Krazy Kat was an English rock quintet behind the 1976/77 albums China Seas and Troubled Air on Mountain Records. Three members hailed from Charisma harmony rockers Capability Brown.
Members: Ray Lewis (bass, vocals), Roger Bradley-Willis [Roger Willis] (drums), Grahame White (guitar), Tony Ferguson (guitar), Harry MacDonald (keyboards)
Background
Krazy Kat formed in 1976 when guitarist-singers Tony Ferguson and Grahame White regrouped with drummer-singer Roger Bradley-Willis, then added keyboardist-singer Harry MacDonald and bassist-singer Ray Lewis.
Ferguson played guitar and sang in Harmony Grass, whose RCA output included the UK No. 24 single “Move in a Little Closer, Baby” and the album This Is Us. White recorded the 1971 self-titled album by Fuzzy Duck, while Willis came from the Gremlins.
Ferguson, White, and Willis formed part of the six-piece Capability Brown lineup that recorded the 1972/73 Charisma albums From Scratch and Voice. Christie bassist Roger Flavell recruited the three musicians for a South American tour in 1974 after Capability Brown ceased activity.
MacDonald played in Darien Spirit, which cut the 1973 Charisma album Elegy to Marilyn. He also appeared on the November 1974 String Driven Thing album Please Mind Your Head.
Krazy Kat played their earliest documented show on June 4, 1976, at the Crown Hotel in Cirencester. The group signed with Mountain Records and released “Thirty Love” in September 1976 (b/w “Melody Maker”). They entered AIR Studios in London with producer Chris Thomas.
China Seas
Krazy Kat released their debut album, China Seas, in 1976 on Mountain Records.
China Seas contains nine songs by Tony Ferguson and Martin Hall, three with input by Roger Bradley-Willis.
“Thirty-Love” veers between rapturous chordal bars and tight, pent-up verses as the newly thirtysomething protagonist braces for dating turbulence. “No Smoke Without Fire” = persistent mid-tempo funk (in G minor) with fuzzed refrain and arched chorus harmonies; oozing break. “Dundee Calling” = lurching, dramatic number with smoldering chordal sustain and ivory accents; revved, intense climax.
“Ivor’s Dive” = serrated riff frames acoustic falsetto verses with saloon runs and exotic string/wind breaks. “Chile Wind” = finger-picked uptempo CBB-style strut (in E) with swelling five-way tenor and sharp recurrent crescendos; cutting dual-fret breaks.
A1. “Thirty-Love” (3:47) – Ferguson, Hall
A2. “No Smoke Without Fire” (3:51) – Ferguson, Hall, Willis
A3. “Ivor’s Dive” (4:52) – Ferguson, Hall, Willis
A4. “Chile Wind” (4:57) – Ferguson, Hall, Willis
A5. “Alcatraz” (3:38) – Ferguson, Hall
B1. “Dundee Calling” (4:46) – Ferguson, Hall
B2. “How They Crossed the Pole” (4:21) – Ferguson, Hall
B3. “China Seas” (5:55) – Ferguson, Hall
B4. “Santa Fe” (5:21) – Ferguson, Hall
Sessions occurred at AIR Studios with Thomas, who worked in sequence on titles by Kokomo, John Cale, Kilburn & The High Roads, and Ronnie Lane’s Slim Chance. John Punter engineered China Seas amid albums by Caravan, Mr. Big, Nazareth, A Raincoat, Hummingbird, and the Sensational Alex Harvey Band. Assistant Steve Nye worked on concurrent albums by Stray, Quantum Jump, and John G. Perry.
David Scutt designed and illustrated the sleeve, which places a sailing ship beneath a red sun within a floral maritime scene. Scutt had recently co-designed the Roaring sleeve for Hookfoot.
Mountain issued “Thirty Love” as a 1976 single (b/w “Melody Maker”). “How They Crossed the Pole” followed in January 1977 (b/w “China Seas”). The label also circulated “Dundee Calling” as the lead cut on a four-track promotional 12-inch.
In November 1976, Krazy Kat supported the Jess Roden Band at Sheffield University. The following summer, they played the 1977 Reading Festival, a three-day event with sets by Tiger, Hawkwind, The Enid, Lone Star, Uriah Heep, The Motors, Golden Earring, Doobie Brothers, 5 Hand Reel, Eddie & The Hot Rods, and Woody Woodmansey’s U-Boat. Krazy Kat (billed on flyers as Krazy Kats) appeared on day 2 (Saturday, August 27) along with Ultravox, Gloria Mundi, John Miles, Thin Lizzy, Little River Band, and Graham Parker & the Rumour.
Troubled Air
Krazy Kat released their second album, Troubled Air, in November 1977 on Mountain Records.
Troubled Air contains five Ferguson–Willis numbers and one track each by MacDonald and White, plus two Hall contributions. Krazy Kat revisited “Melody Maker,” first issued as the B-side of the 1976 debut single.
“Troubled Air” = spacey theremin-like lead and tight, layered vocal trade-offs across sauntering bass pattern; pinched, twangy solo exchange with windy Wurlitzer. “Carousel” = foreboding vamp with plucked, nervous strings and group-vocal swell amid churning, thickening undercurrents (in E) and torrential overhead.
“Shady Sabrina” = sly eight-bar procession (1-4-7-3 in Em) binds the bass/Rhodes foundation through mysterious couplets and the rising, singalong chorus*; oozing, scaling warm-fuzz break. “Shame” = runaround riff with darting accents and tenor/baritone call-and-response across a deep, relentless ostinato.
A1. “Troubled Air” (4:37) – Ferguson, Willis
A2. “Rock of Ages” (3:27) – Ferguson, Willis
A3. “Gotta Get Back” (3:39) – Ferguson, Hall, Lewis
A4. “Carousel” (6:08) – Ferguson, Willis
A5. “A Lot to Learn” (3:27) – MacDonald
B1. “Shady Sabrina” (5:45) – Ferguson, Willis
B2. “Shame” (4:14) – Ferguson, Willis
B3. “Don’t Let Me Down” (3:13) – White
B4. “Melody Maker” (4:23) – Ferguson, Hall
Sessions took place at CBS Studios and Audio International Studios in London, with further work at AIR Studios. Krazy Kat co-produced the album with Robin Geoffrey Cable, a former Trident house engineer who worked in sequence on the 1977 Hudson-Ford album Daylight and the Harry Nilsson release Knnillssonn.
Scutt returned for the cover design and illustration, which depicts lightning striking a raised rock beneath black storm clouds.
*Shady Sabrina smiles,
a promise of paradise,
once inside you wont believe your eyes
Like nothing you’ve seen before,
a woman you must adore,
Shady Sabrina makes you feel alive
Postlude
In 1977, Vertigo issued both Krazy Kat albums in the Netherlands. Tone Arm paired the Mountain releases on the 2008 CD Troubled Air & China Seas (TA 0005).
In 1980, Graham White, Roger Willis, and Tony Ferguson appeared as backing vocalists on two tracks (“Wheels Within Wheels,” “Nice and Easy”) on singular album by Terra Nova, an Earth Band spinoff.
Discography:
- China Seas (1976)
- Troubled Air (1977)
Sources:
Artist/Album Pages:
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Original 2018 draft:
Krazy Kat was an English rock quintet that released two albums during the mid-to-late 1970s. The band were an offshoot of early ’70s Charisma recording artists Capability Brown.
Tony Ferguson had been a member of Capability Brown with Graham White, who had earlier been with Fuzzy Duck. Ferguson had also backed singer/songwriter Risa Potters while Harry MacDonald’s name was seen on albums by Darien Spirit and String Driven Thing.
Singed to the U.K. Mountain label — then riding high with Baker Gurvitz Army, Nazareth, and the Sensational Alex Harvey Band — Krazy Kat issued their 1976 debut China Seas, from which the tracks “Thirty Love,” “Dundee Calling,” and “How They Crossed the Poll” were released as singles. Their sophomoric swansong, Troubled Air, appeared the following year. Across the channel, their two albums were issued on Dutch Vertigo.