Samuel Purdey

Samuel Purdey's 1999 album ?Musically Adrift? is exactly that. Right record, wrong time; a little known classic overlooked in the main but nevertheless a timeless body of work as good now as it was then, regardless of current trends and other distractions. Even the chronically deaf could not fail to identify the influences; Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers, Michael McDonald, Earth Wind & Fire, early Hall & Oates, early Chicago, Tower Of Power, Airplay, Blood, Sweat & Tears... I could go on but I'm sure you get the picture.

Even the chronically deaf could not fail to identify the influences; Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers, Michael McDonald, Earth Wind & Fire, early Hall & Oates, early Chicago, Tower Of Power, Airplay, Blood, Sweat & Tears... I could go on but I'm sure you get the picture.

And the personnel on the record is not too be sniffed at either, further validating the pedigree of this precious gem which over time is earning the cult status it so deserves. Ten points for spotting performances of any of the following (day jobs in brackets to give you a head start): Frank Floyd (Donald Fagen/Steely Dan), Elliott Randall (Steely Dan/John Lennon), Robbie Gordon (Gil Scott Heron), Stuart Zender (Jamiroquai), Jan Kincaid and Andrew Levy (The Brand New Heavies), Ian Thomas (Tom Jones) and Neil Cowley (The Neil Cowley Trio). And the guys twiddling the knobs weren't bad: Elliot Scheiner (The Eagles/Steely Dan/Van Morrison) and Bob Power (A Tribe Called Quest/De La Soul).

Still not enough? Really? OK, here are some nice things some famous people said about the record to help you make your mind up:

Jay Kay (Jamiroquai) "Lucky Radio was the best single of 1997".

Elliott Randall (Steely Dan/John Lennon) "It's pretty unusual, in this day and age, to find a more dedicated, fun, and inventive bunch of guys than 'Samuel Purdey'. My hat is off to them, and I can't wait to make more magic with these folks".

Ashley Beadle (X-Press 2) "This record has echoes of The Doobie Brothers & Steely Dan, & being a great white soul freak it just struck home right away. The only thing written on the label is Samuel Purdey, & the label it was sent out on went bust before it even got started. It's mysterious - & i like it like that! Why wasn't it a massive hit? It's called Lucky Radio & sounds brilliant on the radio, it should be in the top five today. It's timeless. I'll pick this record up in ten years & it will still sound just as fresh as it does today. It's in its own era - which is no era".

Bill Champlin (The Sons Of Champlin/Chicago) "Man, your stuff sounds great. Kind of a cross between 3 or 4 great things out there. Steely meets Ambrosia meets The Average White Band and, well, after 3 tunes I just realized you got your own thing and it's really good".

Richard Page (Pages/Mr. Mister) "Nice to hear someone's keeping the old flame burning".

Jan Kincaid (The Brand New Heavies) I have nothing but good memories on being involved in this record (Musically Adrift). The musicians involved, the attention to detail and the love put into it made it a rarity even as it was being made.

Great songwriting and a quality control in the production and musicianship which drew from some of the greatest benchmark studio albums of the 1970's, a testament to how good music could be in an age before Pro Tools and easy editing techniques. Good vibrations ooze from the grooves of this wonderful piece of plastic. Maybe it's time they left their large country piles and laid down some more love?


Hailing originally from Brighton, on the UK's Sussex Riviera, Samuel Purdey consists of songwriting partnership, Barney Hurley and Gavin Dodds.

Before forming Samuel Purdey Barney had a brief spell touring with Acid Jazz old boys Jamiroquai and Mother Earth, as well as occasional session appearances with amongst others, Robbie Gordon of Gil Scott Heron fame. Gavin also had a life before Samuel Purdey recording and touring with Jamiroquai.

Initially, albeit temporarily, the pair worked with Acid Jazz who included their Tower of Power cover of ?Clever Girl? on Totally Wired 11. Quickly however they moved on and signed to the Sony backed ?Good Sounds? label which would become their home for the recording of their first and to date, only album, ?Musically Adrfit?, released in 1999.

Prior to the release of ?Musically Adrift? 2 offerings were made to the great unwashed in the form of ?Goods Sounds Sampler #1? which as well as Samuel Purdey's ?Santa Rosa? and ?Whatever I Do? included Tom Scott's little know classic ?Jump Back? from the cult cartoon movie ?The Nine Lives Of Fritz the Cat? (1974) plus the painfully rare ?The Theme from Black Belt Jones? by Dennis Coffey from the planned but never released Good Sounds soundtrack compilation ?Movie Grooves?. Next came the single ?Lucky Radio? which charted at number 5 in the Tokio Hot 100 and also appeared on ?Acid Jazz Past & Present? (Prophecy USA) and ?X-Press 2 ? Choice ? A Collection of Classics? (Azuli UK). Lucky Radio was also released on the compilation 'Mellow Groove' (P-Vine Records, Japan) in July 2009. More recently, Samuel Purdey's "Whatever I Do" features on P-Vine Records' follow up compilation 'Mellow Groove - Sunshine Avenue' (July 2010).

A 'Remastered' version of Musically Adrift was released 21st Jan' 2009 by Grey Dog's Records in Japan and includes Kiss FM Japan's No.1 single, Whatever I Do.