Singer Elmer Gantry (ex-Velvet Opera) and guitarist Kirby Gregory (ex-Curved Air) came together in the infamous bogus Fleetwood Mac that toured America in the mid-70s amid lawsuits and recriminations. Their partnership survived to Stretch, one-hit wonders of Why Did You Do It fame, but a band actually rather more substantial then the chart books suggest.
The best of three albums released on the short-lived Anchor label has been assembled for this 20-track anthology, and the first six tracks – up to and including the hit – prove that they could blues-rock with the best. Inevitably, perhaps, it all tails off a little, though an extra EP snuck away in the digipak contains two rare songs cut in 1973 for Warner Brothers as Legs. The standout, So Many Faces, saw the early studio involvement of future production legend Martin Rushent.
Gantry and Kirby are apparently reviving the name and have a new album in the can; a sample song appears on the EP. While we wait, this is an interesting and particularly well presented summary of Stretch’s early years.
