David Byron-Take No Prisoners (1975)


 

Artist: David Byron


Label: Mercury/Bronze

Format: LP

Cat: SRM-1-1074

Year of Release: 1975

Country and Year of Edition: US 1976 Promo Terre Haute Pressing

Date of Sale: 7/15/23

Sell Price: $12.70

Condition: VG+/VG+ 

Discogs Last Sold: 1/18/23 VG/VG $11.72

Low:$5.62 G+/VG+

Median: $12.70

Average: $14.76

High: $29.95 M/VG+

Current low price: $3.50

Current Number on Sale at Discogs: 20

Have/Want: 151/38

Where Sold: Staten Island, NY

Time It Took To Sell:  2 years

Where and When Bought Ebay $50 prog lot a couple years ago

Gwiz-gau Letter Grade: B+

Sad To See It Go: No

When I got the sale of David Byron today, I swear to God I had no recollection of getting the record.  I had it in my apartment stack, so I think I got it in an Ebay prog lot 2-3 years ago.  Byron was the drunken singer of Uriah Heap that ultimately was sacked in the 70's and died at 38 in 1985.  However, Byron was still in Uriah Heap when this was recorded and Mick Box Guitar and Lee Kerslake drums are all over it.

I didn't even play this album when I bought it, so I'm breaking new ground here with this 1975 solo record.  Mercury/Bronze put it out in the US in 1976 after European release.  I never thought of Bronze before Motörhead, but there you go. With sales going at a glacial pace lately, I promised myself a strict 3 spins before I hit "publish" on the blogger website. 

Standouts on the first listen were often the same as the second.  Side One had a Thin Lizzy guitar style track called "Silver White Man" that I can safely call the best song of the side.  The opener of the second side has a Uriah Heap style keyboard into with a cowbell driven intro on "Midnight Flyer" that certainly is up there.  The closer is a drinking song, "Hit Me With A White One."  Disturbing since drinking booted him from Uriah Heap and ultimately killed him.  He pleads for help and it's a little jarring.  Great Rock 'n Roll here.

As for the rest, there are a couple tracks John Wetton rears his head on Mellotron.   The first is the opening track, "Man Full Of Yesterdays."  He wastes his time drinking whiskey and wine but now he is coming back!  On the shrinks couch and prone to "beat myself in the head" while a George Harrison style lick (or "Day After Day" Badfinger) comes to the fore.  On third listen this may be the best song on the album. The other Wetton one that closes side one is a ballad called "Love Song."  "TRY to sing a Love Song" he says.  It fades out fast so he can got back to the bar.  "Stop (Think What You're Doing)" sounds like a nick of "Bring It On Home To Me."   "Sweet Rock 'n Roll" has a feel of confessional Gospel.  "Saturday Night" he can ALMOST taste the ice cold beer!

Dead at 38.  How much did he fucking drink????

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