Savoy Brown wavers between blues and rock

By John Benson

After more than 40 years in Savoy Brown, guitarist Kim Simmonds has been taking stock of his career as he compiled his recently released best-of series “Too Much of a Good Thing.”

“I think there are two chapters with the band,” said Simmonds, calling from upstate New York. “There’s where I call the classic period, which was in the ’60s, and a commercial period in the ’70s. I think the latter days have been the point where I was able to relax with everything and do exactly what I wanted to do, a combination of the commercial and the classic. And I think with ‘Too Much of a Good Thing,’ it’s all there.”

Originally known as the Savoy Brown Blues Band, Savoy Brown got its start in the ’60s with its blue-rock sound that led to popular 1969 single “Train to Nowhere” and 1972’s album “Hellbound Train.” As far as Simmonds doing exactly what he wanted to do, that would be straddling the fence between the blues and rock. This was the case with the band’s 2007 effort “Steel,” as well as Savoy Brown’s entire back catalog. Still, the guitarist has personal boundaries or tenets he abides by.

“I have to be careful that I don’t rock too much because I’m essentially a blues guitar player with a lot of energy,” Simmonds said. “And that energy equates to a more rock ’n’ roll type of thing. Some of the blues artists are like that. Freddy King had some of that rock ’n’ roll energy even though he was a traditional blues artist. I think stylistically I’m able to play traditional blues true to the form and, at the same time, I’m able to rock out.”

He added, “I like the fact I can stand up and play with anybody and rock as hard as anybody, and at the same time I can pull it back and show that there are roots in my playing that go way, way back into the 1940s and before. And I think that’s the exciting thing, because the reason I play is because all of those people who went before me. So, I do take it seriously. It can be a very trivial thing, playing guitar. You walk on stage with a chunk of wood and some steel stuck on it. You could be The Monkees and play guitar like that. Or, you can take it seriously and try to make it artful. That’s what I’ve always done.”

Simmonds said that while his music has taken him around the globe many times, he finds the best places to perform are often blue-collar towns where personal and professional struggles of the audience members provide an emotional bond with the music.

Naturally, this is the case when Savoy Brown plays a Tangled Up In Blues Show on Sept. 24 at Boulevard Stage/Dash Inn.

“Those people have a little bit different understanding of music and what they want out of it,” Simmonds said. “It’s like Detroit — that’s the very first American city Savoy Brown was successful in. It’s an industrial, working-class city, and the music that I play is hard with a lot of emotion, and it’s not pretty. So I’m looking forward to playing Youngstown.

“What I’m hoping will surprise them is when they come and see a vintage act like Savoy Brown, they’ll see how vibrant we are. We’re one of the acts out there that are keeping the flag flying for vintage acts. Some acts go through the motions. This act won’t. So they’ll feel the energy here, and, more than anything, it’ll be a nostalgia trip. No doubt about it.”