Straight out of the biker/gonzo heavy rock brigade are this mob from Columbus Ohio called The Godz, following hard on the heels of Kiss, Ted Nugent, The Dictators and Grand Funk Railroad.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: The Godz
ALBUM: The Godz
LABEL: RCA
SERIAL: MNLP8003
YEAR: 1978
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Mark Chatfield – guitars, vocals * Bob Hill – guitars, keyboards, vocals * Eric Moore – bass, vocals * Glen Cataline – drums, vocals
<TRACK LISTING: 01 Go Away * 02 Baby I Love You * 03 Guaranteed * 04 Gotta Keep A Runnin’ * 05 Under The Table * 06 Cross Table * 07 Candy’s Going Bad
WEBLINKS: FB Page
Background
Straight out of the biker/gonzo heavy rock brigade are this mob from Columbus Ohio called The Godz, following hard on the heels of Kiss, Ted Nugent, The Dictators, and Grand Funk Railroad.
Now, they are not to be confused with another 60’s outfit by the same name. Different music too no doubt. What we get here is pure unadulterated 70’s rock, the sort of rock that 50 something’s grew up on, when arena rock was fashionable, and side burns and platform shoes were the in-thing.
We even get keyboards with these boys, so it’s not a total write off. In fact, their music is excellent despite the biker image. They even have Don Brewer from the aforementioned Grand Funk Railroad producing them, so they’ve got an experienced hand, plus it gives them a commercial sounding product.
The Songs
This their debut, only has seven tracks, but most of it makes for great listening. All of Side two is perhaps some of the best hard rockin’ US material from the late 70’s. ‘Under The Table’ and the classic pair of ‘Cross Country’ and the Golden Earring hit ‘Candys Going Bad’ are compulsory listening.
‘Guaranteed’ is another hard rockin’ track while ‘Gotta Keep A Runnin’ is high on gonzoid excess. The catchcry from this song ‘The Godz are rock ‘n’ roll machines’ perhaps sounds a little silly years later, but hey, it was the 70’s right?
In Summary
The Godz and the second album ‘Nothing Is Sacred’ did get a combined CD release years later, though I’m not sure about their ‘Mongolians’ album. The band at last report were still doing occasional gigs in their native Ohio area, but it really is this record that remains the pick of the bunch for me among their discography. Likewise it was also recognised by the Rock Candy folk who gave it the reissue treatment during July 2010. Get it while you can!
The Godz on Video
Click to go to YTM album page.
