Baker Gurvitz Army - Flying In & Out Of Stardom - The Anthology (2003)

Baker Gurvitz Army was a short-lived English rock group. Their self-titled debut featured a blend of hard rock laced with Baker's unmistakable drumming. The lengthy Mad Jack was the album's outstanding track. The two following albums contained similar material, but lack of success in America and personality clashes between the members, led them to retreat back to solo careers.

History
Former The Gun and Three Man Army members, Paul Gurvitz and Adrian Gurvitz joined forces with ex-Cream and Ginger Baker's Airforce drummer Ginger Baker in 1974. Things had not been going too well for Ginger Baker since the demise of his own band Ginger Baker's Airforce. The Gurvitz Brothers, too, were looking for a new way ahead after the early success of their band The Gun.

When Cream split up in 1968, Ginger Baker was invited to join Blind Faith, which formed the following year. This was not such a successful venture and following its demise, Ginger decided to put together his own extraordinary outfit, Ginger Baker's Airforce, in 1970. This huge band included many of his friends and favourite musicians like Graham Bond, Phil Seaman, Denny Laine and Steve Winwood. The band recorded two 'live' albums, but eventually the whole project became too costly. In 1974, though, it seemed he could use his greatest talent in the Baker Gurvitz Army. Their self-titled debut album was released the same year and featured a dynamic mixture of heavy rock, guitar themes propelled by Baker's irrepressible drumming.

The band recorded two more albums, Elysian Encounter and Hearts Of Fire. But personality clashes eventually led to the band breaking up the same year of their last release. In the aftermath Ginger briefly led a band called Energy, and was associated with Atomic Rooster and Hawkwind. In 2003 a music union named Flying In And Out Of Stardom was released, with no new songs but the live track "Whatever It Is" recorded in 1975.

Discography on AvaxHome:

Baker Gurvitz Army (1974)
Elysian Encounter (1975)
Hearts On Fire (1976)

Tracklist:

CD1:
01 - Wotever It Is (Live)
02 - The Gambler
03 - Memory Lane
04 - Thirsty For The Blues
05 - Love Is
06 - Mystery
07 - The Key
08 - Flying In And Out Of Stardom
09 - Since Beginning
10 - Hearts On Fire
11 - Mad Jack
12 - People
13 - Remember
14 - Smiling
15 - Freedom (Live)

CD2:
01 - People (Live)
02 - Phil
03 - Neon Lights
04 - Help Me
05 - Tracks Of My Life
06 - The Dreamer
07 - I Wanna Live Again
08 - My Mind Is Healing
09 - The Hustler
10 - Inside Of Me
11 - Time
12 - Dancing The Night Away
13 - Night People
14 - The Artist
15 - Memory Lane (Live)

Personal:

Ginger Baker: Drums
Adrian Gurvitz: Guitar, vocals
Paul Gurvitz: Bass guitar, backing vocals
Mr. Snips: Lead Vocals
Peter Lemer: Keyboards