Esoteric (label)
01 April 2026 (released)
3 h
Blodwyn Pig were never your bog standard heavy Blues band.
The band, formed by Mick Abrahams after leaving Jethro Tull, were steeped in the normal Blues culture but had a jazzy element to their sound that set them apart from the rest of the bands on the circuit in late sixties, early seventies.
They only produced two albums – ‘Ahead Rings Out’ and ‘Getting To This’ - in their original incarnation, with a third ‘Lies’ and a fourth ‘Pig-in-The-Middle’ in the 1990’s with varying lineups.
This Esoteric package includes both original albums with bonus tracks, a ‘Live At The BBC’ disc and an excellent booklet.
Fronted by Mick Abrahams on guitar and vocals and Jack Lancaster on saxophone & flute & vocals, they veered between Blues and jazz with Abrahams fronting the Blues numbers and Lancaster blowing freely on the jazz numbers – Lancaster was a devotee of Rhassan Roland Kirk and often played multiple saxes simultaneously.
The music is more than just a throwback to the days when loon pants and grandad shirts were standard clothing. There are pointers to the underground scene that ran all the way through to the beginnings of Punk.
The most interesting numbers are those fronted by Lancaster, either his flute of saxes, but the Abrahams written numbers stand as excellent examples of progressive music of the time.
The ‘Live At The BBC’, taken from various ‘Top Gear’, Sounds Of The Seventies’ and ‘In Concert’ recordings, show just how good and original the band were as a live outfit.
An enjoyable package and music that still stands up today.
