Chain's Toward the Blues

Melbourne 1971: radical counterculture hippies opposition to the Vietnam War and consumerism. The birth of Oz blues rock. Influenced by American blues after Robert Johnson parallel to developments with Paul Butterfield the Bluesbreakers and Canned Heat Chain's music also developed in distinct ways taking on a style later referred to as Oz blues or Oz indigo. The emergence of prog rock and the consolidation of blues rock globally made for interesting times. Rock shifted beyond the basics in the direction of new musical forms and prefigurative politics. In this moment Chain four regional white boys with jazz cred and blues licks recorded the classic Oz blues single <i>Black and Blue</i>and its bedrock LP <i>Toward the Blues</i>. 50 years later it remains a monument in Australian rock history. Based on interviews with guitarist and singer Phil Manning scholarly research and memoirs this book tells the story of the album's creation and its cultural impact on the Melbourne music scene in a time of significant social change seeking to capture the magic of that moment.