May Blitz/The 2nd of May

1. Smoking the Day Away

2. I Don't Know

3. Dreaming

4. Squeet

5. Tomorrow May Come

6. Fire Queen

7. Virgin Waters

8. For Mad Men Only

9. Snakes and Ladders

10. 25th of December 1969

11. "In Part"

12. 8 Mad Grim Nits

13. High Beech

14. Honey Coloured Time

15. Just Thinking

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
2 on 1 from Beat Goes On Records from 1970 & 1971. 1992.

May Blitz/The 2nd of May,May Blitz,Bgo - Beat Goes on,Hard Rock,Pop,Prog-Rock/Art Rock,Psychedelic,Rock,Rock/Pop

May Blitz/The 2nd of May

Average customer rating:

Beware of Edited Tracks
Still smoking!
Watch out! Songs are edited...
Smokin the day away
May Blitz

May Blitz/The 2nd of May
May Blitz
Manufacturer: Bgo - Beat Goes on
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Time Machine: Anthology 1970-76

ASIN: B00000867L
Release Date: 1992-11-06

Tracks:

Smoking the Day Away
I Don't Know
Dreaming
Squeet
Tomorrow May Come
Fire Queen
Virgin Waters
For Mad Men Only
Snakes and Ladders
25th of December 1969
"In Part"
8 Mad Grim Nits
High Beech
Honey Coloured Time
Just Thinking

Album Description

2 on 1 from Beat Goes On Records from 1970 & 1971. 1992.

Customer Reviews:

Beware of Edited Tracks.......2007-05-03

I'll reiterate the other reviewer who warned of edited tracks. I purchased a combined May Blitz and Second of May CD some time ago and found severe edits that made me return it. It might or might not be the same one that is offered here, but I don't see individual track times listed. The worst edit was a big chunk (half a minute) chopped out of the guitar-frenzy middle of Fire Queen, which for me was a loss of the best part of the best song on the better of the two albums. I had purchased both the albums on vinyl when they were first released, and the Fire Queen track is 4:12 long. Just be careful if you're a fan. You can guess what albums I play on the first and second of May each year.

Still smoking!.......2007-02-02

I love this lot. Not only do I have both albums on vinyl and CD -I also have the killer, opening bars of "Smoking the Day Away" as my mobile ringtone.
Buy this CD, you'll love it. (First album better than second, though)

Watch out! Songs are edited..........2007-01-30

I gave this 5 stars for the content and 1 star for BGO's edition. The two albums are definitely worth buying,... but separately. This version by BGO has the songs edited in order to fit onto one CD. I bought the first album by itself (Repertoire label from Germany) and then this British 2fer version in order to get the 2nd of May at a decent price. Comparing the first album on both CDs, the BGO version fades out the songs early! Not being sure that they did the same with the second album, I immediately returned the BGO version and bought the unedited (albeit expensive) German import of 2nd of May. Yer pays yer money, yer takes yer chances...

Smokin the day away.......2006-05-06

Dig that boing sping reverb quite evident on one channel!! This old style recording style adds to the fun, kinda like the slap back reverb thing that Elvis , and Cash used on their voices that gave the fun sound of their era..This Cd has a Cream blues rock theme that is fun,, Smokin is really their best effort and I guess they could not top that or carry foreward more songs with that impact.. The rest of the songs are a fun blend, some nice tastey 70's guitar riffs.I admit I don't often play it all from start to finish, there are several cuts I really like, but if you like 60/70's styles, you will have fun listening to May Blitz,From a recording stand point the old style and manor of recording is also fun and interesting to listen to,, I do enjoy this Cd, Glad I have it in my collection .. they are a decent band although not really compareable to Cream, the Jack Bruce style vocal on "Smokin the day away" had me wondering.. who is that? sounds like Cream.. I asked the sound tec what he was playing, He Showed me his Cd,, the next day I ordered it..Chris

May Blitz.......2003-10-13

May Blitz openned for the Byrds in the 70s I saw them in Norfolk Va.They were boooed of the stage to put it nicely.When the Byrds came out Rodger ask the crowde "How did you you all like May Blitz?" The crowde Booooooed Rodger said "Oh come on people what do you want for free?

Average customer rating:

The 2nd of May
May Blitz
Manufacturer: Repertoire
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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May Blitz
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ASIN: B00028G1VW
Release Date: 2005-07-04

Tracks:

For Mad Men Only
Snakes and Ladders
25th of December 1969
"In Part"
8 Mad Grim Nits
High Beech
Honey Coloured Time
Just Thinking

Album Description

Remastered reissue of 1971 album. Vertigo. 2004.

Average customer rating:

Incredible followup to their debut

The 2nd of May
May Blitz
Manufacturer: Akarma Italy
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00015YVIQ
Release Date: 2004-08-16

Tracks:

For Mad Men Only
Snakes and Ladders
25th of December 1969
"In Part"
8 Mad Grim Nits
High Beech
Honey Coloured Time
Just Thinking

Customer Reviews:

Incredible followup to their debut.......2005-02-06

I have felt that May Blitz was an often underappreciated hard rock/psych band. Although the band is thought of as British (since they were based there and recording for the British Vertigo label), it was only their drummer, Tony Newman who was British. Newman had previously been with the Jeff Beck Group (he appeared on Beck-Ola), and of Sounds Incorporated, which dated back to the days when the Beatles were still playing at places like the Star Club and The Cavern (the early 1960s). The other two guys, guitarist/vocalist James Black and bassist Reid Hudson were Canadians from Victoria, BC, and they were previously in a Canadian act called The Runabouts who were also known as the Missing Lynx (good name there, especially since the lynx is native to Canada). The two Canadian guys came to Britain, and from one source, it was James Black who founded May Blitz with two other guys, both ex-Bakerloo (a band that featured future Colosseum and Humble Pie guitarist Dave "Clem" Clempson), bassist Terry Poole and drummer Keither Baker. Before the band even got started on recording their debut, Poole and Baker left to be replaced by Hudson and Newman, which established May Blitz as we know them.

They signed to Vertigo and released their self-entitled debut in 1970. That album received an American release on the Paramount label. They then followed it with The 2nd of May the following year. But this one is harder to acquire on LP, since it apparently never received an American release on the Paramount label (or Vertigo, which finally had a liscence to operate in the States by '71). Well, this second album is a truly wonderful followup to their debut. Parts of this album is jazzier than before, showing the jazz influence of Tony Newman's drumming. But of course the bluesy psychedelic hard rock is still there, and in fact many of the songs are even heavier than on their debut. "For Mad Men Only" is a great example, bordering on heavy metal, with James Black giving us some heavy guitar work. "Snakes and Ladders" starts off almost Hendrix-like, with Hendrix-like vocals and repeating bass lines. Then the music changes gears to something heavier reminding me of how Black Sabbath (who happened to be recording for Vertigo as well) might have sounded like if they included psychedelic elements in their music. "The 25th of December, 1969" is a more mellow song with lyrics about Christmas, but don't worry, this isn't a Christmas carol, and in the middle is nice jazzy, psychedelic passage. "In Parts" is unique only for the fact it's the only time a May Blitz song ever had a flute. Starts off really nice with James Black's bluesy vocals, but the second half of this cut ends with a drum solo that lasts right until the end, which I find pointless, because usually you hear a conclusion with the original theme of the song after the drum solo, which didn't happen here. "8 Mad Grim Nits" is the band's only instrumental cut, and it's a really heavy and aggressive piece showing James Black's talent on the guitar. He add some strange sound effects as it progresses. "High Beech" is a pleasant psychedelic number with reverbed guitar and a mood not unlike "Tomorrow May Come" (from their debut), with a late '60s hippie vibe going on here. "Honey Coloured Time" is a mellow bluesy number where the band gets jazzy, not only with Tony Newman's drumming and use of vibes, but even the guitar work. "Just Thinking" is yet another psychedelic number complete with reverb guitar. This one starts off slowly and I love how it builds up to a wonderful psychedelic climax.

I own the 1994 German CD reissue on the Repertoire label (who reissued many great prog and psych albums), and the sound quality is simply amazing, for example, the acoustic guitars really comes clear on "High Beech".

Unfortunately The 2nd of May proved to be May Blitz's final album. The band broke up because of lack of success, while their labelmates Black Sabbath and Uriah Heep had became hugely successful (despite neither of them exactly the darling of rock critics). The two Canadian guys seemed to have dropped out of music altogether (one report stated they returned to Canada, and I'm guessing back to their day jobs), and Tony Newman went on to other things like Three Man Army, Boxer and an in-demand studio musician (has played with Marc Bolan, Chris Spedding, David Bowie, even Whitesnake). Aside from the drum solo on "In Parts", this is a truly excellent album for those who like that bluesy hard rock/psychedelic with some prog trappings.

Average customer rating:

The 2nd of May
May Blitz
Manufacturer: Universal Japan
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

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Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

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May Blitz

ASIN: B0009J8DPG
Release Date: 2005-07-17

Tracks:

For Mad Men Only
Snakes and Ladders
25th of December 1969
"In Part"
8 Mad Grim Nits
High Beech
Honey Coloured Time
Just Thinking

Album Details

Japanese Digitally Remastered Limited Edition Issue of the 1971 Album Classic from the Rock Trio in a Deluxe, Miniaturized LP Sleeve Replica of the Original Vinyl Album Artwork. 5000-copy-only Limited Release.