Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Elf: I Had No Idea



My friend and band mate John Dunbar and I often talk about that endless supply of music yet to be discovered. We both agree that there is a certain type of thrill hearing something for the first time and finding out that this artist you only just discovered has a dozen records to his credit.

Well, Elf only has three records to their credit, but I somehow managed to hear none of them. This coming from a long time fan of the late great Ronnie James Dio. The records he recorded with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow have been in my collection since they were released with "Rainbow Rising" in particular being a personal fave. His solo records with Dio are fine for what they are, but "Holy Diver" in particular, is one of the greatest heavy metal records of all time. And what about "Heaven & Hell?" Ozzy Osbourne's shoes could not have been easy to fill, but Dio delivered on what many consider to be one of Black Sabbath's best.



So Elf? How did I not bother all these years?



No explanation, really. I just didn't. But lately, John Dunbar has been listening and talking them up, so I went in and I was surprised to find music that was nothing like any of the bands or releases mentioned above. Elf played rock and roll, the blues and boogie, not unlike the Faces or Leon Russell.

If you've known this all these years, why the hell didn't you tell me?

If you hadn't known, ladies and gentlemen, Elf.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'll have to give ELF another listen! - Stinky

Anonymous said...

I hear a little of The Black Crowes also.

Captain Al

dogbreath said...

Come on, of course I knew Elf was before Ritchie Blackmore collared Dio for Rainbow. And then there was Sabbath and the eponymous Dio. One of the greatest rock voices ever just finding his feet in Elf (Do voices have feet? - Ed). Good selection of tracks. Enjoy!

FD13NYC said...

They are good, I knew of them, sorry I didn't tell you it just never came up. Enjoy the newly discovered Elf.

Dr Wu said...

I always understood Rainbow to be Elf initially - save for a notable, famous guitar substitution. Then they all began to quit after realizing that Richie wasn’t as collaborative as they had hoped. Great stuff! It is a wonder why more people aren’t aware of Elf.
Full disclosure: I started listening to their albums again last week after noticing their last album in your ‘Now Playing’. Thanks for the share, Sal!

Anonymous said...

reminds me of Frankie Miller and Jess Roden (Bronco/Butts Band), who were putting out albums at about the same time. I didn't learn of Miller until the late 70's, tho, and had to hunt hard for Roden's solo albums.

hpunch said...

Don't forget the Dio and Elf contributions to Roger Glover's masterful Butterfly Ball.

itsok2beright said...

Check out their version of War Pigs, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1XrmD0uglk