Hammersmith - Hammersmith (1975)

Hammersmith rose from the ashes of Canadian rockers, Painter, in late 1974. With principals Doran Beattie and Dan Lowe in the fold, the band's name power helped them to land a deal with Mercury Records and "Hammersmith" was issued in 1975. The band set out on a tour of Canada and through a number of high profile shows and moderately successful singles, the band were granted a healthy budget increase for their followup. That came in 1976 with "It's For You". Though the sound and production was noticeably slicker, the material was weaker and the album failed to ignite Canadian radio. As a result, the band (with a newly revamped lineup) began falling apart at the seams, prompting a full blown split in 1977. Beattie later turned up as a country solo artist, while other members went on to 451° and Moxy.

"Hammersmith" takes cues from The Guess Who in places, which is understandable considering their reverence in their homeland. The album is fairly consistent, with the band keeping a nice balance of hard and soft throughout. The guitar work is stellar and the harmonies are tight, particularly on album highlight "Feelin' Better". This album has earned quite a cult following over the years, but sadly has never been issued on CD. Luckily, my new friend 'Orchman' has made this available here for your listening pleasure. Check out some cool Canadian rock...

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