Pirana - Pirana / Pirana II (Reissue, Remastered) (1971-72/2002)

Australian band PIRANA was formed in 1970, founded by Stan White (keyboards), Jim Duke-Yonge (drums), Tony Hamilton (vocals, guitar) and Graeme Thompson (bass) as a new musical venture for the latter three following their tenure in pop band Gus & The Nomads. Their first recording were as a backing band for a solo album by Greg Quill, but in 1971 they were signed by legendary record label Harvest and soon got busy making their debut album.

Pirana hit the shops in 1971, and while the album didn't exactly set the world on fire the band quickly established themselves as a popular live act. This first effort of their owed more than a bit to Santana in overall style, and Pirana were at their best when performing one of his songs, Soul Sacrifice, on stage.

Stan White left the band shortly after the release of their first album, replaced by Keith Greig. And with White out of the band guitarist Hamilton had a more prominent place as a songwriter for Pirana's second effort Pirana II, issued late in 1972. A direct result of that was that the band started moving slightly away from their latin-inspired sound. They never managed to hit the big time with this second effort either though, not even a superb performance at 1972's Sunbury festival gave the band a true commercial breakthrough. Indeed, the latter actually cemented their reputation as a Santana-influenced act, and while their credibility as a live unit soared their merits as a studio unit wasn't by far as heralded.

Grieg left the band in 1972, and a flurry of line-up changes followed for the next couple of years, until Pirana fizzled out to disbandment in late 1974.