The U.K. half of Sanctuary Records continues mining their huge vault of England’s famous PYE Records and in 2007 they tap open the mostly ‘70s back catalog of the group known as Stray. As far as English boogie bands go, Stray were great. When their singer quit after five albums, guitarist and the band’s main songwriter Del Bronham stepped in and proved to be a great singer too. Released in the summer of ‘75 in the U.K. and the U.S. too, Stand Up And Be Counted was an excellent rock album in a year that saw some of the greatest releases in U.K. rock lore. Somewhere between Badfinger and Humble Pie, Stray mixed guts and melody to great effect. The original eleven track album with unforgettable Lp jacket art was reissued on CD + one bonus cut in 2007 on Sanctuary. Stand Up And Be Counted makes a great introduction to an unheralded band. Other of the band’s recorded output is made good use of on their 2003 34 cut double CD, Stray - Time Machine Anthology 1970-1977. www.delbromham.co.uk

 

 

 

 

Attention Artists and Record Companies: Have your CD reviewed by mwe3.com. Send to: MWE3.com CD Reviews Editor Robert Silverstein, P.O. Box 630249, Little Neck, N.Y. 11363-0249 E-mail: mwe3nyc@gmail.com