Paul Brett - Stone Survivor: Anthology (CD)

Release Date: 04/09/21

Paul Brett spent most of the Sixties and Seventies as one of rock's quintessential journeymen, a hired gun for the great and the good, one of the session guitarists of choice, as well as following that familiar trajectory from the Beat Boom onwards. He played in a host of Beat, Mod, R&B, Psychedelic and Progressive outfits before finally creating his own band Paul Brett's Sage in 1970, resulting in three albums for Pye/Dawn.

In 1974, Paul discovered the delights of acoustic 12-string guitar and has spent the rest of his musical career proselytising the delights of the instrument, both via his many albums and via his own range of Vintage guitars. Initially, he released two self-funded albums before signing to RCA for four albums. Paul also recorded a TV-advertised album for K-Tel, Romantic Guitar.

After taking time out in the 1980s, Paul returned to making music in the 1990s and has worked prolifically ever since, issuing a string of albums and EPs on his own label, the most recent of which was The Raven in 2020. Paul himself has contributed sleeve-notes to this long-overdue compilation.

STONE SURVIVOR is the very first anthology of Paul's multi-faceted musical output across the last half century or so. Included are rare tracks from the dawn of his career with budding beat/mod/psych bands The SW4, The Union and Tintern Abbey, as well as the historic debut 45 by The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown from 1967. Key tracks from a subsequent purple patch for Paul Brett's Sage are also included, plus three rarities unissued at the time, followed by highlights from Paul's multi-album tenures with the labels Bradley's and RCA.

Sandwiched between them are selections from two self-released mid-70s albums, when Paul switched to the 12-string guitar. Later choices are drawn from Paul's many self-released solo albums from the nineties and noughties, always centred around his guitar prowess.