Maggie Bell

This WayBack Wednsesday offering comes from the 1974 release, Queen of the Night, Maggie Bell's first solo effort after her stint with Stone the Crows. Hailing from Glascow, her vocal prowess was often compared to Janis Joplin.

A Woman Left Lonely


"From a musical family, she sang from her teenage years, leaving school at the age of fifteen, to work as a window dresser by day and singer at night. Bell was introduced to Leslie Harvey, by his older brother Alex, after getting up on stage to sing with him (Alex). Leslie Harvey was, at that time, a guitarist with the Kinning Park Ramblers. Bell joined the group as one of the vocalists. After the band split up, Bell moved to the Mecca Band at the Sauchiehall Street Locarno, and later to the Dennistoun Palais Band.

She then rejoined Harvey, forming a group, initially known as Power, eventually travelling to Germany to sing on United States Air Force bases in the mid 1960s. Peter Grant, who was managing The Yardbirds at the time, spotted Power playing at one of these bases, and agreed to produce and manage them, impressed by the vocal ability of Bell and the guitar playing of Harvey. Power was renamed as Stone the Crows, an expression used by Grant upon hearing this band.

This group lasted until 1973, finding that Harvey's death from accidental electrocution, on 2 May 1972, took too much out of the group for them to continue. The live chemistry between Bell and Harvey was missing. Peter Grant remained as Bell's manager after the split, and organised her first solo album, Queen of the Night, which was recorded in New York with record producer Jerry Wexler.

Although critically feted in the U.K., Maggie Bell never quite achieved the commercial breakthrough everyone had so expected -- always a bridesmaid, never a bride."
-Wiki

From the Archives:
Maggie Bell stretches John Prine´s "Souvenirs" to the max with Steve Gadd ably assisting by splashing the drums as deep as Bell's vocals. Her up-tempo version of J.J. Cale´s "After Midnight" is more captivating than Eric Clapton´s; she oozes that Etta James sexuality while Reggie Young throws some tasty guitar into the semi-calypso groove.

Souvenirs


After Midnight


Queen of the Night

 Bell's identity is unique on much of the material, but a couple of tunes have her paying tribute to some of her sisters. The title track, "Queen of the Night," is drenched in gorgeous harmonies by The Sweet Inspirations and is pure Genya Ravan, but conversely, the cover of "A Woman Left Lonely,"(HEARD ABOVE) embraced totally by Janis Joplin on "Pearl", is a sweet vocal and totally alien to how Joplin ripped the song to shreds so wonderfully. It works on an entirely different level on "Queen of the Night" -- Bell's voice is an instrument that slips into different styles on a moment's notice. She takes the fun but silly RingStarr/Vini Ponica number five hit from the same year and gives it some style, then turns around with Deadric Malone´s "As the Years Go Passing By" and delivers another brand of quality sound. Cornell Dupree's fabulous guitar leads cook in the background -- the frosting on the cake for "As the Years Go Passing By." Intense and beautiful, it is the real sleeper here.

As the Years Go Passing By


 While Merry Clayton was singing back-up on Ringo Starr´s "Oh My My" and ex- Black Oak Arkansas Ruby Starr would track Paul McCartney´s "Maybe I'm Amazed," Bell broke through her Stone The Crows image to cover a range of ideas, giving even David Clayton Thomas some respectability, taking his original "Yesterday's Music" to new heights with a Bonnie Bramlett-style touch of gospel. From Will Jennings to Carole Bayer Sager and Peter Allen, Bell's Queen of the Night is a stunningly marvelous mix of blues, pop, soul, and Southern rock. "We Had It All" builds with a smoldering tension that gives Bell a platform for her inspired phrasings. Sager must've been over the top when she first heard this version of "The Other Side." This is music straight from the heart, which concludes with "Trade Winds," piano, drums, and Bell's voice tapering off like the end of a great set at some intimate nightclub.

Trade Winds