Dog Soldier -

Dog Soldier was an English hard-rock supergroup from Preston, Lancashire, that released a 1975 self-titled album on United Artists. They marked the second team-up between Scottish guitarist–songwriter Miller Anderson and drummer Keef Hartley, both veterans of the Keef Hartley Band. Concurrent to Dog Soldier, the two played in hard-rockers Broken Glass. Bassist Paul Bliss resurfaced in the late-seventies West Coast act Bliss Band.

Members: Miller Anderson (lead vocals, guitar), Derek Griffiths (guitar, backing vocals), Mel Simpson (keyboards, backing vocals), Paul Bliss (bass, backing vocals), Jim Leverton (bass), Keef Hartley (drums), Eric Dillon (drums)

Background

Keef Hartley first worked with Derek Griffiths in The Artwoods, a mid-Sixties R&B/beat group with organist Jon Lord and singer Art Wood (elder brother of Faces/Stones guitarist Ron Wood). Griffiths joined the Mike Cotton Sound in time for their reinvention as Satisfaction for a 1971 brass-rock album on Decca. Meanwhile, Hartley formed his namesake brass-rock band with Miller Anderson, formerly of psych rockers Paper Blitz Tissue.

Between 1969 and 1972, the Keef Hartley Band made five studio albums and a live disc. Anderson left before the swan song, Seventy Second Brave, to cut a solo album and form Hemlock, which made one album on Decca. Hartley followed the band with a 1973 solo album, Lancashire Hustler. Elsewhere, Griffiths played on the first two solo albums by Colin Blunstone and the second album by Chris Youlden.

In mid-1974, the three parties converged with two newcomers: keyboardist Mel Simpson and bassist Paul Bliss (b. June 26, 1953; Birmingham).

Dog Soldier

Dog Soldier released their singular self-titled album in May 1975 on United Artists.

The album opens with “Pillar to Post,” a chugging riff cycle shaped by clipped vocal phrasing and keyboard fills. “Several People” adopts an upbeat framework of brisk rhythms and modulated chord cycles, countered by “You Are My Spark,” which bridges episodic sections with clipped verse lines, a subdued midsection, and slow, extended guitar themes. “Long and Lonely Night” rotates a plaintive lyrical motif over a four-chord ballad pattern.

“Giving as Good as You Get” uses even pacing and balanced phrasing, while “Thieves and Robbers” alternates mid-verse pauses with blues progressions and lyric lines about music industry exploitation. “Stranger in My Own Time” centers on a downbeat horn-backed pattern with brief harmonic spikes. “Looks Like Rain” spans eleven minutes, opening with hard-riff sequences and pivots through thunderclap breaks, atmospheric interludes, ambient keys, wah-wah guitar overlays, and slow harmonic resolution.

A1. “Pillar to Post” (4:58) — Anderson
A2. “Several People” (5:17) — Hartley
A3. “You Are My Spark” (7:14) — Griffiths
A4. “Long and Lonely Night” (5:26) — Simpson

B1. “Giving as Good as You Get” (5:43) — Bliss
B2. “Thieves and Robbers” (4:48) — Simpson
B3. “Stranger in My Own Time” (4:34) — Anderson
B4. “Looks Like Rain” (11:28) — Anderson

Sessions occurred between November 18 and December 15, 1974, at Island’s Basing Street Studios in London with producer–engineer John Burns. Ron Malo mixed the album at Devonshire Studios, Los Angeles. Denny Diante and Spencer Proffer co-produced and assisted in mixing.

Dog Soldier features cover art by Rick Breach, based on a concept by Keef Hartley, with photography by Keith Morris and art direction by Aaron Sixx.

United Artists issued “Pillar to Post” (b/w “Several People”) as a single in both the UK (UP 35847) and US (UA-XW642-X).

Discography: