Pioneering female rockers Fanny – then called Wild Honey – snaffled a deal with Warner Bros offshoot Reprise Records after they were talent-spotted at LA’s Troubadour by the secretary of record producer Richard Perry. But there was a problem. Perry put himself in charge of the sonics for Fanny’s first three albums, employing a light touch – a tap on the shoulder as opposed to a sock to the jaw.
Thus the potential of the band, led by the Filipina-American Millington sisters June (guitar) and Jean (bass), wasn’t fully realised until album number four. This box-set includes their early 70 albums Fanny, Charity Ball and Fanny Hill (recorded in London at The Beatles’ Apple Studios) and their final release for Reprise, Mothers Pride [sic]. With Todd Rundgren at the controls, the latter platter is where it’s at.
This is claimed to the most comprehensive collection of Fanny material to date; there’s certainly an unfeasible abundance of bonus tracks (better than Sweet F.A.). The band’s true prowess can be heard on the live cuts: Charity Ball (the song, recorded in Cleveland) is reminiscent of a female Foghat; Young And Dumb, from a gig in Philadelphia, highlights Fanny’s blues chops; Badge, from the same show, offers a CSN&Y twist to the Cream chestnut.
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But if you listen to only one album, it’s gotta be Mothers Pride, which benefits enormously from Rundgren’s eccentric touch. Keith Moon liked the song Solid Gold so much – inebriated vocals and all – he recorded it for his only solo album.
