Nightfly Heat In The Street is arguably the best album Pat Travers has ever released. It’s certainly the heaviest. The introduction of Tommy Aldridge on drums and bringing in second guitarist, Pat Thrall seems to have given Travers a good kick up the backside after the disappointing Putting It Straight.

The songs on Heat In The Street burst with energy, the title track kicking things off in fine style laced with great riffs and infused with accents, clever rhythmic shifts and time changes. I doubt there are many Travers gigs where this song hasn’t been played. As brilliant as the title track is it wouldn’t be such a great album if the rest of the songs fell short. The dual guitar partnership of Travers and Thrall is put to good use – these guys play off each other really well, both equally adept at rhythm and lead and throwing in some dual guitar runs to good effect – check out Killer’s Instinct for proof. Even the semi-ballad I Tried To Believe kicks ass in the hands of this line-up. Aldridge fills up the album with some fantastic drumming including his double kick drum work on Evie and instrumental Hammerhead and Mars Cowling proves that he’s one of the best and most under-rated bass players in hard rock, his sound being powerful, funky and clear cutting, often with quite a toppy sound. Go All Night is the band at their funkiest and another highlight. Prelude is another instrumental, lacking the punch of Hammerhead but a good vehicle for some melodic dual guitar runs. The album finishes with One For Me And One For You and after the incendiary nature of most the tracks is a bit of a let-down, bringing it out with a whimper instead of bang.

The same line-up would go on to release another studio album together, Crash And Burn as well as the live Go For What You Know which was one of the best live albums of the era but as far as studio work went this was Travers finest hour and there really isn’t a better place to start if you’re new to him.

Nightfly It’s easy to forget in these days of the internet where it’s possible to hear just about any album you want via Youtube, Spotify etc, but back in the seventies (and even eighties and nineties) when Putting It Straight was released you didn’t get to hear an album unless you bought it or knew someone who owned a copy. If you were lucky you might get to hear a song or two on one of the radio rock shows and that would be about it.

For the reasons above Putting It Straight was an album that I didn’t get to hear in full until quite a few years later although I knew and liked the rest of his seventies output well. I knew Life In London and Gettin’ Betta which were both live favourites, both great tracks, the later in the Pat Travers funky rock mode and the former a driving rocker with a killer riff. When I did finally get to hear it, it was a big disappointment and falling short of his greatest seventies work. Time has revised my opinion somewhat but I still think apart from the two previously mentioned songs it’s his weakest album from that decade. Songs like Runnin’ For The Future and Speakeasy are okay rockers, Lovin’ You is verging on AOR and Off Beat Ride a mediocre Instrumental. Dedication is in two parts – starting with an Organ driven instrumental before descending into a rather dull ballad. Better is the syncopated rhythm of It Ain’t What It Seems though it still pales in comparison to his best work. The liner notes of the CD re-issue state that the band went into the studio with most of the songs not written so this goes to a long way to explaining why it’s not up to the usual standard being a bit of a rush job. Of interest to Iron Maiden fans, it’s the second of two Travers albums to feature Nicko McBrain. Apparently Travers was having (undisclosed) trouble with him at the time and replaced him with Tommy Aldridge shortly after the albums completion.

Overall then Putting It Straight is the least essential of Pat Travers seventies albums despite containing two classic tracks. Fortunately following album Heat In The Street was a great return to form and regarded by many as his strongest album ever.

Nightfly Makin’ Magic is the second album from Pat Travers and the album that introduced me to him having first heard him on a local radio show back in 1977 when this was released. It’s notable for featuring a young Nicko McBrain who we all know would go on to join Iron Maiden a few years later.

Travers had introduced his funky hard rock style on his eponymous debut but here he really establishes it from the off with the driving title track. He shows what a great guitar player he is and McBrain drives things along with tight but loose drumming. Of special mention is Mars Cowling’s busy and to the front bass work which I always thought was integral to the Travers sound. Rock ‘n’ Roll Suzie is pretty much what you’d expect from the title, Rock ‘n’ Roll being something Travers dipped into from time to time. You Don’t Love Me was the first Travers song I owned which featured on a Sounds Magazine freebie album I had at the time – still have it to this day as far as I Know. It’s not one of the best tracks here though being a somewhat ordinary rocker. Stevie is a ballad and would become a live favourite. I never quite got what the fuss was about to be honest and found it a bit dull and dragged out at over seven minutes.

On his debut Travers had overdone the cover versions with four in total. Here there’s only one and it’s well chosen - the Blues classic Statesboro Blues. Perhaps the definitive version of this song was made by The Allman Brothers Band but Travers does it justice with a pacey and lively version making it a very worthy inclusion. Need Love is excellent – an understated piece of syncopated funk rock. Hooked On Music is a Travers classic – more funk and perhaps the best song here and a quick listen will say all you need to know why it was a live staple and often opened his set I believe. The album closes with What You Mean To Me, an instrumental with Travers tasteful guitar work augmented by fender rhodes piano, a keyboard that I’ve always enjoyed the sound of but overall its less than essential though pleasant enough.

To this day Makin’ Magic remains one of my favourite Pat Travers albums, only equalled by Heat In The Street which may just have the edge. This would make a great place to start exploring his extensive back catalogue for sure.

Nightfly Although he would go on the make much better albums in the next few years Canadian guitarist/vocalist Pat Travers self-titled debut was a promising start. It laid the ground for the trademark Pat Travers funky hard rock sound aided by the forceful and funky bass playing of Peter “Mars” Cowling who would play on all the classic Travers albums. Sadly I’ve just learnt he has passed away just over a week ago.

The album kicks off with Stop And Smile which is not the best way to announce your career, being a somewhat ordinary piece of 70’s hard rock. Much better is following track Feelin’ Right which is where Travers introduces his funky chops. Written by J J Cale, Magnolia is a rather dull ballad but Makes No Difference is much better and a driving hard rocker that would remain a live favourite for years. Another song that features here that would become a live favourite is Boom Boom (Out Goes The Lights) which was a cover of the Little Walter blues classic. It’s a worthy inclusion and works better than the Chuck Berry cover of Mabelline and the Charlie Ryan song Hot rod Lincoln that follows it here.

As My Life Flies gets things back on track after three consecutive covers . Short and sweet at only two and a half minutes but a decent mid-paced rocker nevertheless. The album closes with what I think is the best and generally overlooked song on the album. Medley Parts 1 & 2, after a start that makes you think you’re in for some jazz rock soon develops into a driving rocker notable for Mars Cowling’s to the front of the mix driving bass work. In fact the song goes through a number of changes and shifts into slower funky mode. A fair part of its instrumental but keeps the listeners interest with a number of twists and turns.

A few too many covers and a couple of ordinary Travers originals rob this album of greatness but when it’s good it’s very good and laid the ground for the better Makin’ Magic that would follow the next year in 1977.