Cutting Up Rough

Definitive 2 CD collection spanning the Climax Blues Band’s studio output from ‘78 to ’94 plus a live concert recorded in Miami from 1979.

• Disc 1: 17 highlights from six albums including ‘Gotta Have More Love’, ‘I Love You’ plus extended mix of ‘Couldn’t Get It Right’.
• Disc 2: 8 track live concert recorded in Miami 1979.
• Fully remastered and presented in a slipcase with a 12-page booklet.

By 1978, Climax Blues Band had spent a decade transforming a love of American blues into their distinctive sound. Cutting Up Rough: The Climax Blues Band 1978-1994 captures this restless second act, as a road hardened British band proved that versatility need not come at the expense of identity. At the centre remained Colin Cooper’s deep, grainy voice and muscular saxophone, balanced by Peter Haycock’s trademark guitar work. Around them, Derek Holt’s melodic instincts, distinctive vocal harmonies and a rhythm section able to move from bluesy swagger to an effortless funk pulse gave the CBB a sound that was unique. Disc 1 features 17 highlights from six albums: Shine On (1978), Real To Reel (1979), Flying The Flag (1980), Lucky For Some (1981), Sample And Hold (1982) and Drastic Steps (1989) and ranges from the tough groove of ‘Gotta Have More Love’ to the radio friendly hit ‘I Love You’, and also includes the 1988 extended version of ‘Couldn’t Get It Right’. Disc 2 is an electrifying live 1979 concert where the band stretch out and let the music breathe, with Cooper’s sax and Haycock’s guitar driving a set rooted in blues but never confined by it. Cutting It Up is a vivid portrait of a band still moving forward, changing shape and getting it exactly right.