The Mick Cox Band - The Mick Cox Band (1973)

Mick Cox (born Gillingham 1943) was posted during military service to Northern Ireland where he met local musicians and played in the local scene where he met such guitarists as Henry McCullough and Billy Hollywood of the Alleykatz. His brother John Cox wa another guitarist who also played in local Belfast bands.

Produced by Shel Talmy, 1973's cleverly titled "The Mick Cox Band" was actually much better than the bland title would have you believe.  Backed by a seasoned crew of musicians including singer former Arrival singer/keyboardist Tony O'Malley, ex-Herd drummer Andrew Steele, and keyboardist Mick Weaver the album featured a nice selection of Cox-penned blues-rockers that served to showcase Cox's tasteful guitar leads and O'Malley's nice voice (which bore more than a passing comparison to The Band's Levon Helm).  One of the funny things about this LP is that while it lacked anything that was particularly original, taken as a whole the results were quite good.  In fact it's one of those albums where my opinion has continued to rise the more I listen to it.  'Stuck On You' and 'White Lie' were taunt and memorable rockers that had plenty of commercial potential. 'This Time' and 'Redirecting Mary' were slower, bluesier offerings that reflected a similarly commercial potential.  No the set wasn't perfect.  'Ranger' was a pedestrian blues-rocker, while 'Queen's Avenue' featured a MOR samba rhythm and the backing singers frequently threatened to drown out O'Malley.   

Although the album proved a modest commercial success, selling some 50,000 copies in the States, lead singer O'Malley subsequently decided to quit, reappearing as a member of Kokomo, followed by a stint in 10cc and a sporadic solo career.

Track listing

01.  "Stuck On You"  - 7:22 

02.  "This Time"  - 6:19 

03.  "Ranger"  -  3:42

04.  "Queen's Avenue"   - 3:41 

05.  "White Lie"  - 9:11

06.  "Redirecting Mary"  - 4:48

07.  "Ego Trap"  - 3:06

08.  "Questions"  - 4:25

All songs written by Mick Cox

Credits 

Peter Arnesen - Keyboards  

Mick Cox  Guitar, Percussion - Vocals  

Tony O'Malley - Vocals  

Alan Skidmore - Saxophone  

Andrew Steele - Drums  

Chris Stewart - Bass  

Mick Weaver - Keyboards  

Producer – Shel Talmy 

Notes

Genre: Rock

Length: 42:31

© 1973 

Label - Capitol Records