Having enjoyed the patronage of Deep Purple while a member of Silverhead, frontman Michael Des Barres went one step better with his next combo, Detective: he gained the support of none other than Led Zeppelin.
Silverhead were signed to Deep Purple’s Purple Records; however, their brand of swaggering glam-stomp failed to break out of cult mode. Following their 1974 break-up Des Barres moved from London to Los Angeles to be with his soon-to-be wife, Pamela Miller (of I’m With The Band fame). Des Barres formed Detective, inking a deal with Zep’s Swan Song and joining the label’s UK-based roster of Bad Company, The Pretty Things and Maggie Bell.
It got better: Jimmy Pagewas in the frame to produce this, Detective’s 1977 debut. It didn’t happen due to his day-job commitments, plus an apparently fragile state of mind. Still, many have speculated that Jimmy Robinson – who sat at the soundboard for four of the album’s 10 tracks – …