful vocalist. The album kicks off a wailing cover of Donovan’s “Superlungs My Supergirl” that’s bound to get anybody’s feet tapping, head bobbing and throat hurting trying to cop those wails for themselves. “Superlungs” is one of the seven tunes on the album that were written by other artists besides Reid. Next, “Loving Time”, written by Reid, has an almost Clapton-esque tone to the music, but blows that theory out of the water when Reid comes in with the opening vocals. The organ makes it very 1968, and absolutely enjoyable. Another Reid written tune, “July”, a slower, more thoughtful song, follows up with an opening featuring a quiet acoustic guitar. A song of longing and the missed opportunity of lost love that one can imagine being sung by Reid while he softly strummed his guitar while sitting on a stool, leaning close to the mic. |
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| Jolting the listener back from being lulled is a blues track called “I’ve Got News For You”. At times, Reid can be a bit hard to understand lyrically, but the soul of his voice tends to make up for whatever he lacks in articulation. If you enjoy earthy blues, this track with be a standout for you. “Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace” rocks out a bit after those blues. A more upbeat tune that features more organ work that makes it quite fit for a dance session in front of your radio. A very freeing song musically despite the imprisoning lyrics, “…feeling all tied up…” Next is a tune that was one of the first Terry Reid tracks I had ever heard, “Stay With Me Baby”. The organ intro punches its way in and Reid follows with some soft, lovely lyrics that build up to a wall of sound and wails that are drenched in anguish. It is an absolutely beautiful song. |
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| Yet another “almost there” legend comes with the track that follows. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young reportedly picked up “Without Expression” for inclusion in their first album. The song didn’t make it to the final cut and wouldn’t be discovered in CSN&Y form until their box set decades later. This Reid penned tune features some of the loveliest lyrics on this compilation, and of course, the vocals are second-to-none. “Sliver White Light” kicks off next with some great guitar riffs. This song has enough hard-hitting solos to make any rock fan very pleased. An amazing cover of Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited” follows. Any Bob Dylan purist will be more than satisfied with Reid’s even bluesier take on this classic Dylan masterpiece. The pretty “Penny” comes next with its melancholy piano intro, evoking power and emotion leading up to Reid’s never failing vocals. A nice transition towards the second half of this compilation. Most know the following song from its origination with Cher; having been written by Sonny Bono, Terry brings his own soulful style to the classic, “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)”. Once again, I am reminded how when a man sings a song that a woman originally sang (or vice versa), it can being a whole new meaning and sentiment to the song. The addition of horns also adds a different element to this tune. |
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Next up is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful tracks on the album. “May Fly” is a simple song, with only piano and guitar accompaniment. Reid’s voice starts low, but then soars over the beautiful, chorus of “…if you think that life is too unbearable to a wild flyer, may fly…” It sounds simple, but once again, his vocals can send chills down ones spine. “Tinker Taylor” is up next, which has to be one of Reid’s most fun songs. I can imagine that this one would be a crowd pleaser at any of Terry’s concerts, which he occasionally does in the Los Angeles area. Another tune that you can’t help but move to. |
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| “Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart” next is Reid at some of this slow, bluesy best. The song opens with someone telling Terry to “Sing up!”. But of course. Reid blows this song out of the water. “Marking Time” comes along towards the end of this disc, wailing with the lyrics, “Sand in my head and sand in almost everything I own…” Finally, the compilation comes to an end with “Rich Kid Blues”, a lovely song that sums up Reid’s sound quite nicely, making it not only a record that you can play in the background, but also one you can fall into, headphones on and mind set to absorb all that is good about music. Why Terry Reid isn’t the household name he should be is quite the mystery at times when you listen to the amazing tracks on this album. How did someone with such obvious talent “miss the boat” when it comes to obtaining huge popularity and heights of fame? Maybe it was a series of “almost there”’s, but there is something slightly satisfying about being a fan of the secret that is Terry Reid. Check him out for yourself, and just try keeping him a secret for too long. I bet you’ll be telling all your friends to have a listen to “Superlungs”. For More On Terry Reid, visit: |
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