Artist: FlameRelease: Queen Of The Neighbourhood
Style: Blues Rock
Well hot diggity damn! how did this one escape my notice until now? This is about as Rock n Roll as Rock n Roll music gets, it's 70's Rock n Roll the way it should be played. If you like your music loud and guitar driven with a definite blues flavour (which I most definitely do) then this release will be right up your alley.
Flame is a band that could've, would've, should've been the successors to the 70's Rock throne held by bands like Aerosmith, Alice Cooper and Kiss before them. Unfortunately it was not to be for whatever reason and the band broke up after only 2 albums (Singer Marge Raymond says "Flame would have been a huge band if not for all the BS behind the scenes that had nothing to do with the band"). Time seems to have forgotten all about these guys which is a downright shame because the 2 albums that they did release in the late 70's are nothing short of brilliant. Produced by Jack Douglas who worked extensively with Aerosmith in the 70's and featuring Jimmy Crespo on Guitar (who would later go on to join Aerosmith) their debut album is a statement that this band can stand toe to toe with any other headline act of their time and easily hold their own. In fact given the state of the
aforementioned bands in the late 70's I'm sure Flame would have blown them off the stage.
Jumping out of the starting gates with the galloping shuffle that is Beg Me this is an album that immediately grabs you by the scruff of the neck and demands you pay attention. Marge Raymond with her husky, gravelly, whisky soaked voice and an attitude reminiscent of Suzi Quatro and Janis Joplin delivers these songs in a manner that shows she knows what Rock n Roll is all about. She is certainly no amateur and in fact is quite possibly the quintessential female Rock n Roll vocalist. Never reissued in any form these albums are just screaming for the deluxe reissue treatment, preferably with an extra disc consisting of the recordings Marge did post the break up of Flame with Jimmy Crespo and Joey Kramer of Aerosmith, if someone knows how to make this happen then you
would have one very happy radio show host.
Hi, this is Marge Raymond. Thank you for the nice review. I have never stopped singing and have a long and ecclectic career. Flame never got the recognition it deserved. I was one of the first females to front a rock band. Unfortunatey, there was no marketing for women back in the 70's. They had no clue. I would love to see someont pick up these albums and re-issue them. I have a lot of great material that is sitting in a can. Rock on, Rock hard, Rock forever! Marge Raymond
ReplyDeleteHi, this is Marge Raymond. Thank you for the nice review. I have never stopped singing and have a long and ecclectic career. Flame never got the recognition it deserved. I was one of the first females to front a rock band. Unfortunatey, there was no marketing for women back in the 70's. They had no clue. I would love to see someont pick up these albums and re-issue them. I have a lot of great material that is sitting in a can. Rock on, Rock hard, Rock forever! Marge Raymond
ReplyDeleteHi Marge,
ReplyDeleteThanks for getting in contact with our humble little radio show & blog. I noticed that you have kept active over the years but it seems the number of people familiar with your work are few & far between which is a downright shame. Have you ever considered releasing the stuff you have in a can independently (is it worth a try?) or maybe somehow hooking up with the Aerosmith guys somehow to get the tunes noticed? I'm sure the people familiar with your work would love to hear what you have available.
Cheers
Chris