Graeme Edge Band ● Kick Off Your Muddy Boots

Another impressive entry from the decade’s fantasy-based album artwork craze, Kick Off Your Muddy Boots, the 1975 debut album from the Graeme Edge Band, features a cover graphic by Joe Petagno. I don’t know who that is, but the man certainly knows his way around with a paint brush. His cover is way cool. So is this album. Graeme Edge, best known as the drummer for the Moody Blues, took advantage of that band’s mid-‘70s sabbatical to release two solo records with guitarist Adrian Gurvitz. Despite the aggressive artwork and the inclusion of the ever-employable Gurvitz (resume: Gun, Three Man Army and the Baker-Gurvitz Army), Kick Off Your Muddy Boots is more progressive pop than hard rock. There are plenty of punishing guitar bits—listen to “The Tunnel,” a rapid fire guitar instrumental, for example—but the prominent use of keyboards, horns and strings lends the record a decidedly mellow vibe. “Have You Ever Wondered” is a dreamy soft-rock number, while “My Life’s Not Wasted” and “Something We’d Like to Say” feature a unique combination of electric rock instrumentation and lush orchestral arrangements. The surprise here is the influence of Gurvitz, who wrote and sings lead on several of the tracks (his brother Paul is also on board as the band’s bass player). Kick Off Your Muddy Boots was not a huge success—it peaked at #107 on Billboard’s Top 200 album chart—but sold enough to warrant a follow-up; 1977’s Paradise Ballroom also charted, but turned out to be the group’s final offering.

Notes: It turns out that maybe I do know Joe Petagno. He’s apparently done work artwork for Led Zeppelin, Motorhead, Nazareth, Pink Floyd and Sweet. He even has his own web site: www.petagno.dk.