As a final album, Fanny's Rock & Roll Survivors, originally released in 1974, is not as bad as the reviews of the time made it out -- specifically in the United States (in the U.K. the album was received quite well, both critically and commercially). For instance, it does contain their most successful charting single with "Butter Boy," which reached number 29 in the Billboard Hot 100. That said, it does reveal a band struggling to maintain its identity in the midst of tremendous pressure. For starters, founding member and guitarist June Millington left before the album was recorded, as did drummer Alice de Buhr. Bassist Jean Millington replaced her sister with former Detroiter Patti Quatro, sister of Suzi, and drummer Brie Brandt (who left immediately after the recording and was replaced by Cam Davis for the band's final tour). In addition to the personnel changes, the band left Reprise where they had recorded their four previous offerings, for Neil Bogart's Casablanca imprint. Rock & Roll Survivors was produced by Vini Poncia, a house producer for the label, and reflected its owner's desire for sheeny, tight, slick, studio glitz. While it is easily the band's most polished and commercial sounding record -- Poncia was clearly trying get the band to sound like Heart, which didn't work -- it falls emotionally flat in several places despite excellent songs. With more emphasis on keyboards and drums and less on guitars, the pure, hard rock power of recordings such as Mother's Pride -- produced by Todd Rundgren -- is lost. Quatro wrote two of the best songs on the set in "Rockin' All Nite Long" and "Beggar Man" (she wrote four altogether). The cover of the Rolling Stones' "Let's Spend the Night Together," is a radical rearrangement and changes the song's meaning but really comes across. Of course there is the infamous June Millington-penned single with a faux doo wop "wha-wha-wha-oo" intro -- complete with finger pops -- and its scandalous (in the U.K.) opening line: "He was hard as a rock and I was ready to roll..." and its chorus: "Go baby go (Get it on Boy)/show what you know..." The vocal performances are flawless and the playing is expert, if a bit hesitant, and some of the arrangements are a bit puzzling. Production is the problem here, and in many ways it can't be held against Fanny, who showed up with solid material and the right personnel -- Quatro is a killer guitarist. While Fanny did fade into rock & roll history after this one, they certainly left a mark. Rock & Roll Survivors, despite its flaws, is a very decent recording, and despite its dated sound, holds up as an accurate reflection of the era in rock music (which was entering its most confused period to date in 1974). If any band deserves a shot at a reunion tour and album, it's this one. [The album was reissued on CD in 2009 by the U.K's Cherry Red label.]
© Thom Jurek /TiVo