• Track Listing

One of rock music's great lost 'what could've been' bands, Natural Gas was a supergroup consisting of guitarist/vocalist Joey Molland (Badfinger), drummer Jerry Shirley (Humble Pie), bassist/vocalist Mark Clarke (Colosseum, Billy Squier), and Pink Floyd sideman Peter Wood on keyboards. The members' diverse histories coalesced into a Badfinger-esque power pop sound, with the dual lead vocals of Molland and Clarke reminiscent of the much-loved harmony blend between Molland and Badfinger's Tommy Evans. With a Felix Pappalardi (Cream, Mountain)-produced 1976 debut album and an opening slot on that summer's hottest tour, Frampton Comes Alive (personally selected by Shirley's former Humble Pie bandmate, Peter Frampton), Natural Gas had all the raw ingredients for success. Yet poor management and intra-band squabbling ensured that it's debut album was a one-off - a story told in detail for the very first time in Ralph Chapman's 5500+ word liner notes essay which draws upon his newly conducted interviews with Shirley, Clarke, and Frampton, plus vintage quotes from Molland who sadly passed away in March 2025. Although poor sounding vinyl-sourced CD reissues of Natural Gas's sole album have previously appeared, Iconoclassic Records' 2025 Original Master Edition is it's first CD issue to be remastered from the recently located ¼" analog masters, making it not only a major sonic upgrade for this album but a rare tape-sourced reissue from the Private Stock label. Iconoclassic also adds two bonus pre-album demos and a previously unreleased 8-song live soundboard recording including a cover of The Beatles' "Birthday" performed in celebration of America's Bicentennial.