Blodwyn Pig - 2026 - The Recordings 1969-1974

(3xCD Box Set; Esoteric Recordings)

I have long felt that Jethro Tull not only released some truly amazing albums but also spawned some wonderful groups which never truly gained the recognition they deserved and these days are mostly forgotten by most. One of those was Wild Turkey which was formed by Glenn Cornick after his departure, while another (and arguably superior) was Blodwyn Pig formed by Mick Abrahams after he and Ian no longer saw eye to eye following the release of ‘This Was’. They burned very brightly indeed, releasing two albums which both reached the Top Ten in the UK before Mick was kicked out of his own band and he left the business for a while before coming back for a short while before leaving again.

What we have here are a proto prog outfit which took ‘This Was’ as a template and then moved further into the blues. Mick recruited Jack Lancaster (saxophones, flute, violin), Andy Pyle (bass) and Ron Berg and created some beautiful music on ‘Ahead Rings Out and ‘Getting to This’. I have no idea how long I have owned those albums, but it is at least 40 years (and I also have all the sheet music for the latter), and this set not only brings them together in one triple CD set but also includes all the singles they recorded for Chrysalis Records along with the all the surviving sessions in the BBC archives recorded by the band between 1969 and 1974.  

The result is a combination of the sublime and the ridiculous as Abrahams was an incredibly under-rated guitarist and songwriter, yet he also had a strange sense of humour, which is why we get the ridiculous “McGregor Muckabout” which lasts more than ten minutes and is presumably a nod to McGregor’s Engine, the band he formed with Clive Bunker which brought them into the same circuit as John Evan Smash. Their second album saw him bring in some Tull references with “Variations on Nainos” being a nod to Ian Anderson, and “The Squirreling Must Go On”, an instrumental with links back to “Cat’s Squirrel’ from ‘This Was’.

Even those who have the original albums may be unaware that Mick was then kicked out of his own band, which found him replaced by guitarists/singers Peter Banks (ex-Yes) and Barry Reynolds. There are two tracks here from that line-up, recorded in September 1970, and Banks completists will be interested to know it includes an original of his, “The Lady of Liberty” which I do not believe he recorded elsewhere. 1974 saw a reformed version of the band recording some tracks for John Peel and for an ‘In Concert’ show with Mick, Andy and Jack now having Clive Bunker on drums, which means Mick was back with his McGregor’s Engine/Jethro Tull bandmate.

This is a glorious set which is the most in-depth collection I have come across of this wonderful blues/proto prog outfit which definitely bring the early Seventies to life. I certainly think I will be returning to this far more than I will the vinyl as there is just so much more to explore with Mick staying true to the blues and Jack then taking it as a base and moving them more into jazz and prog territory. Collectors and completists will certainly be interested in this, but while many of these tracks are rare, the reason for getting this album is not just to complete a set but also to listen to this and wonder just what would have happened if the original line-up had stayed together in 1970. This was a band who truly deserved more than they received, even if they did manage to record some experimental tracks such as “To Rassman” which definitely failed. Mick Abrahams never gained the wider recognition he should have, but this set goes some way to rectifying that and if you enjoy classic blues with more than a hint of prog then this is for you. 

Kev Rowland, July 2026

Links:
https://esotericrecordings.com/