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Sutherland Brothers & Quiver 1975 Reach For The Sky

One of my favourite albums by this great and fairly unknown band - Gavin and Iain Sutherland with the band Quiver.

The September 1975 album release Reach for the Sky marked the debut of the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver on CBS Records. Their first CBS single, "Ain't Too Proud" (1975; featuring David Gilmour of Pink Floyd on pedal steel guitar ) did not chart, but the second CBS single, "Arms of Mary" charted in April 1976, becoming a UK Top Ten hit single. "Arms of Mary" was also an international success most notably in Ireland and the Netherlands – in which territories the track was No. 1 for respectively four and three weeks – with the track also reaching No. 1 on Belgium's Flemish charts. The track "When the train comes" was also released as a single.
- Wikipedia

Say what you will about Rod Stewart, but you have to admit the guy knew how to identify hit records. That was certainly the case when he elected to make a lame cover of Gavin Sutherland's 'Sailing'. Even though Stewart's cover version sucked, it went top-40; in the process getting Sutherland Brothers and Quiver signed by Columbia.

Produced by Howard and Ron Albert, "Reach for the Sky" is one of those rarities; an album where every track is worth hearing. Admittedly, there isn't anything particularly innovative or groundbreaking to be found here. That said, penned by namesakes Iain and Gavin Sutherland, material such as "When the Train Comes", "Dirty City" and "Love On the Moon" found the quartet turning in an impeccable set of pop-rock. While all ten tracks were worth hearing, best of the lot were the single "Arms of Mary" (which hit #81 on the pop charts), and the the reggaefied "Dr. Dancer" (with some great lyrical and musical nods to classic rock hits). If you like great melodies, smooth group vocal harmonies ("Something Special") and cutting guitar (courtesy of Tim Renwick), this stands as an album you need to add to your collection . By the way, long time fan David Gilmour provides the pedal steel guitar on "Ain't Too Proud". (Back by strong critical reviews, the album actually managed to crash the American charts, peaking at # 195.)
- badcatrecords.com


PS. Another much loved album by them is beat of the street from 1974.

Re: Sutherland Brothers & Quiver 1975 Reach For The Sky

I'm a fan too Steve. All of their albums have a number of good tracks such as Dream Kid, The Pie, You Got Me Anyway.

There's a good comp called The Very Best Of....which is a good place to start. Cheap and easily available too.