Duffy Power - Vampers & Champers

Harmonica ace makes belated mark with diverse double-disc

An underrated British blueser, Power’s second anthology (his early 60s career having been covered by RPM’s Leapers & Sleepers) sees him move towards jazz. Disc One contains sessions from 1965-67 with Danny Thompson and John McLaughlin particularly prominent on upright bass and guitar, plus two previously unreleased songs. Its companion disc has 1969 sessions later released by Spark, a previously unheard 1970 teaming with the Keith Tippett Sextet, and tracks from an aborted CBS LP. The sheer eclecticism of this anthology gives some idea of why Duffy has remained under the radar for so many years. Particularly impressive are the three CBS tracks with Argent backing him, including a shot at Taj Mahal’s Corrina. His anguished tones aren’t too far away from Rod Argent and, had he enjoyed a stable band as well as a stable personal life, the story could have been different. Two tracks from 2002, including the suitably-titled We’ll Meet Again, top off a handsome package annotated by RC scribe Colin Harper, suggesting the Power age could yet be at hand.

RPM | RPMD 320

Reviewed by Michael Heatley
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