Who Will Save the World? (The [Mighty] Groundhogs, 1972)

The British blues "boom" of the 1960's launched bands in all directions, many of them hurtling away from the pure "blues" sounds into more progressive arenas. The Groundhogs, one of the lesser-known bands of the movement, followed this path. They had already made a decisive move away from a pure sound with 1970's Thank Christ for the Bomb and 1971's Split, which gave the world their best known song, "Cherry Red". Who Will Save the World moved things even further into prog territory with added instrumentation, mostly notably the Mellotron. The band fizzled after the following album, Solid, then re-emerged with Tony McPhee fronting an entirely new lineup, but the glory days were pretty much over for the band.

I've often wondered what causes bands to change their sound. Are they just moving with the times, are they seeking new audiences, or are they just crazy? Typically a change in sound results in the alienation of the original fan base. This has been famously illustrated through history with moments like Bob Dylan "going electric" or Metallica abandoning (mostly) speed metal in the 1990's. Sometimes the result is financially rewarding. Even though history has been unkind to Rainbow's change from proto-metal to commercial hard rock in the 1980's, the album sales seem to support general acceptance at the time. A lot of people have never heard a single Fleetwood Mac song recorded before 1975, so dominant was their Buckingham/Nicks lineup. Other bands seem to actively shun popular trends. Iron Maiden has been notorious for ignoring trends in modern music (and now are currently reaping the rewards of staying "true"). Other times it's the individual that changes bands and identities. Ever heard Ronnie James Dio sing "I Left My Heart in San Francisco"? Well in 1963, the voice of metal was more of a crooner than a rocker. Lemmy was into folk music and space rock before giving the world the stripped-down raw metal of Motorhead. Billy Joel was in a keys-and-drums metal band called Attila in 1970. The list goes on and on. While I have my preferences, I enjoy to listen over the years and take in the successes and failures.