Blues Helping

Love Sculpture were a Welsh blues-rock band of the late 1960s, led by Dave Edmunds, plus bassist John Williams (stage name John David) and drummer Rob ‘Congo’ Jones. Blues Helping was their first album.

Love Sculpture formed in Cardiff in 1966 out of the remnants of another local band called The Human Beans, and disbanded in 1970, although Edmunds went on to enjoy solo success in the 1970s. The band itself was essentially a showpiece for Edmunds’ considerable technical ability on the guitar. Love Sculpture mostly performed blues standards, slightly revved-up, but still largely reverent to the originals, releasing their debut album, Blues Helping with such songs as “Summertime”, “Wang Dang Doodle” etc.

Professional reviews:
allmusic 4.5/5 stars
About.com 3.5/5 stars

Review by John Dougan of allmusic:
As hyperkinetic blues albums by white English kids go, this is a good one. Dave Edmunds, armed only with a 1959 Gibson 335 and a 100-watt Marshall stack, cranks through these recognizable blues covers (with one original instrumental) with reckless abandon and gobs of technique. Backup support is handled by bassist John Williams and drummer Bob “Congo” Jones, who do their best to keep up and provide a rhythmic foundation for Edmunds to wail over. Edmunds also handled nearly all the vocals, and as blues singers go, he’s merely serviceable, but what makes this album worthwhile is the revved-up guitar playing, especially when Edmunds shreds both Freddy King’s “The Stumble” and Willie Dixon’s “Wang Dang Doodle.”

Review by Reverend Keith A. Gordon of About.com:
Long before he produced legendary albums by artists like Brinsley Schwarz and the Flamin’ Groovies; before he had formed a musical partnership with pop/rock singer/songwriter Nick Lowe; even before he enjoyed a brief – albeit moderately successful – career as a solo artist during the 1980s, guitarist Dave Edmunds was a bluesman.

Yup. You read that correctly… singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer Dave Edmunds, who has worked with such artistically disparate artists as k.d. lang and the Stray Cats, Rockpile and Johnny Cash, and whose solo work was a maddening mish-mash of 1950s-styled rockabilly, vintage ’60s British rock, and the 1980s-era infatuation with synths and keyboards and slick production… that Dave Edmunds was a blues-rock guitarist the equal of contemporaries like Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Rory Gallagher. And you wondered why the Fabulous Thunderbirds chose Edmunds to produce their breakthrough 1986 album Tuff Enuff?

Love Sculpture’s Blues Helping
Before he wore any and all of the abovementioned musical hats, Edmunds cut his teeth with the long-lost British blues-rock outfit Love Sculpture. Formed in 1966 in response to England’s ongoing love affair with the blues, and inspired by the popularity of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton and Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, Love Sculpture was an early power trio consisting of Edmunds on vocals and guitar, John Williams on bass, and drummer Bob “Congo” Jones.

All three members of Love Sculpture had played together for years in bands such as the rockabilly-oriented trio the Raiders, and the blues-influenced Human Beans (who recorded one single for Columbia and shouldn’t be confused with the Youngstown, Ohio frat-rock band the Human Beinz).

Signed to EMI’s Parlophone label, the band released its 1968 debut album into a thriving British blues-rock scene that included Cream and Savoy Brown, among many other bands. A collection of blues and R&B standards, with a lone original song in the title track, Blues Helping was designed as a showcase for Edmund’s underrated six-string pyrotechnics.

Stumbling Through The Blues
Although Edmunds has since stated that he knew little about the blues when recording Blues Helping, you couldn’t tell it from the results. With his instrument slung low, Edmunds leads the band through a breakneck cover of Freddie King’s “The Stumble,” the sped-up instrumental proving the guitarist’s mettle and fretboard dexterity. The set includes a smoky cover of Ray Charles’ “I Believe To My Soul” that features bassist Williams belting out the vocals, accompanied by Edmunds’ stinging leads. Elmore James’ raucous “So Unkind” is provided a Chicago blues-styled rhythm and Edmunds’ spry guitarwork.

An odd cover of the George Gershwin song “Summertime” provides one of those hippy-dippy 1960s flashback psych-pop moments, with lush instrumentation, echoed vocals, and delicate, tho’ decidedly un-bluesy guitarplay. The old blues chestnut “On The Road Again” was based on Canned Heat’s cover of the song earlier in the year, and it even sounds like Bob Hite, Al Wilson, and crew save for Edmunds’ distinctive guitar tone and blistering solos. Otherwise, from the vocals down to the potent, driving rhythm, you’d swear that you were listening to the boogie kings from California.

Wang Dang Doodle
An inspired cover of Willie Dixon’s “Wang Dang Doodle” lopes along at an acceptable tempo, Williams’ sly vocals peppered by shards of swaggering fretwork and supported by a hearty bassline as sticky and wide as two lanes of freshly-paved blacktop. Going back to the deep well that is Ray Charles’ song catalog, “Come Back Baby” is a smoldering R&B bonfire with Jones’ subtle brush-and-cymbal work and one of Edmunds’ most dynamic solos. The album’s title track, the instrumental “Blues Helping,” features heaps of six-string notes that fly by with the speed and power of a tornado.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line
More of a measure of Dave Edmunds’ chameleon-like musical talents than a true artistic statement, Love Sculpture’s Blues Helping is an obscure relic of an era past. The band would release a second, less bluesy and far less energetic album in 1969, and they would even score a hit in the U.K. with a speed-demon cover of the classical composition “Sabre Dance.” Although he’d slap a bluesy lick into a song now and then throughout his lengthy solo career, Edmunds never quite walked the blues-rock path the same way again.

Still, Blues Helping is a rockin’ collection of spirited blues covers with plenty of verve and more than enough guitar-wrangling to please even the most diehard Stevie Ray fan. It’s also a lot of fun, the band loose-limbed and brash in their musical aggression, playing off the power trio aesthetic with a recklessness and joy that they’d never find again. Edmunds’ fretwork is a thing of amazement, and it makes one wonder what might have been if he’d followed Clapton down that lost highway towards the crossroads. (Esoteric Recordings, reissue released November 2, 2007)

Review by Patricia Hennessy on amazon.com:
It’s surprising to me (and probably everyone familiar with his work) that Dave Edmunds wasn’t put on a pedestal and hailed as not only the best guitar phenom to come out of England in the 60′s, but the best guitar phenom to come out of the 60′s, PERIOD! When you listen to this CD, you’re immediately struck over the head from the get-go with Edmunds’ fast, fluid blues-rock leads on “The Stumble”, and you wonder, “who IS this guy??” At the risk of committing sacrilege, not even the guitar heroes of the day back then (Beck, Clapton, Page, and dare I say, even Hendrix) played with as much passion, skill and bravado as Edmunds; and yet, if you ask every current guitarist who Dave Edmunds is, you get blank stares and hear things like “Who’s Dave Edmunds?” or “I’ve never heard of him”!
Once Edmunds’ fiery leads on “The Stumble” have commanded your attention, then he and Love Sculpture run through other blues/soul standards such as B.B. King’s “3 O’Clock Blues”, Ray Charles’ “I Believe To My Soul” (which has a wonderfully loud, searing guitar solo), and my favorite track, George Gershwin’s “Summertime” (which was covered again in 1970 by the group “Brainbox”, which featured guitarist Jan Akkerman and vocalist Kaz Lux). The sound of this remastered version is wonderful, and when you listen to it for either the first time (or even for the first time in a long time), you will hear the true genius of this overlooked guitar hero–England’s best-kept secret returns!

Review by Kevin D. Rathert on amazon.com:
Following a one off single as the Human Beans, containing the classic “Morning Dew” Welsh guitarist Dave Edmunds, along with bassist John Williams and drummer Bob Jones, underwent a name change to Love Sculpture, were given a stack of blues LPs, especially several by Texas Cannonball and Eric Clapton inspiration, Freddie King, to listen to in order to find inspiration for a dictated blues album. Love Sculpture’s label insisted that they record “Blues Helping” despite the fact that Edmunds openly stated that he neither enjoyed listening to nor playing blues music. The resultant album is an excellent piece of vintage 1968 blues rock, especially in light of Edmunds’ dislike for the genre. The album consisting of covers of popular blues rock songs of the time, ranging from Freddie King’s “The Stumble” to Willie Dixon’s “Wang Dang Doodle” to Canned Heat’s “On The Road Again” shines because of Edmunds’ guitar prowess. The album is incredible considering Edmunds’ attitude toward blues rock in general. The album did accomplish the group’s goal of allowing a second album to be recorded, the absolutely stunning, psychedelic classic “Forms and Feelings” recorded a year later in 1969. That album is far superior to “Blues Helping” but that in no way diminishes the value of this, the band’s debut LP. Cherry Red Records Esoteric Recordings imprint release includes the 11 tracks from the album proper, and is accompanied by the above mentioned single recorded as the Human Beans as well as the non-lp single “River to Another Day” and its b-side “Brand New Woman.” In total, the 15 tracks with a run time of 52 minutes add up to an absolute must for fans of the blues rock genre, and is essential to completists who already own the band’s second album “Forms and Feelings.” Regardless, guitar fans must include both of Love Sculpture’s albums in their collections, and Cherry Red has made it possible to possess the band’s entire recorded output by including the mono 45 versions related to both albums. Thus, in total the collector will possess all 30 tracks, 2 of which are properly credited to the precursor band, the Human Beans, as well as all 28 tracks released by Love Sculpture proper, with a total run time of 116 minutes both cds combined. This means two hours of absolute guitar nirvana for the listener, and two valuable additions to any fans of Dave Edmunds, blues rock and/or psychedelic rock. I strongly urge the purchase of both albums simultaneously so that you can listen chronologically to the birth and growth of the musical entity known as Love Sculpture. Never approaching the fame of other power trios such as Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Love Sculpture’s recordings hold up incredibly well over the 40 years passed since the release of their second and final album. Edmunds would go on to fame with his solo album Rockpile containing the smash “I Hear You Knocking” and along with bassist Nick Lowe and drummer Terry Williams who helped Edmunds tour the “Rockpile” album and would thus form the short-lived but famous/infamous band of the same name who recorded but one album “Seconds of Pleasure” long treasured by rock fans and now available with several bonus tracks and at an unbelievably low list price. But I get ahead of myself. Find the best price you can on the two Love Sculpture albums, purchase them, listen to them, cherish them, and then go on to the further adventures of Dave Edmunds. But Love Sculpture is without question the taking off point and an absolute must for any and all rock and roll guitar fans.

LP track listing
Side One

1. “The Stumble” (Freddy King, Sonny Thompson) – 3:02
2. “3 O’Clock Blues” (B.B. King, Jules Taub) – 5:06
3. “I Believe to My Soul” (Ray Charles) – 3:45
4. “So Unkind” (Elmore James, Marshall Sehorn) – 2:56
5. “Summertime” (George Gershwin, DuBose Heyward) – 4:03
6. “On the Road Again” (Will Shade, Floyd Jones) – 3:33

Side Two

7. “Don’t Answer the Door” (Jimmy Johnson) – 6:00
8. “Wang-Dang-Doodle” (Willie Dixon) – 3:30
9. “Come Back Baby” (Ray Charles) – 2:45
10. “Shake Your Hips” (James Moore) – 3:21
11. “Blues Helping” (John Williams, Dave Edmunds, Bob Jones) – 3:44

Released: 1968
Recorded: July/August 1968 at Abbey Road Studios, St. John’s Wood
Genre: Blues
Length: 41:45
Label: EMI Parlophone
Producers: Kingsley Ward, Malcolm Jones

Personnel
* Dave Edmunds – guitar, organ, piano, lead vocals
* John Williams – bass, vocals, piano (track 10)
* Bob “Congo” Jones – drums, vocals