In 1969, the Spencer Davis Group recorded Funky, an album that was ultimately not released due to contract issues with their record label, although some pressings were bootlegged in the US in 1971. Gluggo was their first album to feature keyboardist/vocalist Eddie Hardin, and original drummer Pete York since With Their New Face On in 1968. Hardin and York had released three albums as a duo in the interim while Hardin had cut the solo album. Bassist Charlie McCracken, formerly of Taste, who had played in a session capacity on With Their New Face On was now a full group member. Lead guitaristRay Fenwick had played on individual tracks with this line-up before including the theme from the TV seriesMagpie but never on a full album before. The personnel on this recording included three of the original four members.
Musical style
Although the Spencer Davis Group were known largely for jazz and blues inflected songs, this collection is much more rock oriented. Songs such as "Catch You on the Rebop", "Mr. Operator", and "Tumble Down Tenement Row" are characteristic of the group's 1960s sound, featuring precise drumbeats, loosely played organ, and hollered singing. Other songs include the instrumental "Today Gluggo, Tomorrow the World", a cover of the old blues "Trouble in Mind", and the countrypop song "Legal Eagle Shuffle", which follows the genre's typical storyline of divorce and truck driving.
Title and packaging
While the album's title is never defined, the LP packaging was designed with subway-style advertisements and marketing slogans promoting "gluggo" as a product along the lines of a detergent or an aphrodisiac; among the marketing tropes used are "unsolicited personal testimonials" and "9 out of 10 Doctors".
Release
The original vinyl album had nine tracks, but the CD release has bonus tracks that include "Touching Cloth", the B-side to the single "Mr. Operator", and these latter two songs as previously unreleased rough mixes. "Don't You Let It Bring You Down" backed with "Today Gluggo, Tomorrow the World" was also released as a single. In some territories, including Germany, the song "Alone" was substituted with "Living in a Backstreet", which also became the title track of the group's next album. CD reissues reflect this discrepancy with Alone included instead among the bonus tracks.
Reception
Reviewing Gluggo in December 1973 for Creem, Robert Christgau said "Davis has been putting out moderately enjoyable records for as long as I've kept track. This is a little less folky, worth investigating for non-charismatic, professional rock and roll." Joel Vance from Stereo Review called it "happy, loose, thoroughly professional", and "great fun", concluding that "it's good to have Spencer Davis back, undiluted and unbowed." Billboard also recommended the album for its mix of rock, blues, and folk. Commercially, Gluggo was unsuccessful, peaking at number 206 on Billboards "Bubbling Under the Top LPs" chart.
