CB and I were emailing each other and he sent me a few links to this band. They were a great British pub band that formed in 1977. They got together after the split of another band named The Flying Tigers. As CB and I have done these…I usually give you a “sample platter” of them and later on I’ll concentrate on one song at a time in a later post. This should introduce you to them.
The first thing I noticed was how good their songs sound. Many pub bands I’ve heard have a muddy sound to them but this band sounded clear and great. I do remember one of their songs…it was a cover of the Standells Dirty Water. Their producer until 1989 was a guy named Vic Maile who helped shape their overall sound. He was a winner…he worked with artists such as Fleetwood Mac, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, The Pirates, Hawkwind, Motörhead, The Godfathers, The Kinks, Small Faces, Dr. Feelgood, Girlschool, and the Deep Fix. Most of those bands I’ve covered.
They released nine studio albums and three live ones between 1979 and 2008. They were considered a Pub band but you also hear a lot of that great 1960s garage sound in lead singer Bill Hurly’s voice. They remind me of pre-Godfathers…they take no prisoners and come right at you. Their songs are rough and raw but their melodic and catchy at the same time. Their choice of covers is quite interesting. They pick many songs you wouldn’t think.
They also made a tribute live album to the Beatles called The Inmates Meet The Beatles: Live In Paris. They did it in their style and made the songs their own which is a great way of doing it. They even managed to take one of the very few Beatles songs I don’t like and turned it on its head. I like their version of it…Little Child.
Enough of me babbling on…let’s listen to the Inmates. I’ll start off with one that you should know. I do remember this song and this version. Their first album First Offence peaked at #40 on the Billboard Album Charts. The song Dirty Water peaked at #51. I’ve included songs from their first three albums.
The next song is a cover of a song called The Walk by Jimmy McCracklin and His Band originally released in 1958.
This song is Sweet Rain off of their 2nd album Shot in the Dark released in 1980. I can hear a lot of Them in this one. The guitar in this has an older sixties feel. This was the B-Side to the song below.
This song is the A-Side to Sweet Rain called Stop, It Baby off of their 2nd album Shot in the Dark released in 1980. It jumps and moves…very catchy.
This one called She’s Gone Rockin’ was off of their third album Heatwave in Alaska It was released in 1982.
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Can’t say I ever listened to these guys though I recognize the name in association with Dr Feelgood and that whole pub rock scene. Thanks for the introduction, seems like similar roots to a lot of artists I like.
They are a lot of fun to listen to. I do remember that version of Dirty Water but it’s been a long time.
Love that original though
Sweet Rain and Baby Don’t Stop are killer tracks. Bands like this just didn’t get much mainstream attention.
The lead singer is great and the band rocks out.
Great name for a band. With a name like that you would think they were from Thunder Bay
deKE and the Inmates…
hahahaha….opening act- Maxatraz (named after Alcatraz) lol
LOL
The Inmates who are entirely new to me sound really cool. I can hear a bit of a Stones vibe in some of their songs. Great stuff!
I read where their Beatles covers were like “The Stones doing Beatle covers” but they are a little more aggressive than the Stones in that way…I really like them.
I gotta check out that Beatles cover album! 🙂
I liked that version of Little Child…more than the Beatles version.
Currently sampling the album – sounds fun! 🙂
I think the description of The Inmates playing The Beatles Stones-style is a great characterization.
BTW, I also agree with Deke that The Inmates is a great band name!
I just wish I would have known these guys back in the day. Straight ahead rock and roll.
I told him! It would be a fantastic name.
I think I’m going to earmark them for my Sunday feature!
That would be cool dude! They are like a 60s garage band on steroids…they cover so many songs…like Some Kind of Wonderful and others….they do them their own way.
Since I try to avoid repeating songs, I’m always looking for “new” stuff, especially after close to 150 installments of the series! 🙂
Thats always hard to do…in my Max Picks the good thing is I can’t…in this one it would be hard because the whole appeal is it being so random…thats what I love about it.
I try not to repeat songs when I post….the only way I do is if the original wasn’t read becasue of lack of readers.
In the series I did it a couple of times accidentally. That happened before I started journaling all previous picks. After all, sometimes I don’t remember what I did the previous day! 🙂
Without my index…I would be repeating all of the time. It’s interesting sometimes on what I haven’t covered. You know I’ve covered a lot of the Allman Brothers…but never Ramblin Man. Old Man Down the Road by Fogerty I didn’t cover till last week. I seem to stay away from the big hits lol.
I think focusing on neat deeper cuts is actually great. It’s a safe bet you’re going to introduce more folks to more “new” music that way. In my Sunday feature I’m striving for a balance in that regard.
Yep….that is what I always think also. I would rather post “Not a Second Time” than Hey Jude…who doesn’t know Hey Jude?
Not a bad sound, but I’d never heard of them. I thought ‘Dirty Water’ might have been the hit for Rock & Hyde (the Payolas) in Canada, but turns out that was an original of theirs. But apparently this song was well-known & Springsteen has played it in concert. I learned something already today!
The Walk is another song I’ve known before also….not this version but I’ve heard it. Dirty Water…The Red Sox for a while would play Dirty Water when they won…I think it was in the 90s.
I read that, but I sure wouldn’t have been sticking around to the broadcasts after the game was over if Bosox won back then, LOL
LOL…how I remembered that I don’t know
These guys are good! I even liked “Little Child”…
Yes! Thats what I told CB…their version really kicks it in high gear. I love that garage sound…
Stop it baby! I’m on a bit of a run with these guys. I do like my long jams and extended improvisations BUT when I catch music like this it puts me in my place. I love rock n roll and these guys know how to do it in 2-3 minutes. I just came from listening to the Beatles covers. You let the Inmates out. That’s good.
Yea I called it Baby Dont’ Stop…how I got that I don’t know…but yea that one pops out like power pop rock song…it’s driven but catchy. I liked their version of I’m Down also. They have escaped.
Job well done. Maybe some new Inmate fans.
Thanks CB….some really good comments.
Dang, now thats a good band. Stop It Baby gives me the Elvis leg.
Now that is a great description.
I got the “Elvis Leg” after listening to it this morning. Good one Phil.
Brand new to me. They have a heavy Stones influence/sound to me. He sounds a lot like Mick! Maybe if they had snazzy matching outfits they could have broken through. Really like these guys.
Glad you like them Lisa! They are a lot of fun.
They definitely have the skills and the energy to have made it.
Some great hard-driving, high-energy and bluesy sludge rock that – as previously mentioned by many – seemed to draw influences from the Stones, Them, and other similar bands.