There are bands where you know the name, but not the music, and you’re not really sure where to start… Our series intended to provide an introduction continues with BEN FINLAY singing the praises of Bronco.
And here’s a playlist of five recommended tracks.
British music’s love affair with America had successfully adopted both jazz and blues by the late 1960s, creating its own take and stamping its individuality on these hallowed forms, but what of that other great American artform, country music? One could easily observe that in the mid-60s that country was to say the least, pretty redundant, let alone when psychedelia took hold. But then Bob Dylan’s former backing group the Band took up residence in upstate New York and began purveying an irresistible blend of homespun, woodsy folk, blues and country music – what later would be termed Americana.
The influence in the UK was felt almost immediately. On hearing an acetate of the Band’s first album, Eric Clapton decided to disband Cream and seek out a rootsier, far less improvisational path; Traffic took the communal living example, and all moved into a remote cottage in Berkshire; and bands such as Fairport Convention decided to adopt the Band’s directive for drawing from America’s musical heritage and apply that principle to British music.
But there were other, less well-known acts that also took their influence from what was now emanating from the States. One such was Bronco who hailed from Kidderminster, Worcestershire.
Vocalist Jess Roden (often referred to as ‘Britain’s finest unknown singer’) had been frontman for the Alan Bown Set, one of the premier r’n’b outfits of the late 1960s. When Bown headed towards psychedelia, Roden rejoined guitarist Kevyn Gammond and bassist John Pasternak from his earlier blues combo Shakedown Sound. Gammond recommended second guitarist Robbie Blunt and drummer Pete Robinson from his own previous Band of Joy – which had featured a young Robert Plant – and Bronco was born.
Taking inspiration from the Band, and west-coast acts such as Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Bronco secured a deal with Island Records and made Country Home (1970), one of the first British country rock albums. The group toured both Britain and the US to favourable reviews, but the record failed to sell well.
However, it is a great album. The writing was predominately by Roden, with input from all band members and their close friend, Clifford T. Ward, resulting in an uncluttered, acoustic driven record that also features the great lead work of Gammond and Robbie Blunt. One of the album’s tracks, ‘Love’ was included on Bumpers, a popular Island sampler album.
Despite the poor sales of Country Home, a second album Ace of Sunlight (1971) appeared the following year. This featured more input from Ward and songwriter Suzy Worth, plus more production and studio gloss, consequently sounding much more like mainstream soft-rock, lacking the down-home rural edges that had made Country Home so good. However, there is some great stuff here, such as the aching ‘Amber Moon’, a track that represented Ace of Sunlight in my top ten albums for Spring, and ‘Sudden Street’ would make it on to another Island sampler, El Pea.
Despite promotion, such appearing on BBC Two’s Disco 2, the album again failed to set the charts alight. A serious motorway accident that occurred between Cheltenham and Bristol (in which Pete Robinson, John Pasternak and two of the group’s roadies were badly injured) and a calamitous American tour convinced Roden to leave the band, briefly returning to the States to team up with ex-Doors Robby Krieger and John Densmore as the Butts Band. Soon after, Blunt would also leave, with the remaining members drafting in Paul Lockey on vocals (who Kevyn Gammond knew from Band of Joy) and Dan Fone on guitar. This incarnation of Bronco signed to Polydor and released one more album, Smoking Mixture (1973).
Blunt and Gammond would work extensively again with Robert Plant post-Zeppelin, whilst Roden finally embarked on a solo career, until a change of direction saw him become a graphic artist in the mid-1980s.
To all but a small number of devotees (of which I’m firmly one), Bronco remain an obscurity. Despite the great ‘Time Slips Away’ being included on the Island Records folk rock compilation Meet on the Ledge – released as part of Island’s 50th anniversary in 2009 – the band have simply not received their dues. Hopefully, after this article, a few more people might enjoy their work
The Playlist – five recommended tracks
‘Home’ and ‘Time (So Long Between)’ from Country Home
‘Home’ is a beautiful piece of acoustic reverie, where ‘Time (So Long Between)’ sees the band get tougher with a bluesier edge highlighting Robbie Blunt’s and Kevyn Gammond’s great guitar work.
‘Amber Moon’ and ‘Time Slips Away’ from Ace of Sunlight
Two great tracks from Bronco’s second album that saw Ian Hunter and Mick Ralphs from Mott the Hoople guesting, with Fairport Convention’s Trevor Lucas providing backing vocals on several tracks.
‘Attraction’ from Smoking Mixture
The best track on their final album, a lovely song with a great string arrangement.
See Ben’s substack for more of this sort of thing…
see also:
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