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Shoot — On the Frontier
(Bandcamp Think Like a Key TLAK, 1973/2025, CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2025-08-24

On the Frontier Cover art

For a good five years in the mid-60s, The Yardbirds were pushing the boundaries of rock music into new uncharted territories, but what is less known is that Jim McCarty, the band’s drummer through all those years, had a major hand in writing much of their original material — songs like “Still I’m Sad,” “Shapes of Things,” “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago,” and “Over Under Sideways Down,” among others — the hit songs we all heard on the radio, not the blues covers or songs written by those outside of the band. After their final US Tour in 1968, the four remaining Yardbirds parted company, with McCarty and singer Keith Relf eventually forming the first edition of Renaissance, an endeavor that only lasted an album and a half, although McCarty agreed to stay on with the new version of Renaissance as a songwriter through 1974’s Turn of the Cards. Concurrent with that, McCarty also formed a new band called Shoot in 1972, where he played keyboards, sang lead, and wrote the bulk of the album’s ten tracks, joined by guitarist Dave Green from Raw Material, drummer Craig Collinge from Manfred Mann Chapter Three, and bassist Bill Russell. In addition, many guests appear on this track or that, including horn players Lyn Dobson and Bob Birtles, Graham Preskett on violin, steel guitarist B.J. Cole, and John Tout contributing piano on the track “Old Time Religion.” Shoot’s sound bore little resemblance to Yardbirds or Renaissance, or anything he had done before: a fresh and concise pop sound that sounded right at home in the early 70s, with song-length tracks driven by powerful rock ideals, strong vocal harmonies, excellent songwriting, and superb arrangements — the opener “The Neon Life” certainly has it all. But there are plenty of ‘outside’ gems here like “The Boogie,” with a spoken introduction labeling it as the worst song in the world; “Midnight Train” is one of several tracks informed by a country blues sound; at close to eight minutes, “Mean Customer” closes the original album nicely with doubled percussion; while “Sepia Sister” features some beautiful guitar effects by Green, with a strong vocal presence all around. But it’s the title track that has the greatest impact, which would subsequently be shared with Renaissance Mark II, appearing on their album Ashes Are Burning, here presented with a country-rock arrangement. Now remastered with two additional tracks, On the Frontier sounds better than ever.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases, 1973 recordings

Related artist(s): B.J. Cole, Jim McCarty, Shoot

More info
http://thinklikeakey.bandcamp.com/album/on-the-frontier-2025-remaster

 

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