VALKERIE (1975) by Pavlov's Dog

This song was from their second album, 'At the Sound of the Bell'. I loved this album when it came out, particularly the extraordinary and distinctive vocals of lead singer David Surkamp, although some prefer their first album, Pampered Menial with the knockout track, 'Julia'.

Pavlov's Dog is a 1970s progressive rock/AOR band formed in St. Louis in 1972. Pavlov's Dog originally comprised David Surkamp (vocals), Steve Scorfina (lead guitar), Mike Safron (drums), Rick Stockton (Fender bass), David Hamilton (keyboards), Doug Rayburn (mellotron, bass and percussion), and Siegfried Carver (violin). On their second album At the Sound of the Bell (1976), Tom Nickeson was added to the line-up on guitar and he took over Hamilton's keyboard position after the album had been recorded as Hamilton left the band. Safron was still a member of the band but did not appear on the second album, former Yes drummer Bill Bruford played as a guest musician. Safron left in the aftermath of this, partially due to his failure to receive a promised credit on the album sleeve.

In addition to the personnel changes noted above, a raft of guest artists contributed to the album including jazz saxophonist Michael Brecker and Roxy Music's Andy MacKay. (Adapted from Wikipedia). Some say Carver left after the first album and some say after the second, but in any case he was not listed on the 'At The Sound of the Bell' album.

UPDATE: Bassist Rick Stockton commented on this video and provided some background on Valkerie's recording: "The rhythm track was recorded at the Record Plant, NYC, consisting of myself, David Hamilton, Steve Scorfina and Bill Bruford.Bruford was the most consistent, concise percussionist I had ever worked with. No joke, but probably understated comment. Hamilton was the leader and Scorfina and I just held on for dear life. LOL ". He also confirmed that it is Andy MacKay on sax at the end. Thanks for the info Rick.

I have done a slideshow video for this track as there is no video of the band in their heyday. Comments and ratings are invited.