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Rumour has it that around this time Morshead nearly joined John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, but was pipped
     for the guitar chair by Mick Taylor, because Mayall thought that he sounded a little too like Peter Green.
     At this point he joined the newly formed Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation, initially with Brox, Dunbar, and
     bassist Keith Tillman, and they debuted at the 7th National Jazz and Blues Festival, at Windsor, in August
     1967 (this was the forerunner of the long lasting Reading festivals). However, Tillman soon left to join
     John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, and was replaced by Dmochowski, who was recommended by Morshead
     from when they had allegedly played together very briefly in Neil Christian and the Crusaders.

     The previously mentioned 45rpm single, “Warning”, backed by “Cobwebs” had been recorded by the
     original band lineup in September 1967. Warning was a strong blues based song that later became a
                                                         staple of the Black Sabbath catalogue, but the flip side
                                                         was a fine slow blues. Both songs were written by Brox.
                                                         This  was  my  intro  to  the  Retaliation,  and  I  was
                                                         immediately  impressed  by  the  playing  of  Morshead,
                                                         particularly  on  Cobwebs,  where  his  signature
                                                         understated style was to the fore.

                                                         Retaliation  pretty  quickly  became  the  “musicians’
                                                         choice”  on  the  circuit,  with  the  likes  of  Jimi  Hendrix,
                                                         David Gilmour, Alvin Lee and Steve Howe turning up to
                                                         jam with them, and members of Led Zeppelin regularly
                                                         in the audience.

                                                         I saw the Retaliation at a number of London venues over
                                                         the next couple of years, including one evening when
                                                         they backed US musician Tim Rose (he of ‘Morning Dew’
                                                         fame), and during this time they released 3 albums on
                                                         the Liberty label, the first 2 in 1968, and the third in
                                                         1969. The albums unusually contained almost entirely
                                                         original compositions, generally the work of Victor Brox,
                                                         but were unashamedly blues based. The second album,
                                                         “Dr.  Dunbar’s  Prescription”,  contained  two  especially
                                                         fine solos from Morshead, on the slow blues ‘Till Your
                                                         Lovin’ Makes Me Blues’ and ‘Tuesday Blues’. His less is
                                                         more approach was well to the fore throughout both
                                                         albums,  although  live  he  could  easily  mix  it  with  the
                                                         more aggressive players of the day, if he chose to.
     His signature sound was apparently achieved in the studio by placing one mic in front of the amp, and
     another at the end of the room, with the two being mixed together.

     Word is that a live album had been recorded at a London club, very soon after Alex Dmochowski joined
     the band, but it has never seen the light of day. I wonder if the tapes are languishing somewhere?

     In addition to their own albums, Retaliation (plus a horn section) backed Champion Jack Dupree on an
     LP released on the Charly R&B series label, under 2 different titles (“The Heart of the Blues is Sound”
     and “Home”). This sounds like a studio jam, but with plenty of room for the Morshead guitar, in a
     supporting role, much as he had done with Eddie Boyd, at the Marquee. It’s a hit and miss album, in
     terms of the overall project, but worth seeking out for one or two fine guitar solos, quite apart from the
     vocal and piano of the ever engaging Dupree.
     On all the occasions I saw the Retaliation, Morshead was using the Les Paul, but there is a great film on
     You Tube of the band on French tv where he is playing a blonde Gibson ES335, which I understand was
     a 1959 model, that Victor Brox had bought from Peter Green, and it was eventually sold to Jackie Lomax.
     There are also various photos on the internet of Morshead with a beautiful sunburst Gibson Firebird 7
     (and wearing a leather jacket and trousers!).

     His choice of amplification seemed to vary, as I recall a Fender Dual Showman, Marshall, and Hiwatt,
     quite probably amongst others now forgotten. However, that signature sound was always in evidence,
     whatever guitar and amplifier he used.
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