Sunday, October 06, 2013
This little known London-based outfit actually started out back in 1971. Frontman Terry Thomas had been in a number of bands including Ax and The Magic Mixture (with the late guitarist Jimmy McCullough. Originally named 'Charlie Cuckoo' (inspired by a racing horse) , the original line up consisted of bassist Ray Bulloch, drummer Nicco McBraine, guitarist Martin Smith and singer/lead guitarist Terry Thomas. Bulloch and McBraine were quickly replaced by John Anderson and Steve Gadd and the updated line up wisely elected to shorted the name to Charlie.
Two years on the club circuit generated a word of mouth buzz that eventually caught the attention of Decca Records which signed them to a contract in 1973. The band promptly recorded a pair of singles for the label, though only 'I Need Your Love' b/w 'There's Another Place I Can't Go' ever saw daylight.
Released in the States by the small Janus label (with a revised cover), 1977's 'No Second Chance" was co-produced by Anderson and Thomas. Like the debut, the material was again largely written by Thomas and similarly managed to combine gorgeous group vocal harmonies with a hard rock sound that still had a distinctive commercial sheen. Propelled by Thomas' instantly recognizable growl, imagine a pub band like Ace deciding they liked rock guitar and you'll get a good feel for tracks like ''Johnny Hold Back, 'Pressure Point' and 'Guitar Hero'. Sure it isn't perfect - they can be a little too sappy for their own good ('Lovers'), but to my ears this is simply classic mid-1970s rock. The fact this set tanked while disco ran rampant and Fleetwood Mac sold millions makes you wonder ... Technically the album wasn't a flop in that it managed to hit # 85 on the US charts. (Nice cheesecake cover ...)
