Among the
early pioneers
of UK hard rock,
Hustler
comprised
Steve Haynes
(vocals),
Micky Llewellyn
(guitar, vocals),
Tigger Lyons
(bass, vocals),
Kenny Daughters
(keyboards)
and
Tony Beard
(drums, percussion).
At a time when the
UK music scene
still related anything
from the
rock field with complex,
multi-layered
progressive recordings,
Hustler
seemed somewhat of place
with their straightforward
rock hooks and
‘good-time boogie’ style.
Nevertheless,
both High Street
and
Play Loud
remain excellent examples
of the
back-to-basics
British rock movement
that eventually exploded
into the New Wave
Of British Heavy Metal.
After the group’s collapse,
Llewellyn joined Mr. Big…
Hustler
“High Street”
(1974 first album)
Very good debut album
with some
nifty guitar work
which had an almost
Moody/Marsden
Whitesnake feel to it
A good balance of different stuff.
While it has some
boogie and glam sounds,
Piranhas
and
Midnight Seducer
are more like
heavy metal,
fast and aggressive,
they are akin to
the NWOBHM,
which was yet
to come into being.
Those two are similar to
Slowbone.
The title track is great too.
Hustler
“Play Loud”
(1975 second album)
While Foghat
and
Status Quo
consistently
laid down
heads down
boogie
during the high-times
In The‘70s,
there were numerous groups
that attempted to
roll in the same vein.
It’s not easy relevantly
reworking songs
based on
blooze rock power chords
and shuffle patterns
on a steady basis,
but Foghat
and S.Q.
managed to deliver
the goods
for several years
with their jean jacket racket.
Others came up short,
as evident
by Hustler.
Hustler went two albums
and out,
with the 1975 release
of
Play Loud
putting a punctuation mark
on the group’s brief run.
As expected,
there is no new
ground broke
on the nine song LP,
which comes off
as standard bar band flare.
Opening with
“Money Maker”,
Play Loud
features the stompin’
boogie delivery of
“Little People”
by Jon Fox
Nothing Really fancy here.
Just kick-azz,
a punch in the teeth,
good times
hard rock.
English rockers
Hustler released,
High Street
in 1974,
verage rock 'n’ roll
but it was very inconsistent.
It is their follow up LP,
Play Loud
(1975)
that the band finds
a style similar to
Free/Bad Co.,
a bit of AC/DC
and the boogie of
Status Quo
that does work
with the addition of
the Purple-esque organ.
Most of the tracks
are in the hard rock vein
but there is a
few ballads
thrown in
there as well. …
A heavy rock outfit
with a good reputation.
'High Street’
is very much in
Free/Bad Company mold.
Tracks like
'Just Leave A Good Man’
and
'Jack The Lad '
are hard rocking songs
with strong melodies
and good vocals
Great guitar work.
There are some
mellower moments on
'Let The Wind Blow’
and
'Miranda’,
whilst
'The Hustler’
is reasonably orchestrated.
'Get Outa Me 'Ouse’,
the only track where
Micky Llewelyn sings,
is in a more
pub-rock direction
and
'Piranhas’
has a long
instrumental break
with keyboard
progressive overtones
in a
Deepish Purple
Kinda direction…..
TRACKLIST
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