Label: Reflection
Year of Release: 1970
Consisting of lead singer Alan Pearse, guitarist Trevor Povey, bass player Dave Nichols and drummer Derek Perry, Dogfeet were one of the very many blues rock bands the UK music scene boasted in the early seventies. Indeed, it's difficult to thumb through a seventies copy of NME and Melody Maker and not see gig adverts for a veritable plethora of obscure pub blues boys howling into their pints of mild.
Unlike the Zeppelin copyists who cluttered up the scene, Dogfeet were rather more moody and subtle, though, as this, their solitary single, demonstrates. "Sad Story" is a contemplative and gentle six minute stroll through one woman's adultery, backed up with a clean, sorrowful and straightforward production. There's no hollering, distortion or sweat here, and if the feel recalls anything at all, it's possibly Pink Floyd's more straightforward moments on "More". It's so laid-back and natural that as a listener, you feel you're intruding on a private jam between four men having a private low. This is "blues" as a smoky bar-room (or possibly marijuana fogged bedroom) experience, not a big, bold Finsbury Park Rainbow outing.
The B-side "On The Road" picks up the tempo a little, but is available elsewhere so I've included only a short excerpt.
After one eponymous and very unsuccessful album the band disappeared, but they've found their records in high demand in collector's circles ever since. I've no idea what became of the individual members afterwards.
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