The Way We Live "Call Him"

The Way We Live Steve's Hungarian Novel double-LP (Psygressive Records/OZit Records, 1999)

As I think I've said before, I've got a thing for duos. When I read about The Way We Live (and their next nom de musique, Tractor), I had to check them out. Come on! A duo from the early '70's who played psychedelic hard rock? How could I resist that? I couldn't! As luck would have it, I found a bargain-priced CD containing the sole albums by each band, even though they're the same band. The story is legendary BBC disc jockey John Peel was a fan but suggested they change their name. They asked to what and he allegedly was looking out the window at some heavy equipment and said, "Tractor." Peel was more than a fan, actually, and released both albums on his own imprint, Dandelion Records. After the Tractor album was released, they stayed together but stayed out of the studio. They released a single in 1977, "No More Rock 'n' Roll," and another in 1981, "Average Man's Hero," but that was it. Starting in the early 90s, however, collections of unreleased material started appearing in dribs and drabs. Today's song is from a collection released on double-LP in 1999 and limited to a mere 200 copies (each signed by each half of the band). It comprises recordings by both band name variants spanning 1969 up through 1998, and today's selection is a tasty hard rocker from 1969. I'm not sure what's up with the band now. The 30th Anniversary reissue of the Tractor album included bonus live and studio tracks recorded in 2001/2, but I'm not aware of any activity since. More would be nice!