Dave Walker & Bob Brunning appreciation thread

[becca]

Although they were only briefly part of FM, I feel these two have made significant contributions to the group. Dave Walker's vocals on Penguin are treasures and it's sad that he left Savoy Brown just to be told after barely being part of FM that his services were no longer required. Bob Brunning's Behind The Masks book indicates Walker was devestated at the time and that his career never recovered. Also that the reasons for his firing were because he was too overpowering and too strong of a front person. The FM side of things is that Walker was basically forced upon them by manager Davis. What remains are a pitance of great tracks with Walker; they have really grown on me at least. I very much wish there had been more! Walker's drinking doesn't seem to have been a genuine issue in my opinion though given what Mick and John could put away.

As for Brunning, his bass is different from John's and he contributed well to the earliest FM recordings. I like John's bass a lot and he was certainly worth waiting for. I think Brunning and Bob Hall's Tramp records with Fleetwood and Kirwan are real gems. Aagain, I wish there had been more!

Overall I'm glad for these brief appearances by walker and brunning as they have led me, and no doubt many others, into checking out their other work.

[HomerMcvie]

Who?



.......

[robm]

Being an early Mac fan, I followed the band up to the Penguin album, and I must say Mr. Walker's vocals were very good. I was also a fan of the early 70's Savoy Brown, so that might account for that reasoning.

[aleuzzi]

I'd be willing to say Dave Walker can sing and, given the chance, would have done some interesting things with the band. But Brunning is little more than a leech.

[becca]

I didn't know Brunning was attaching himself to people's flesh to extricate plasma. I mainly appreciate the Tramp recordings which may have more to do with Bob Hall and the Kellys, but Brunning was the link for me to encounter them.

Dave Walker writes and sings from a place pretty close to Peter Greenbaum's, a place anyone who has been through hard times and absense of opportunity can connect to. It is about surviving, about protecting in some basic ferocious way your sensitivity in an environment where you can only expect to be treated roughly. They turn this into music and it's truly beautiful, it feeds you. It's hard not to be fierecly loyal to people like that, that help your soul survive. The best blues are songs of survival. In the way Dave found there wasn't a place for him in FM, so did Peter, and it was his own creation he had to leave! There's a little something wrong with that picture. Two great artists didn't get back the strength and endurance they had wanted to offer. And yet Mick Fleetwood and John McVie did go on and endure in the endeavor, and it is pretty interesting this kind of contradiction. Mick even went to Africa in search of older rythms! That blows my mind. Maybe the differences come down to backgrounds. Different rungs on the same ladder not realizing they face similar obstacles in different forms. The lower down rung is more primal. They need each other but just can't live together in the same room for very long I suppose.

I would love there to be a series with a title The Best Of Dave Walker in it, collecting his work from various sources. It's always too bad that artists can't simply own all that they create so such things could happen. Until then we fans put together our own best ofs. I recently did best ofs of Bob Welch, Christine and Danny for some friends and FM fans in Alaska. I don't have enough Walker though, I need to discover more and thought maybe a thread like this might lead to some titles. A little Peter goes a long way and I'm still going back to what I've got.

[Wouter Vuijk]

Originally Posted by robm

Being an early Mac fan, I followed the band up to the Penguin album, and I must say Mr. Walker's vocals were very good. I was also a fan of the early 70's Savoy Brown, so that might account for that reasoning.

As for me, I followed FM until Peter left. Then took up again when Rhiannon was released as a single, followed by Rumours. From then on my interest returned to Peter and FM's blues years. It wasn't until recently I began to appreciate the, as I call it: In-between-era. I.e. Bob Welch.
I don't know much about Dave Walker, why did he turn up and why did he (have to?) leave again? I would also like to know more about Bob Weston (I know why he had to leave....Being in Mick's position I'd have done the same, on the other hand, Mick wasn't too clean himself later).
I really admired the Chris Youlden era of Savoy Brown. My interest in SB disappeared when Chris left. Then Dave came in. Don't know anything about that.
Who was/is Dave Walker (personally/musically)?

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by becca

I didn't know Brunning was attaching himself to people's flesh to extricate plasma.

Yeah. It's not frequently reported--you know, embarassment for his family and all, but it's actually true. Strange medical fact for strange times.

[David]

Long live "The Derelict"! (the best piece on that album, & possibly the best piece in FM history)

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by David

Long live "The Derelict"! (the best piece on that album, & possibly the best piece in FM history)

Why is the best piece in FM history.

[macfan 57]

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

Why is the best piece in FM history.

I agree.

[David]

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

Why is the best piece in FM history.

Why?

or Why ask Why?

[DavidMn]

Good to see that someone started a thread like this. Althought I'm A Roadrunner will forever be nails on a chalkboard for me.

[Gailh]

I always thought that Dave Walker was asked to leave because he wasn't a writer.

Therefore Bob Welch and Christine McVie had to come up with material for him as well as themselves.

I think Clifford Davis wanted a "front man" but his style was perhaps too dissimilar to the others?

Gail

[David]

Originally Posted by Gailh

I always thought that Dave Walker was asked to leave because he wasn't a writer.

Therefore Bob Welch and Christine McVie had to come up with material for him as well as themselves.

I think Clifford Davis wanted a "front man" but his style was perhaps too dissimilar to the others?

Dave Walker liked to get down wit his badass self & BOOGIE!!!! So they got rid of him & asked Christine to do this instead.

[becca]

Dave Walker has written some great songs, including The Derelict from the Penguin album.