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PREMESSA: LA SUPERIORITA’ DELLA MUSICA SU VINILE E’ ANCOR OGGI SANCITA, NOTORIA ED EVIDENTE. NON TANTO DA UN PUNTO DI VISTA DI RESA, QUALITA’ E PULIZIA DEL SUONO, TANTOMENO DA QUELLO DEL RIMPIANTO RETROSPETTIVO E NOSTALGICO , MA SOPRATTUTTO DA QUELLO PIU’ PALPABILE ED INOPPUGNABILE DELL’ ESSENZA, DELL’ ANIMA E DELLA SUBLIMAZIONE CREATIVA. IL DISCO IN VINILE HA PULSAZIONE ARTISTICA, PASSIONE ARMONICA E SPLENDORE GRAFICO , E’ PIACEVOLE DA OSSERVARE E DA TENERE IN MANO, RISPLENDE, PROFUMA E VIBRA DI VITA, DI EMOZIONE E  DI SENSIBILITA’. E’ TUTTO QUELLO CHE NON E’ E NON POTRA’ MAI ESSERE IL CD, CHE AL CONTRARIO E’ SOLO UN OGGETTO MERAMENTE COMMERCIALE, POVERO, ARIDO, CINICO, STERILE ED ORWELLIANO,  UNA DEGENERAZIONE INDUSTRIALE SCHIZOFRENICA E NECROFILA, LA DESOLANTE SOLUZIONE FINALE DELL’ AVIDITA’ DEL MERCATO E DELL’ ARROGANZA DEI DISCOGRAFICI .

LUTHER GROSVENOR
under open skies

Disco LP 33 giri , 1971,   island , ILPS 9168 , pink rim palm label, UK

OTTIME CONDIZIONI, vinyl ex++/NM , cover ex+.

Luther James Grosvenor (born 21 December 1946 in Evesham, Worcestershire) is an English rock musician, who played guitar in Spooky Tooth, briefly in Stealers Wheel and, under the pseudonym “Ariel Bender”, in Mott the Hoople.

Luther first began playing in local bands in his hometown of Evesham. He met Jim Capaldi, later known from Traffic, with whom he formed a group called Deep Feeling.

Later he joined a group called The V.I.P.’s, in which Keith Emerson played for some time. The V.I.P.’s were renamed into Art, and by 1967 into Spooky Tooth.

The years with Spooky Tooth (1967 to 1970), Stealers Wheel (1973)
and Mott the Hoople (1973 to 1974) were the most successful years in
his musical career.

After leaving Mott the Hoople, Luther published a few solo albums, and formed a group called Widowmaker, that existed until 1977.

In the 1990s Luther Grosvenor returned in a Spooky Tooth reunion. In
2005, he revived his pseudonym, forming the Ariel Bender Band. In 2007
and 2008 he is performing under the name Ariel Benders Mott The Hoople
performing Spooky Tooth and Mott The Hoople classics as well as cover
stuff.

• Etichetta:  ISLAND
• Catalogo: ILPS – 9168
• Data di pubblicazione: 1971
• Matrici:  ILPS 9168  A – 1U / ILPS 9168  B – 1U

• Supporto:vinile 33 giri
• Tipo audio: stereo
• Dimensioni: 30 cm.
• Facciate: 2
• Copertina apribile/ gatefold , pink rim label (with palm) , white paper inner sleeve

tracks

Lineup

Luther Grosvenor (guitars, vocals, tambourine, cymbal, wood scraper, shaker, harmonies)
John Hawken (piano, organ)
Trevor Burton (bass )
Mike Giles (drums )
Jim Capaldi (harmonies )
Mick Ralphs (harmonies )
Mike Kellie (drums )
Paul
Bennett (harmonies)
Trevor Lucas (harmonies)

Under Open Skies is a very strong album by the Island recording artist
who left Spooky Tooth and joined Mott the Hoople after that group left
Island for CBS. “Ride On” begins the festivities with Grosvenor playing
both bass and lead guitar; Spooky Tooth’s Mick Kellie provides the
drums; John Hawken is on piano; and harmonies are by Jim Capaldi of
Traffic and the man Luther Grosvenor replaced in Mott the Hoople, Mick
Ralphs. Here is the oddity of Under Open Skies, where Verden Allen’s
“Soft Ground” really disrupted the flow of the All the Young Dudes
album, a tune like “Here Comes the Queen” would have been dynamite for
Ian Hunter and the boys. (After writing this review, Justin Purington
of the Mott the Hoople website, Justabuzz.com, noted they DID perform
the song live in 1974, and that it rocked.) While that band was being
over-extended was the time to lean heavily on Grosvenor. He came off
like a hired gun rather than Mick Ralphs’ true replacement, and this
highly creative work shows just what he could have truly brought to the
Mott table if he was given the chance. “When I Met You” has the Move’s
Trevor Burton on bass, inspired guitar playing by Grosvenor, and a
vocal by the artist leaning toward Steve Winwood. The title track is
just amazing, Trevor Burton and Mick Kellie making up two-thirds of the
three- piece band which pulls of this brilliant Githa Grosvenor/Luther
Grosvenor pre-Ariel Bender composition. That the reconstituted Mott or
British Lions failed to pick up on this individual to continue their
work is just a shame. They went in a failed heavy metal direction while
the possible key to their success was in this spirited and very
complete work. The title track is mystical and amazing, while the
inside cover has a tremendous photo of Grosvenor dressed up like Ozzie
Osborne in white cape, immersed by beautiful green trees, and a small
pig to the far left. With Jim Capaldi’s Oh, How We Danced and John
“Rabbit” Bundrick’s Broken Arrow, Under Open Skies by Luther Grosvenor
is part of a unique trilogy of discs on Island records by sidemen who
crafted records more complete than some of the discs by the groups they
played in — Traffic, Free, and Spooky Tooth — respectively. Musicians
overlap on all three of these recordings. Nice, touching liner notes by
Jim Capaldi are included as well. “Waiting” would have been a nice
moment for Spooky Tooth, while “Rocket” recalls Denny Laine’s “Say You
Don’t Mind.” If Grosvenor submitted this as a term paper, the teacher
would have to give it an A plus.

Born on 21 December 1946, Luther Grosvenor grew up in Evesham in the
same estate as Traffic’s Jim Capaldi. His first prominent engagement
came with a band called Deep Feeling, which included Capaldi, Gordon
Jackson, Dave Meredith, and John Palmer. Previously, Luther had been in
an Evesham band called Wavelength.

Deep Feeling evolved from a Worcester band called the Hellions,
which featured Dave Mason on guitar. The band also recorded briefly as
The Revolution in 1966, before packing it in. Many reference books list
Luther as a member of both The Hellions and The Revolution, but
although he was good friends with them, he was not in either of those
bands.

When Steve Winwood formed Traffic with Jim Capaldi and Dave Mason in
1967, there was no room for Grosvenor in the band. Winwood gave Luther
a tip that the Carlistle-based VIPs were looking for a guitarist, and
so he joined up with them. The VIPs already had four singles under
their belt, the last two being recorded for Island Records under the
watchful eye of Guy Stevens. At the time Luther joined, the band
included a young Keith Emerson along with Mike Harrison, Greg Ridley,
and Mike Kellie. Emerson soon left, and the band changed their name to
Art and released the Supernatural Fairy Tales LP (UK Island ILPS 967) in 1967. The band also backed other artists, most notably for the Hapsash and The Coloured Coat featuring the Human Host and the Heavy Metal Kids LP (UK Minit MLS 40001E) in 1968.

With the addition of Gary Wright, Art changed their name to Spooky
Tooth. The band cut four albums for Island, starting with 1968’s It’s All About (UK Island ILPS 9080). Their second album Spooky Two
is acknowledged as their best work, and the group garnered critical
praise but only moderate commercial success. An indication of the
group’s reputation among ytheir peers came in 1969, when Luther was on
the list as a potential replacement for Brian Jones in the Rolling
Stones. The group broke up after the 1970 album The Last Puff (UK Island ILPS 9117).

After Spooky Tooth packed it in, Luther took Chris Blackwell up on
an offer to record a solo album. Luther and his wife Githa spent three
months at Blackwell’s villa in Spain, working on material with
encouragement from his neighbor, film star Hugh Milias. The result was Under Open Skies (UK Island ILPS 9169), released in October 1971. Neither the album nor the single, Here Comes The Queen, made a dent on the charts. Plans to tour in support of Under Open Skies never materialized, nor did the reported followup album to be recorded with help from Jim Capaldi.

In late 1972 Mike Harrison and Gary Wright decided to reform Spooky
Tooth, building a new group using musicians from their recent solo
efforts. Luther was not the least bit interested in joining them.
Instead, he replaced Gerry Rafferty in Stealer’s Wheel in early 1973,
joining Joe Egan, Paul Pilnick, De Lisle Harper, and Rod Coombes. They
toured for the first six months of 1973 in support of the band’s debut
album, which had already been recorded and released before Luther
joined. Although most of Luther’s time with Stealer’s Wheel was spent
on the road, he did make it into the studio to record a single called Everyone’s Agreed That Everything Will Turn Out Fine (UK A+M AMS 7079), which also appeared in the USA and Holland.

Immediately after Stealer’s Wheel broke up in July 1973, Luther took
a phone call in Hampstead from Ian Hunter, asking him to join Mott The
Hoople. With only a few days rehearsal, he found himself onstage as
Ariel Bender for the second half of Mott’s USA tour. The band returned
to the UK in early November for a tour supported by Queen, capped by a
pair of shows at the Hammersmith Odeon which were put to tape in
anticipation of a live album.

January 1974 saw Mott The Hoople enter Advision Studios to record The Hoople. One of the first chores for Luther was to re-record Mick Ralph’s guitar on Roll Away The Stone.
After a short warm up tour of the UK in late March, Mott The Hoople
returned to the States for two more months of dates. The high point for
the band came in early May, as they became the first rock band to sell
out a week of shows on Broadway. These shows at the Uris Theater were
also recorded for the upcoming live album.

Although the US tour was a crowning achievement for the band, by
fall 1974 it was clear that Luther was not cut out for the Mott The
Hoople role. Although press reports indicate that Bender quit Mott, it
was more of a polite sacking. Mick Ronson was brought in to play out
the final month of live dates, before the band called it quits for good.

After he parted company with Mott The Hoople, Luther was reported to
be working on a solo album with Pete Gage and Steve York from Vinegar
Joe. Once again, the plans for a second solo album did not pan out. In
mid-1975, Luther got together with his friend Paul Nicholls and
bankrolled the formation of Widowmaker. In addition to Nicholls, the
band featured Bob Daisley, Hugh Lloyd-Langton, and reluctant singer
Steve Ellis. The band’s debut LP, Widowmaker (UK Jet
LP 15), was released in April 1976 . After touring the UK and the USA
in support of the debut album, Ellis left the band and was replaced by
John Butler. The followup LP, Too Late To Cry (UK Jet UAG 30038), was to be the band’s last.

Luther kept a low profile for the next decade, preferring to build
his own decorating business rather than risk the uncertainty of the
music industry. Although he did record a few sides with Verden Allen in
1978, it wasn’t until the early 1990s that Luther returned to the music
scene in a band called Blues `92. The band featured Luther on guitar,
John Ledsom on bass, Darren Horn on drums, and Pete Devoy on vocals.
Boues ’92 gigged briefly in and around Liverpool, and headlined the
Wirral International Guitar Festival in November 1992. Although Blues
’92 didn’t last very long, the project did prove that Luther still had
his edge.

In 1995, Luther got together with Mike Kellie and Jess Roden to record a couple tracks for Rattlesnake Guitar,
a Peter Green tribute CD. He was approached for the project by record
executive Bob Laul, who offered Luther a chance to finally record that
elusive second solo album.

Luther took Bob Laul up on his offer, and only ten days in Steve Winwood’s studio were needed to create Floodgates
(Brilliant RBCD 1007-2). Released in August 1996, the album features
the same musicians who worked with Luther on the Peter Green album:
Steve Dolan (ex- Hard Meat) on bass, Dave Moore on keyboards, and Mike
Kellie on drums. Luther handles all the guitar and lead vocal chores,
with the exception of two covers sung by Jess Roden. Five of the nine
tracks were written by Luther and his Blues `92 bandmate John Ledsom.

Plans for a Spooky Tooth reunion album were initiated in 1997.
Luther Grosvenor, Mike Harrison , Greg Ridley, and Mike Kellie went
into FFG Studios in Gloucester in July, and three tracks were finished:
Mike Kellie’s How, the group composition Kiss It Better, and Sunshine
(written by Karl Wallinger of World Party). Additional sessions were
planned for October 1997, but the physical distance between the group
members made rehearsals difficult and the plans fell apart.

With no new material in sight, plans were laid for an album called Sunshine,
which would combine the new studio tracks with a 1968 BBC live concert
and an unreleased Deep Feeling track. A mid-1998 release was planned.
But when the Ruf organization heard the new material, they asked asked
the band to record more material, and agreed to shoulder the cost of
bringing the band to Adapoe Sound in Weimar, Germany. Grosvenor,
Harrison, Ridley, and Kellie spent September 12-20, 1998 recording
seven new tracks for the album. The disc album finally surfaced in
February 1999 as Cross Purpose, released in both the USA and Europe.

On 17 April 1999, Luther made an appearance at the first annual Mott The Hoople Convention
in Bilston (UK), still looking every inch the Rock Star. He signed
autographs for fans, and that evening he joined Ian Hunter onstage for
an over-the-top performance of Walkin’ With A Mountain.

In the summer of 2000, plans were laid for a third Luther Grosvenor solo album, to be called If You Dare.
Demos were recorded, and musicians were lined up including Huw Lloyd
Langton (guitar), Steve Dolan (bass), Max Middleton (piano), and Simon
Cooper (drums). Unfortunately, the project was shelved at the last
minute When Luther decided to hang up his guitar.

Luther made a few guest apeparances over the next few years, playing
at a benefit for Steve Dolan’s family in Sep 2000, and sitting in with
The Raiders and Darrell Bath. In late 2004, it was reported that Luther
was putting together a new Ariel Bender Band, settling on a lineup of
Luther Grosvenor (guitar and vocals), Mark Eden (vocals), Jim Houghton
(bass), Mick Kirton (drums), Mick Trigg (keyboards), and Gary Oswell
(guitar). Luther and Mark Eden made an appearance at the Greg Ridley
Memorial on 20 Nov 2004.