One of the tracks on this new cloudcast by
The Smooth Operators (Martijn Soetens and I) is
Drift Away by Mud. After their very successful glam rock years, this British band started to search for new directions in the late 1970s. They made some disco moves first, but then they tried to jump on the West Coast bandwagon for one single only.
Drift Away was originally recorded by John Henry Kurtz on his 1972 album
Reunion. Kenny Loggins, Jim Gordon and Michael Omartian were some of the well-known musicians who can be heard on the track. A year later Dobie Gray made a very soulful cover of the song, which reached #5 on Billboard. In 1978 Mud combined those two versions in a very clever way, but their fans did not like this change in musical direction, so the song failed to chart. The next year the band decided to split up, to reunite in the original line-up only for a very brief period in the early 1980s. Until his death in 2004, singer Les Gray reformed the band as Les Gray’s Mud. Guitarist Rob Davis went on to co-write several highly successful dance hits for Kylie Minogue and Spiller featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Ray Stiles became (and still is) the bass player of the Hollies. Drummer Dave Mount quit the music business and passed away in 2006. A short version of their biggest hit,
Tiger Feet, was played at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Ray Stiles and Rob Davis occasionally perform as Mud at small gigs.
Tracklist:
Shigeru Suzuki – On The Coast (1979)
Al Nobriga with Island Company – Break Away (I’d Rather Be Sailing) (1981)
Crystal Winds – Lovers Holiday (1982)
Diane Tell – Mon Ami-e (1982)
Michael Miglio – Never Gonna Let You Go (1980)
Marcos Valle – Naturalmente (1983)
Rob Mehl – Taste And See (1980)
Love Transfusion – Stands To Reason (1975)
Marilyn Scott – Let's Be Friends (1979)
Mud – Drift Away (1978)
Aaron Neville – Make Me Strong (1972)
Allan Thomas – Let It Flow (1971)
Johnny Mathis – How Deep Is Your Love (1978)
Leon Ware – Words Of Love (1982)
Maryann Farra & Satin Soul – Living In The Footsteps Of Another Girl (1976)
Kenny Nolan – You’re So Beautiful Tonight (1979)
Greg Yoder – Dreamer Of Life (1976)
Peter Harris – Sailing, Just You And Me (1976)
Kenny Rankin – Stringman (1973)
Tatsuro Yamashita – Every Night (1982)
Lion & The Lamb – Hollow (1978)
James Walsh Gypsy Band – I’ve Got The Feelin’ (1978)
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