Tractor were one of the more polished power pop-leaning NWOBHM bands. No real info on these lads on the ol' interhole. The A side, "Average Man's Hero" is decent (if not a bit AOR) track, while the B side "Big Big Boys" is a weird early '70s throwback boogie rocker that almost sounds like an entirely different band. This record wasn't enough to catapult Tractor into the big leagues, but it is enough to entertain you for ten minutes. I like it.
I was going to ask if you also liked the '70s Tractor who were on John Peel's Dandelion label, but it turns out this is the same Tractor. Keen to hear this later single. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI like it too
ReplyDeleteThe first track is quite catchy, in almost abstruse ways, yet it works. I did not like the second track at all. Odd dichotomy.
ReplyDeleteAs Grk! said, Tractor have been around since the early 1970s. They started under the name The Way We Live and released one album, A Candle for Judith, in 1971. After the name change, they released the eponymous Tractor album in 1972. Their music at the time was a mishmash of folky stuff, prog rock, and good ol' hard rock. Both albums are pretty damn excellent.
ReplyDeleteBetween the Tractor album and the single you've presented, there was only one other release, the "No More Rock'n'Roll" single in 1977. "Average Man's Hero" was released in 1981 and the b-side sounds like a throwback as it dates from 1975. IMO, it's the nadir of their career (I've got several CDs and records compiling various material spanning the late 60s through the early 2000s).
For more info, Ozit/Morpheus Records has a section of their website devoted to Tractor/The Way We Live, with a lengthy biography and extensive (plus confusing) discography.
Thanks Grk and Lightning for the info. I had no idea. I will have to find those records.
ReplyDeleteI just posted a song recorded by The Way We Live in 1969 but unreleased until 1999 on my blog, if anyone's innerested: "Call Him".
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