Cochise – Cochise(1970)

Biography
There was a lot of talent involved in the making of Cochise’s debut album. Guitarist Mick Grabham went on to play in Procol Harum; bassist Rick Wills would later join Foreigner; B.J. Cole would be an in-demand pedal steel player on many sessions over the next few decades; drummer Willie Wilson would play with Pink Floyd; Dick Taylor, who’d just left the Pretty Things, produced. The credits on a résumé don’t always guarantee an outstanding album, however, and Cochise is one of those ’60s-turning-into-’70s records that treads an uneasy line between eclectic diversity and a lack of direction.

Album & Cover
Cochise is the debut album by the band. It’s so-so period 1970 British rock, distinguished just slightly by a more country-ish flavor than the norm, courtesy of Cole’s pedal steel. It’s not country-rock, however, and some of the songs in fact owe little or nothing to the form. Numbers like “Painted Lady” and “Moment and the End” are tense, meandering hard rock tunes; the latter cut, in fact (as well as sections of some others, like “Velvet Mountain”) sounds kind of like late-’60s/early-’70s Guess Who LP filler. There’s a wistful rural feel to parts of the material that suggests some promise, but that mood’s shattered by an unnecessary, pedestrian heavy rock cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “59th Street Bridge Song.”

Cover Location:
Who Did What: Photography – A. Powell/S.Thorgerson
Label: United Artists UAS 29117(US&UK)
Source: Vinyl. Album. Cover. Art, The Complete Hipgnosis Catalogue: Aubrey Powell

Tracklist

Credits
Bass Guitar, Vocals – Ricky Wills
Co-producer [With The Help Of] – Cochise
Drums, Percussion, Vocals – John Wilson
Engineer – John Stewart
Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Organ, Vocals – Mick Grabham
Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – Stewart Brown
Pedal Steel Guitar, Guitar [Dobro], Cello – B.J. Cole
Producer – Dick Taylor