Groundhogs to issue previously unreleased 1969-1972 triple live album

Blues rockers cum psychedelic proto proggers Groundhogs are to have a new triple vinyl live album, Road Hogs: Live From Richmond To Pocono, released through Fire Records on November 5.

The new release features all previously unreleased live material from the trio, that were discovered having lain in the Warner Brothers’ vault for 50 years! Four reels of tape lay wedged between the masters of the groundbreaking albums Thank Christ For The Bomb, Split and Who Will Save The World… The Mighty Groundhogs.

The first two boxes had a handwritten scrawl acclaiming them as ‘Groundhogs live at Richmond Athletic Ground, November 7, 1969’. Originally it had been thought that they were recorded at the Ninth National Jazz And Blues Festival – a nomadic event that had previously rocked up in Richmond. In fact, they turned out to be a one-off support slot to Free, a break from their Marquee residency.

The second two boxes – marked 'Pocono’ were recorded at what would turn out to be the final show for this seminal line up of line up of Tony McPhee (guitar and vocals), Pete Cruikshank (bass) and Ken Pustelnik (drums), from Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania in 1972, when their truncated hurricane-threatened US tour ended abruptly as Tony broke his arm in a freak horse riding accident.

The new released includes liner notes with unearthed photos from the Groundhogs archive, bumper sticker and poster.

Pre-order Road Hogs: Live From Richmond To Pocono.

Groundhogs: Road Hogs: Live From Richmond to Pocono
A1. Cherry Red (Richmond Athletic Ground, London - 1969)
A2. Mistreated (Richmond Athletic Ground, London - 1969)
A3. Natchez Burning (Richmond Athletic Ground, London - 1969)
B1. B.D.D. (Richmond Athletic Ground, London - 1969)
B2. Times (Richmond Athletic Ground, London - 1969)
C1. Still a Fool (Richmond Athletic Ground, London - 1969)
D1. Group Intro (Richmond Athletic Ground, London - 1969)
D2. No More Doggin' (Richmond Athletic Ground, London - 1969)
E1. Eccentric Man (Pocono Raceway, Pennsylvania - 1972)
E2. Music is the Food of Thought (Pocono Raceway, Pennsylvania - 1972)
E3. Cherry Red, Split Part 2 (Pocono Raceway, Pennsylvania - 1972)
F1. Still a Fool, Amazing Grace (Pocono Raceway, Pennsylvania - 1972)

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.