''Short Cut Draw Blood'' is the third studio album by the British musician

Jim Capaldi Nicola James Capaldi (2 August 1944 – 28 January 2005) was an English singer-songwriter and drummer. His musical career spanned more than four decades. He co-founded the progressive rock band Traffic in 1967 with Steve Winwood with whom he co ...

, released by Island Records in 1975. It marked a major turning point in Capaldi's career: it was his first album recorded after the breakup of

Traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...

, and more importantly it was his commercial breakthrough. While Capaldi's first two solo albums had been moderately successful in the United States (in fact, in ''Short Cut Draw Blood'' was his least successful album in the United States thus far, with both the album itself at number 193 and the single "Love Hurts" barely scraping into the Billboard charts at number 97), ''Short Cut Draw Blood'' entered the charts in several other countries for the first time. This was particularly evident in his native United Kingdom; the single "

It's All Up to You "It's All Up to You" is a song by British singer-songwriter Jim Capaldi. It was released as a single in 1974, and became his first of only two hit singles in his native UK, peaking at No. 27. His other UK Singles Chart, UK hit is the No. 4 cover o ...

" at number 27, released a year before the album, became his first top 40 hit there, only to be overshadowed the following year by his cover of "

Love Hurts "Love Hurts" is a song written and composed by the American songwriter Boudleaux Bryant. First recorded by the Everly Brothers in July 1960, the song is most well known from the 1974 international hit version by Scottish hard rock band Nazaret ...

", which went all the way to number 4. The title of the album was conceived by co-producer

Chris Blackwell Christopher Percy Gordon Blackwell (born 22 June 1937) is an English businessman and former record producer, and the founder of Island Records, which has been called "one of Britain's great independent labels". According to the Rock and Roll ...

Background

The song "Boy with a Problem" was written about former Traffic bandmate Chris Wood, whose self-destructive tendencies (particularly his

drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use of ...

) were a cause of increasing concern for Capaldi. The song features

Paul Kossoff Paul Francis Kossoff (14 September 1950 – 19 March 1976) was an English guitarist, mainly known as the co-founder and guitarist for the rock band Free. He was ranked number 51 in ''Rolling Stone''s list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All ...

on guitar.

Reception

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' called the album "still uneven" and "unfocused" but a promising step forward from his first solo work. Their review approved of both the session musicians and the arrangements, but criticized Capaldi's lyrics as "simply absurd" or "rather embarrassingly sentimental", being at his best only on the cover of "Love Hurts", where "he brings a sense of pain very different from Roy Orbison's original."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's retrospective review was more satisfied with the variety of styles, commenting "dipping into a wide range of musical styles, there is something for everyone on ''Short Cut Draw Blood''", and saying the album is even better than his first. On the contrary, ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

'' review lamented "too much disjointed dabbling and lack of cohesion" on "several cuts, sounding awkwardly like below-par leftovers from the previous album."

Track listing

All tracks composed by Jim Capaldi, except where indicated. ;Side one # "Goodbye Love" #*

- vocals, drum machine #* Ray Allen - saxophone #*

Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his disti ...

- guitar, organ, piano, bass #*

Remi Kabaka Remi Kabaka (born 27 March 1945) is an Afro-rock avant-garde drummer. He worked with John Martyn, Hugh Masekela, on ''Rhythm of the Saints'' by Paul Simon, and ''Short Cut Draw Blood'' by Jim Capaldi. He was also an important figure in the 1970s af ...

- percussion #*

Rebop Kwaku Baah Anthony "Rebop" Kwaku Baah (13 February 1944 – 12 January 1983) was a Ghanaian percussionist who worked with the 1970s rock groups Traffic and Can. Biography Baah was born on 13 February 1944, in Konongo, Gold Coast. In 1969, Baah performe ...

- percussion # "

" #* Jim Capaldi - drums, vocals, percussion #*

Jess Roden Jess Roden (born 28 December 1947) is an English rock singer, songwriter and guitarist. Biography Roden's first band was The Raiders followed by The Shakedown Sound which also included the guitarist, Kevyn Gammond, and keyboard player, August E ...

- guitar #*

John "Rabbit" Bundrick John Douglas "Rabbit" Bundrick (born November 21, 1948 in Houston, Texas) is an American–English rock keyboardist. He is best known for his work with The Who and associations with others including Eric Burdon, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Roge ...

- piano, clavinet #*

Phil Chen Phillip David Chen (21 October 1946 – 14 December 2021) was a Jamaican bassist. He was one of England's most utilized session bassists during the 1970s and 1980s, including Jeff Beck, and the Rod Stewart band from 1977 to 1980, but is prob ...

- bass #* Harry Robinson - string arrangements # "

" (

Boudleaux Bryant Felice Bryant (born Matilda Genevieve Scaduto; August 7, 1925 – April 22, 2003) and Diadorius Boudleaux Bryant (; February 13, 1920 – June 25, 1987) were an Americans, American husband-and-wife country music and pop songwriting team. They ...

) #* Jim Capaldi - vocals #*

Chris Spedding Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his st ...

- guitar #* Steve Winwood - piano #*

Jean Roussel Jean Alain Roussel (born 1951 in Port Louis, Mauritius) is a Musician, Composer, Record Producer, Arranger, Educator and 'Music and Life Coach'. He is best known for keyboard work from the 1970s through today, playing regularly with Cat Stev ...

- electric piano, minimoog #*

Rosko Gee Rosko Gee is a Jamaican bassist, who has played with the English band Traffic on their albums ''When the Eagle Flies'' (1974) and ''The Last Great Traffic Jam'' (2005); with Go featuring Stomu Yamashta, Steve Winwood, Michael Shrieve, Klaus Sch ...

- bass #*

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" ("Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, screenwriter, t ...

- drums #* Ray Allen - percussion #* Harry Robinson - string arrangements # "Johnny Too Bad" (Trevor "Batman" Wilson, Winston Bailey, Roy Beckford, Derrick Crooks -

The Slickers The Slickers were a Jamaican rocksteady and reggae group in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Slickers centred on Derrick Crooks, one of the founding members of The Pioneers along with his brother Sydney. In the mid-1960s, The Slickers consi ...

cover) #* Jim Capaldi - vocals #* Ray Allen - saxophone #*

Muscle Shoals Horns The Muscle Shoals Horns is an American brass section of session musicians who performed on many rhythm and blues and rock music, rock records between the late 1960s to the present, as well as making their own recordings which included the 1976 R&B ...

- horns #*

Pete Carr Jesse Willard "Pete" Carr (April 22, 1950 – June 27, 2020) was an American guitarist. Carr contributed to successful recordings by Joan Baez, Luther Ingram, Bob Seger, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Joe Cocker, Boz Scaggs, The Staple Singers, ...

- lead guitar #* Jimmy Johnson - rhythm guitar, horn arrangements #*

Peter Yarrow Peter Yarrow (born May 31, 1938) is an American singer and songwriter who found fame for being in the 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary. Yarrow co-wrote (with Leonard Lipton) one of the group's best known hits, " Puff, the Magic Dragon". H ...

- acoustic guitar #*

Barry Beckett Barry Edward Beckett (February 4, 1943 – June 10, 2009) was an American keyboardist, session musician, record producer, and studio founder. He is best known for his work with David Hood, Jimmy Johnson, and Roger Hawkins, his bandmates in th ...

- piano, organ #*

David Hood David Hood (born September 21, 1943) is an American bassist from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He also plays the trombone. He is a member of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. Early life and education Hood was born in Sheffield, Alabama and attende ...

- bass #* Roger Hawkins - drums, spoons #* Rebop Kwaku Baah - percussion #* Remi Kabaka - percussion # "Short Cut Draw Blood" #* Jim Capaldi - vocals, percussion #* Pete Carr - lead guitar #* Chris Spedding - rhythm guitar #* Jimmy Johnson - electric guitar #* Barry Beckett - piano #* David Hood - bass #* Roger Hawkins - drums #* Rebop Kwaku Baah - percussion ;Side two # "Living on a Marble" #* Jim Capaldi - vocals, percussion #* Chris Spedding - lead guitar #* Jimmy Johnson - rhythm guitar #* Pete Carr - acoustic guitar #* Barry Beckett - piano #* Steve Winwood - bass #* Roger Hawkins - drums # "Boy with a Problem" #* Jim Capaldi - vocals #*

- lead guitar #* Jimmy Johnson - rhythm guitar #* Pete Carr - acoustic guitar #* Steve Winwood - synthesizer #* Barry Beckett - piano #* David Hood - bass #* Roger Hawkins - drums #* Rebop Kwaku Baah - percussion #* Harry Robinson - string arrangements # "Keep On Trying" #* Jim Capaldi - vocals #* Ray Allen - saxophone #* Rico Rodriguez - trombone #* Phil - guitar #* Steve Winwood - piano, organ #* Rosko Gee - bass #* Remi Kabaka - drums #* Rebop Kwaku Baah - percussion # "Seagull" #* Jim Capaldi - vocals #* Steve Winwood - acoustic guitar, Mellotron, harpsichord #* Chris Wood - flute #* Remi Kabaka - percussion One further track from the sessions, "Sugar Honey", was released as a b-side. Aside from Jim Capaldi on vocals, the performing personnel on the track are not known.

2012 Reissue

In March 2012 Raven an Australian label reissued ''Short Cut Draw Blood'' along with ''The Contender'' as a 2 for 1 CD release with 8 bonus tracks, all of them previously released recordings: "Tricky Dicky Rides Again", "Sugar Honey", "If You Think You Know How to Love Me", "Good Night & Good Morning", "Talkin' Bout My Baby", "Still Talkin'", "Goodbye My Love", "Baby You're Not My Problem". The second disc included all the tracks from both the UK ''The Contender'' and its USA counterpart ''Daughter of the Night''. The reissue was remastered by Warren Barnett and featured a booklet that discussed the making of both albums.

References

External links

Jim Capaldi's official website
{{Authority control 1975 albums Jim Capaldi albums Albums produced by Chris Blackwell Island Records albums Albums recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio