Biography
Formed as a one-time collaborative venture, the Musicians' Union Band assembled an array of Dutch players for a temporary studio collective, though none had achieved major recognition beyond Holland. Players drawn from leading local outfits including Golden Earring, Shocking Blue, the Tee Set, and the Motions appeared on the group’s 1971 album, later reissued on CD in 1997; roughly two dozen musicians participated in total, with the lineup changing from track to track. British journeyman Ray Fenwick, who had joined the Spencer Davis Group after Stevie Winwood’s exit, anchored the sessions by contributing guitar to most cuts and authoring a large share of the songs. Strongly characteristic of its period, the set leans repeatedly toward sub-Traffic early British and Continental progressive vocal rock while taking occasional surprising turns toward oldies covers. The constantly rotating personnel produced an uneven result that sits somewhere between the work of a stable band and a various-artists compilation. Although far from weak and often agreeably listenable, the album seems unlikely to generate strong excitement upon discovery.
Albums