There isn’t really any argument that John Squire is a talented guitar player***. What he’d suffered from was being in a band with a singer that couldn’t. One of the reasons I like this album is that singer Chris Helme really can sing, it must have been quite the experience, and relief, for Mr Squire.

Helme was discovered busking outside a Woolworth’s in York. Bass player Stuart Fletcher was seen by Squire while depping for a covers band, again in York. Drummer Andy Watts was an acquaintance of Fletcher and Helme. Thus were The Seahorses assembled, primarily I’m sure as a vehicle to highlight Squire but Chris Helme certainly had quite the piece to say in the making of this record.

There’s more than an air of Folk Rock about “Do It Yourself”. A lot of that comes from Chris Helme’s voice (Squire was hesitant about including Helme after the auditions because he “closed his eyes when he sang and only folk singers do that”) but Squire’s playing has more than a hint of Fairport era Richard Thompson about it in places. There are two real standout songs within, the two singles “Blinded By The Sun” and “Love Is The Law”, although any praise of the latter is to be tempered by it being extended to almost 8 minutes for the purposes of the album by Squire’s uneccessary mid-song fret w@nking!

The whole focus of this record is Squire and Helme. Squire had honed what he was aiming at on his previous bands mess of a second album and Helme managed to stamp his mark all over this. The rhythm section could honestly be anyone and, in the 27 years since this was released, today is the first time I even bothered looking at who they were! I do like it, although it was something of an impulse buy when it was re-issued a couple of years ago (original vinyl copies now sell for 3 figures). It’s folk rock…whether Squire likes it or not. 

Love Me And Leave Me - https://youtu.be/tDYenCgDLgw?si=ovlTTIVFD9kpwSem

(***although, given recent developments with the front man from another BritPop combo, definitely one with a questionable choice in singers)

This album is bloody awful…except for two things. It’s the worst kind of half-arsed American country rock, think Dr Hook but not nearly that good, apart from, right in the middle of side 1 is a piece of instrumental dancefloor dynamite called “Highway Rider”. It’s a proper Northern Soul banger it’s just that the lead instrument is slide guitar !

The second great thing about this record is the sleeve, designed and drawn by Jack Davis of Mad magazine fame. It must have been the sleeve that enticed me into playing it and thus discovering “Highway Rider”, I can’t think of any other reason why I would have put it on.

Highway Rider - https://youtu.be/S-lhNIXQtcw?si=uFY-MhczEhutQT55

It is something of a mystery to me why this is the only Roxy Music album I own. I should at least have their first two albums, the one’s when Eno was still in the band (he was forced to leave when Ferry told him there could only be one Bry(i)an in the band…oh how that made me laugh when I first heard it). Yes the later Ferry led Roxy became something of an embarrassing supper club croon-fest but here we are, until I rectify things and get those first two albums I only have their Greatest Hits.

But in fairness what Greatest Hits some of them are.

Do The Strand - https://youtu.be/M5X6BifSQ9U?si=nX4Z817fiH1pe2Rd