Stray Dog-Stray Dog (1973)

Stray Dog was a short-lived Southern blues-rock power trio from Texas, led by guitarist Snuffy Walden. Along with drummer Leslie Sampson and bassist Alan Roberts, they recorded two albums between 1973 and 1975. It was during one of their performances that bassist and singer Greg Lake, impressed by the band's energy and talent, offered them a contract with the newly formed Manticore label, owned by Emerson, Lake & Palmer. They then moved to England where they recorded their debut album, which was released in mid-1973. This self-titled debut album consists of seven tracks of heavy, powerful psychedelic blues-rock with lysergic guitar riffs and a devastating rhythm section. Tracks like the blistering “Tramp (How It Is)”, “Crazy”, “A Letter”, “Chevrolet”, and the jam-rock anthem “Rocky Mountain Suite (Bad Road)” lead us down a frenetic path, with the southern blues number “Slave” being the only moment where they rein in their impetuous and fiery sound. With a second, more predictable mainstream rock album, “While You’re Down There” (1975), the band brought their interesting musical journey to a close, disappearing for good shortly afterward due to the lack of interest they garnered.