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Legendary British drummer’s adventurous sophomore album still delivers surprises decades after it was recorded.
Liverpool-born drummer Aynsley Dunbar was among the most highly regarded figures on the international rock circuit in the late ’60s. His work with innovators such as John Mayall, David Bowie, Lou Reed, and Frank Zappa—an especially long-running collaboration—secured his reputation as a true great. Yet Dunbar also made a powerful statement as a leader in his own right. His debut, Doctor Dunbar’s Prescription, was a bold, high-energy set of electric blues, packed with sharp hooks, tight tunes, and driving riffs.
Recorded in 1971, Blue Whale pushes much further into experimental territory. It finds Dunbar moving toward a heady blend of progressive rock and psychedelia, with a spirit not far removed from Zappa’s surreal humour and cutting wit. Appropriately, his take on Zappa’s classic “Willie the Pimp” stands out as a major highlight. Backed by a superb cast—guitarists Ivan Zagni and Roger Sutton, bassist Peter Friedberg, pianist/organist Tommy Eyre, and vocalist Paul Williams—Dunbar reaches a creative high point that carries across the album’s largely extended compositions, rich in contrast, atmosphere, and dynamics.
As the record progresses, it becomes clear this was a period when studio technology—guided by increasingly imaginative engineers—was opening up entirely new sonic possibilities. Here, that role is filled by Colin Caldwell. If the elegant reverb trails on the horns and the subtle shimmer and grit around the guitar sound feel familiar, it’s because Caldwell also mixed a standout album by Dunbar’s labelmates, Alice.
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