Fuzzy Duck -

Fuzzy Duck was an English hard-rock band that released a self-titled album on MAM Records in 1971. Their name was partially derived from that of drummer Paul Francis’s prior band, Tucky Buzzard. Filling out the ranks were ex-Andromeda/Killing Floor bassist Mick Hawksworth and fleeting Arthur Brown-sideman Roy Sharland.

Members: Mick Hawksworth (bass), Roy Sharland (organ), Paul Francis (drums), Grahame White (guitar, vocals, 1970-71), Garth Watt-Roy (guitar, 1971)

The Album

Opening the set is “Time Will Be Your Doctor,” which pokes around the fifths and octaves of a one-step chromatic progression in E. The kick-drum double-ups and bass scale-ups that occur every few bars add gust to the song’s jerky propulsion — a pattern contrasted with bridges of wailing fretwork set ablaze with Hammond overspill. Originally recorded with Buzzard, Francis renews the piece with sharpened focus in this new setting.

Thundering, falling fifths in E herald “Mrs. Prout,” which erupts into a lava-spewing Hammond caldera. The wreckless skin-bashing of Francis resonates with a tribalistic feel that is somewhat obscured by the sonic maelstrom. White’s vocals exude a sonorous, elegant quality seemingly at odds with the sounds at hand.

Sharland yeilds to White on “Just Look Around You,” where the guitarist lays a series of high-board bends and brisk, distorted chordal runs in Dmaj. Hammond leaks in during the latter portion with considerable restraint amidst the Marshalled whirlwind.

Lyrical bends pierce the rupturous mid-tempo pace of “Afternoon Out” — a lament to a subject whose time has passed. In just under five minutes, the track runs from even stanzas to a pivotal bridge and rising chorus, all of which are swallowed in a seismic sonic windmill during the latter half. The pile-driven storm of guitar/Hammond distortion is repeated across lengthier tracks on the album’s flipside.

Before the year was out, White was replaced by ex-Greatest Show On Earth guitarist Garth Watt-Roy for the slathering soul-rock of “Double Time Woman,” issued on 7″ with the brisk wailer “One More Hour” on the flip.

After Fuzzy Duck split, Watt-Roy did stints with Steamhammer and East of Eden and later surfaced in Paul Young‘s Q-Tips. White played on the second Capability Brown LP and remained as the band morphed into Krazy Kat for two additional albums. Francis joined Tranquility and did session work with Maggie Bell, among others.

Discography: