Alamo - Alamo (Reissue, Remastered) (1971/1999)

"The roots of Alamo go back to guitarist Larry Raspberry who played with the Gentrys in 1965 when they charted with “Keep On Dancing”. The strength of Alamo was largely due to the mountainous vox and grinding hammond of ex-Cosmos Ken Woodley coupled with the gritty guitar breaks of Raspberry.

Ever wonder what early ZZ Top might sound like with an organ added to the mix? Well, released in 1971 in Memphis, Alamo's selftitled sole album has the answer. They make nice, solid mainstream hard rock with a slight Southern edge. There are some nice extended instrumental jams in the style of Allman Brothers (on acid), Homer and "Nantucket" era-Mountain.

The album powers forth with the massive opener “Got To Find Another Way” in the same energized spirit as Scotland’s "Writing On The Wall" or Germany’s "Karthago". This thunderous opener has Raspberry ripping the hell out of his axe with no prisoners taken. “Soft And Gentle” is a determined effort from the band to slow down with the guitar sliding in a heavy toned Bloodrock manner. Ken Woodley reaps some great riffs on his hammond through “The World We Seek” with Raspberry not far behind on his gator growling axe. “Been Some Changes” also allows the guitar to spit out some riveting leadbreaks that would have suited the likes of Grand Funk or Rare Earth while “Get The Feelin’” is a vibrant supercharge of percussion and bass where each member has his slice of solo.
If you like organ driven hard rock in the vein of Bloodrock or Atomic Rooster, don't miss this one."