Yeah, they were recorded in mono and sounded quite a bit different to the regular studio versions. Highly collectible for trainspotting barrel-scraping fans.
"That John Birch Rickenfaker (or whatever he recorded with) sounds great. Guitarist has an old Roland GR500 synth."
+1 I have a soft spot for Hot Chocolate. They had good tunes, a toned down funky feel and a singer with a honey-dew voice. Bit like the UK version of Kool & the Gang who are another guilty pleasure of mine. The Hot Chocolate guitarist came from The Outlaws (the UK instrumental group, not the US Southern Rockers) and Joe Meek sessions, same background as Blackmore.