01	B.D.D.						03:50
	02	Daze of the Weak						05:16
	03	Times						05:19
	04	Mistreated						04:04
	05	Express Man						03:59
	06	Natchez Burning						04:38
	07	Light Was The Day						06:53

The Groundhogs
Formed 1963
Disbanded 1976
Group Members Rick Adams Dave Boorman Clive Brooks Mick Cook Peter Cruickshank Alan Fish Martin Kent Tony McPhee Ken Pustelnik Steve Rye Dave Wellbeloved Dave Anderson Mick Jones Tom Parker Mick Kirton
Genres Rock
Styles British Psychedelia, Album Rock, Heavy Metal, Prog-Rock/Art Rock, Hard Rock, Blues-Rock
Labels BGO (7), Transatlantic (2), EMI (2), CD (2)

The Groundhogs were not British blues at their most creative; nor were they British blues at their most generic. They were emblematic of some of the genre's most visible strengths and weaknesses. They were prone to jam too long on basic riffs, they couldn't hold a candle to American blues singers in terms of vocal presence, and their songwriting wasn't so hot. On the other hand, they did sometimes stretch the form in unexpected ways, usually at the hands of their creative force, guitarist/songwriter/vocalist T.S. (Tony) McPhee. For a while they were also extremely popular in Britain, landing three albums in that country's Top Ten in the early '70s.
The Groundhogs' roots actually stretch back to the mid-'60s, when McPhee helped form the group, named after a John Lee Hooker song (the band was also known briefly as John Lee's Groundhogs). In fact, the Groundhogs would back Hooker himself on some of the blues singer's mid-'60s British shows, and also back him on record on an obscure LP. They also recorded a few very obscure singles with a much more prominent R&B/soul influence than their later work.

In 1966, the Groundhogs evolved into Herbal Mixture, which (as if you couldn't guess from the name) had more of a psychedelic flavor than a blues one. Their sole single, "Machines," would actually appear on psychedelic rarity compilations decades later. The Groundhogs/Herbal Mixture singles, along with some unreleased material, has been compiled on a reissue CD on Distortions.

After Herbal Mixture folded, McPhee had a stint with the John Dummer Blues Band before reforming the Groundhogs in the late '60s at the instigation of United Artists A&R man Andrew Lauder. Initially a quartet (bassist Pete Cruickshank also remained from the original Groundhogs lineup), they'd stripped down to a trio by the time of their commercial breakthrough, Thank Christ for the Bomb, which made the U.K. Top Ten in 1970.

The Groundhogs' power-trio setup, as well as McPhee's vaguely Jack Bruce-like vocals, bore a passing resemblance to the sound pioneered by Cream. They were blunter and less inventive than Cream, but often strained against the limitations of conventional 12-bar blues with twisting riffs and unexpected grinding chord changes. McPhee's lyrics, particularly on Thank Christ for the Bomb, were murky, sullen anti-establishment statements that were often difficult to decipher, both in meaning and actual content. They played it straighter on the less sophisticated follow-up, Split, which succumbed to some of the period's blues-hard-rock indulgences, putting riffs and flash over substance.

McPhee was always at the very least an impressive guitarist, and a very versatile one, accomplished in electric, acoustic, and slide styles. Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs! (1972), their last Top Ten entry, saw McPhee straying further from blues territory into somewhat progressive realms, even adding some mellotron and harmonium (though the results were not wholly unsuccessful). The Groundhogs never became well-known in the U.S., where somewhat similar groups like Ten Years After were much bigger. Although McPhee and the band have meant little in commercial or critical terms in their native country since the early '70s, they've remained active as a touring and recording unit since then, playing to a small following in the U.K. and Europe. - Richie Unterberger



1968 Scratching the Surface World Pacific
1968 The Groundhogs with John Lee Hooker and John... Cleve
1969 Blues Obituary BGO
1970 Thank Christ for the Bomb BGO
1971 Split BGO
1972 Got to Get Enough Turbo
1972 Who Will Save the World? BGO
1972 Hogwash BGO
1974 Solid WWA
1976 Black Diamond United Artists
1976 Crosscut Saw BGO
1985 Razor's Edge Conquest
1986 Moving Fast, Standing Still Raw Power
1987 Back Against the Wall CD
1988 Hogs on the Road Demi Monde
1990 Scratching the Surface [Bonus Tracks] BGO
1994 Groundhog Night...Groundhog Live Gopaco
1995 No Surrender [live] Magnum
1995 BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert Windsong
1996 Who Said Cherry Red Indigo
2000 No Surrender [Transatlantic] [live] Transatlantic

1974 The Groundhogs Best 1969-72 One Way
1994 1968-1976 Import
1994 Groundhog Night European
1995 Hoggin' the Stage Receiver
1997 Black Diamond/Crosscut Saw Beat Goes On
1998 The Masters [live] Cleopatra
1999 Hogs in Wolf's Clothing Transatlantic
1999 The Best of the Groundhogs EMI
1999 Muddy Waters Songbook Castle Music
2000 The Masters: Groundhogs Live! Eagle
2000 Classic Recordings from the 70's Mooncrest
2001 54146 Pilot
2002 Live at Leeds '71 EMI
2002 3744 James Road: The HTD Anthology Castle