Chris Spedding’s very fine early solo album, Songs Without Words, is a long lost gem of jazz-rock music.

Release date: Available now

Label: Esoteric Recordings/Cherry Red Records

Format: CD 

Chris Spedding is a world-renowned guitarist, who has been a sought-after session player, by a wealth of well-known artists from the world of rock and pop. He has made many solo albums and been in a number of bands, including Sharks, a rock band formed in 1972 by bass player Andy Fraser, after he had left the band Free. He has also been a part of Bryan Ferry’s touring band, and of course in 1975 achieved a Top 20 hit single with ‘Motor Bikin’.

It may be a little surprising then to learn that Chris Spedding is also a highly respected jazz guitarist, who played with the pioneering jazz-fusion band Nucleus, and jazz composer and bandleader Michael Gibbs.  The solo album, Songs Without Words, from 1970, the subject of this review, is very much set in the genre of jazz-rock. Interestingly, the album at the time was only ever released in Japan in April 1971, and apparently then by accident. The accompanying booklet to this CD release explains that Chris at the time felt the recordings needed editing and were not ready for release. 

This remastered release of the album in 2024, shows it to be in fact a very fine jazz-rock work, with strong compositions, that provide a platform for some very impressive musicianship and improvisation. The group of musicians Chris assembled for the recordings are a formidable ensemble: comprising John Marshall, drums, from Nucleus, and later Soft Machine, Roger Potter, bass guitar and double bass, John Mitchell, piano and electric piano, and Paul Rutherford, trombone.

The opening track, Station Song, is an extended instrumental version of a song which first appeared on the Battered Ornaments album, A Meal You Can Shake Hands With In the Dark. The Battered Ornaments were a band formed by Pete Brown, of which Chris was also a member. Pete Brown was a lyricist for Cream and Jack Bruce, The melody of the main theme is played by guitar, piano and trombone, leading into some dazzling solo sections. First is John Mitchell’s acoustic piano improvisations, where the playing has a fluidity that embodies both melody and reverberating rhythmic chords, together with breathtaking changes of pace. Paul Rutherford’s trombone solo hugs the contours of John Marshall and Roger Potter’s flowing rhythmic work and launches into some frenetic flurries of notes that have a very lyrical underpinning. The entrance of Chris’s guitar is signaled by some dissonant chording, leading into a quite beautiful solo, that weaves delicate phrases with soaring crescendos. The whole band eventually lock into a funk like groove behind the solo. Clocking in at over eleven minutes, this excellent track alone is worth the price of admission.   

Plain Song follows, featuring the bowed double bass of Roger Potter, and Chris’s acoustic guitar. It is a master class of musicians playing off each other, with melodic counterpoints and subtle variations flowing between the musicians. Here the album remastering really comes into its own, where the listening experience is one of feeling like you are actually in the studio with the musicians. Song of the Deep is an ebb and flow improvisation, where the pace ranges from gentle to fast and furious, with a particularly stand out trombone solo from Paul Rutherford, that is full of inventive phrases and an immersive sweep.

The Forest of Fables is a short interlude, utilising various stands of dissonance, that somehow sets the scene nicely for New Song of Experience. On New Song of Experience, John Marshall’s drumming really shines, with precision cymbal splashes and explosive driving rhythms, shaping the dynamic framework for the other musicians to play through and over. John Mitchell’s electric piano work here is both soulful and able to deliver some lovely intricate passages. Chris’s guitar soloing has an intensity and playfulness, where he is not afraid to take risks with the central melody, and is a stunning tour de force. This track represents a stellar jazz-rock performance and is just superb.

I Thought I Heard Robert Johnson Say completes the set, with Chris’s stinging slide guitar work weaving some wonderful cascades of sound, that literally pour out of the speakers. Esoteric Recordings are to be congratulated for ensuring this album gets the hearing it deserves. It is a very fine jazz-rock album, supported by some amazing musical performances, and is a very rewarding listen. The accompanying booklet has a very informative essay by Mark Powell, that explains the background to the album, and sets it in the context of Chris’s musical career.

You can find out more about Chris Spedding here:

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