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May Blitz were formed in England during the early part of 1969. Tony Newman ex Jeff Beck Group actually formed the band recruiting James Black & Reid Hudson. Black and Hudson were Canadians from Victoria, British Columbia who pioneered Canadian West Coast music prior to moving to England. The band played extensively on the UK college circuit in 1969 before signing to Vertigo. Their debut album 'May Blitz' in 1970 was heavy and featured a grotesque cartoon cover. The first album sold moderately and a follow up 'The 2nd Of May' was recorded in 1971. Unfortunately despite being an excellent album full of heavy original numbers the album flopped. The band were dropped by Vertigo shortly after. Black and Hudson disappeared into oblivion (They actually returned to Canada after the break up of May Blitz) but Newman played with many bands throughout the 70's including Three Man Army, Marc Bolan, David Bowie & Mick Ronson, Chris Spedding and David Coverdale's Whitesnake.
Both of their albums are in high demand on the collectors market. In 1992 both of the albums were remastered onto CD. Sadly one of the UK's lost treasures. Their music lives on through collectors and fans worldwide.
May Blitz (alongside Rory Gallagher's Taste) were among the first of the newly formed hard rock power trios to take up the challenge of Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience; that is, making the biggest possible noise with the smallest available lineup, but never losing sight of melody and finesse while they did so. Certainly anyone catching their early live show was guaranteed to leave with their ears ringing but their brainbox humming, and the band's debut album was a seamless reiteration of their in-concert impact, all the way down to the extended riffing and miniature solos.
May Blitz's strongest point, in terms of audience recognition, was drummer Tony Newman, and fans of the jazz-inflected style that he injected into the Jeff Beck Group certainly won't be disappointed by what they find here — indeed, with guitarist James Black beside him, it's not difficult to compare May Blitz to the Beck band's Beck-Ola, and find the better-known disc come up wanting every time.
The epic "Smoking the Day Away" kicks things off in dynamic form, laying down the grinding, almost proto-metallic assault that was May Blitz's raison d'etre; later in the set, "Dreaming," "Virgin Waters," and "Squeet" all howl with a vengeance that might sound a little old-fashioned today, but was breathtakingly fresh at the time. Even better is "Fire Queen," which essentially blueprints the best parts of every metal act from Judas Priest to the Cult, except it doesn't hang around long enough to spoil the effect. Rather like May Blitz themselves, in fact.
MAY BLITZ were formed by vocalist/guitarist Jamie Black who recruited Tony Newman on drums, (ex Sounds Incorporated and Jeff Beck Group), and Reid Hudson (bass, vocals) in 1969. The original lineup featured bassist Terry Poole and drummer Keith Baker, from Bakerloo, but both left before recording anything for the band. Baker had a better offer from Uriah Heep, and went to record "Salisbury" with the band.
The band survived long enough to record two incredibly heavy, powerful and psychedelic albums with strong blues undertones and progressive tendencies, despite the lack of keyboards. These were released on Vertigo, who we also associate with Black Sabbath and Uriah Heep - but the music is probably heavier than either. Their style comes in somewhere around High Tide and the Pink Fairies - but these are really ballparks.
Their debut album is a must-hear for anyone curious about the development of heavy music, and features a production in which it is not only almost possible to smell the ganja smoke, but is also rich and clear enough to provide the striking dynamic contrasts the music needs, as it occasionally veers from ambience to crushing riffs in the blink of an eye. It is certainly very unpredictable, even now.
MAY BLITZ, briefly an integral part of the UK heavy underground live music scene, were formed by ex-Jeff Beck Group member Tony Newman (drums), who recruited Canadians James Black (lead guitar, vocals) and Reid Hudson (bass and vocals) in 1969. There were many such "power trios" around at the time most famously Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, Groundhogs and Bakerloo. Their debut album "May Blitz" was released on Vertigo (6360 007) in 1970 but despite containing some excellent original heavy music sold moderately. The album has very good sound quality and production, the distinctive cover was designed by NME cartoonist Tony Benyon. I managed to get hold of an original copy some years ago and in recent years this album and the follow-up "2nd of May" have each been reissued by Akarma on vinyl and both albums together on a "Beat Goes On" cd BGOCD153.
The first track "Smokin' the Day Away" , a smoke in the country away from the "smoke" starts slowly, almost ponderously, and develops into a jam before returning to the main theme, my favourite song, it is very effective i can almost "smell" that stuff! It also contains some fine drum work and unusual metallic sounding guitar effects. "I Don't Know" , which has another "back to the country" theme is a lazy bluesey number which contains some fine guitar work which snakes its way along. "Dreaming", as the title suggests, is a slow dreamy song with acoustic guitar and shimmering cymbals, then momentarily speeds up into a frenzy of screaming "Arthur Brown" style half-sung vocals, fast tom toms and slide guitar. "Squeet" ("squeet all over the wall?...what could they possibly be talking about??) is an unusual song which develops into a boogie-style jam, "Tomorrow May Come", a dream of a better world, is a slow and ethereal song with echoed vocals, drums and guitar, this mood changes into the fast-paced "Fire Queen" with screaming vocals and thundering drums. Waves lapping introduce the last track "Virgin Waters", a beautiful song about first love, containing some lovely effects, whispered vocals, brilliant drumming and echoey acoustic guitar which build to a heavy climax.
Overall a brilliant group and an amazing album, definitely more "gem" than "lost", an essential masterpiece to any progressive Psych/Space Rock collection! [Sources Unknown]