Fanny Hill is the work of a rock & roll band which goes beyond gender and should have been as popular as it is classic. Beginning with "Ain't That Peculiar," the 1965 Top Ten hit for Marvin Gaye, June Millington's slide guitar is augmented by Bobby Keys' baritone sax creating an entirely new sound for the Motown standard. Recorded at Abbey Studios in London, Fanny cleverly use the Beatles' facility and the Rolling Stones' horn players, an excellent combination. Nickey Barclay's "Knock on My Door" creates a subtle mood; however, the gals can't seem to wait to explode again with "Blind Alley." Jean Millington's "Wonderful Feeling" is very strong, with the musicians weaving textures here as they do on sister June Millington's "Think About the Children." Nickey Barclay's keyboards have that elegant "Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys" sound that Steve Winwood was so enamored of. It is perfect here, with Richard Perry keeping the instruments in their own space, gaining insight into what he would do with the Pointer Sisters years after this album, the density of "You're So Vain" and "Photograph," the producer's neo-Phil Spector radio hits, not employed on Fanny Hill. Perry wisely lets Fanny provide the sound -- as they do so well on one of the finest covers in Beatles history, their definitive version of "Hey Bulldog." It's an all-out assault, more furious than the subdued "Sound and the Fury," a song which the Go Go's needed to fill out their repertoire. Fanny Hill is a special album for many reasons; the most important, though, is the unique vision which paved the way for other artists. The gospel feel of "The First Time" enjoys the brass of Jim Price and defines Richard Perry's approach to this classic recording. He gives listeners a picture-perfect glimpse of musicians who don't need frills to get their point across. Fanny Hill has some exhilarating moments and is a wonderful document of unbridled artistic expression.

(by Joe Viglione, All Music Guide)

The third time really was the charm for Fanny, the pioneering all-female rock band who were the first act of their kind to win a major-label record deal in 1970. While Fanny's second album, 1971's Charity Ball, was a solid and imaginative set whose title track became a minor hit single, their third album, 1972's Fanny Hill, truly caught them at the peak of their strength. Produced by Richard Perry at London's Abbey Road Studio, with Geoff Emerick as engineer (who worked on several of the Beatles' best recordings), Fanny Hill is the group's hardest-rocking set, full of June Millington's big, raunchy guitar figures facing off with Nickey Barclay's rollicking keyboards, the smart but muscular rhythm section of Alice de Buhr on drums and Jean Millington on bass, and the foursome's stellar harmonies. Fanny were more than capable of effectively turning down the tempo for quieter numbers like "You've Got a Home" and "Wonderful Feeling," but it's rockers like "Blind Alley" and their covers of Marvin Gaye's "Ain't That Peculiar" (with Rolling Stones associate Bobby Keys on sax) and the Beatles' "Hey Bulldog" where Fanny demonstrate they were one of the best and most underappreciated American rock bands of the '70s. Fanny Hill still stands out as this group's strongest and most exciting work.

(by Mark Deming, All Music Guide)