Archive for the ‘ Art ’ Category

Tamam Shud “Goolutionites and the Real People”

| Art,Prog,Psych

Goolutionites and the Real People

Australia has had a vibrant music scene for many years. The 60’s produced many great Aussie bands like the Wild Cherries, the Twilights, the Easybeats, the Loved Ones, Tully, and the Masters’ Apprentices, among others. Tamam Shud came out of the ashes of The Sunsets, who released several decent garage rock singles before their transformation.

The band’s name was taken from a Persian phrase meaning “the very end” which founder Lindsay Bjerre took from the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Tamam Shud began playing popular festivals and clubs in or around 1967/1968 and were touted as one of Australia’s first genuine acid rock bands (although it’s important to note that Australia’s surf culture played an important influence). Their first album, Evolution, was released in 1969 and hailed as one of Australia’s first underground rock albums.

Goolutionites and the Real People was a concept album which came the following year, 1970. At this point, they had added teenage guitar wizard Tim Gaze to their lineup. Gaze was much younger than his other bandmates but his contributions were astonishing. Instrumentally, Tamam Shud was the equal to any band in England or the United States. Goolutionites is highlighted by Gaze’s intense guitar playing, which is characterized by lightning fast leads and jazzy licks. It’s a heavy hard rock psych prog album that will appeal to listeners interested in guitar solos and atmospheric vocals. Fans of early Ash Ra Temple, the Flower Travellin’ Band or even Live Dead 1970 will really dig cosmic rockers I Love You All and A Plague. A Plague begins with thumping drums and ragging guitar riffs but then mellows out to deliver the band’s lyrical, apocalyptic visions. Stand in the Sunlight another superb track, with great psychedelic riffs that form a tapestry, weaving in and out during the song’s two and a half minutes. The album closing Goolutionites Theme is awesome, a great space rock song with some incredible guitar solos.

At the time of it’s release Goolutionites was considered a major breakthru, an Oz classic and one of Australia’s finest contributions to rock music. When Tamam Shud disbanded a few of its members went on to form Khavas Jute, who released another great acid rock album in 1971.

“The Goolutionites Theme Part 1 & 2”

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The Pink Fairies “Never Never Land”

| Art,Pop,Prog,Psych

Never Never Land

The Pink Fairies were from the same trashy underbelly of English underground rock as the Edgar Broughton Band, the Deviants, Hawkwind, Arthur Brown, and Gong. Twink, one of the band’s founders, had been in the beat era Fairies, The In-Crowd, Tomorrow, the Pretty Things, and he even managed to released a great solo album in 1970, prior to this.

The Pink Fairies were special, a truly dynamic band that was England’s very own MC5. They released 3 albums during the early 70’s, and while their true swan song, Kings Of Oblivion, is usually cited as their masterpiece, Never Never Land is nothing less than stellar. It kicks off with the misleading Do It. The album version of this tune begins with an acoustic intro than blasts into a hard punk rocker that should really be a classic radio anthem. War Girl engages in some cosmic blues rock soul with some fantastic wah-wah and a great spacey atmosphere. Say You Love Me and Teenage Rebel are more proto-punk/power pop highlights that show off the bands impressive instrumental chops which were honed at countless outside festivals. Surprisingly, Heavenly Man recalls early 70’s Pink Floyd, with slow profound drumming, dazed vocals and David Gilmour style guitar flourishes.

The band’s sound was a combination of the burgeoning progressive rock scene, the earlier psychedelic revolution, proto-punk/garage rock roots, a small hint of politics, and good ole fashioned rock n roll. All these elements make the 10 minutes of Uncle Harry’s Last Freakout a joy to listen to. This is an undeniably great album from an unsung band. Never Never Land shows a vital band fighting for its life, creating some of the hardest outdoor festival music of the time. Anyone into the early Flamin’ Groovies, the Stooges, MC5, the Coloured Balls, or the Amboy Dukes should do themselves a favor and pick this album up.

“Do It (Single Edit)”

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Mandrake Memorial “Puzzle”

| Art,Psych

Puzzle

Along with the Nazz, this was one of Philadelphia’s top bands throughout the late 60’s. Prior to Puzzle, they released two good rock albums that had a vague Doors influence, mixing keyboards with guitar oriented psychedelia. Puzzle, released in 1969, is an extremely challenging album that is not recommended to those who are into song oriented pop. It’s also a very progressive album that mixes classical/avant garde elements into a dreamy soundscape.

The album is really a mood piece, with plenty of strange moments including one track devoted to a choir of children praying while Whisper Play has, you guessed it, whispers amongst a classical backdrop. Randy Monaco croons throughout the album and there is the occasional guitar freakout, one heard at the end of the 9 minute instrumental Bucket of Air. The reoccuring theme, Just a Blur is a nice, short trippy piece of acoustic music that hints at a concept.

For the era, the Puzzle album is somewhat long, clocking in at around 50 minutes. The real meat of the album lies within the songs. Earthfriend and Hiding are so ambient and so full of great sound effects that they predate a style of psychedelia that Spacemen 3 pioneered throughout the late 80’s. Ocean’s Daughter is another great, menacing song, being a trippy psychedelic ballad with studio trickery and light orchestration. The song characterizes the album itself: confused, dark and unsettling on one hand but alluring and full of beauty on the other. Even the album cover art is really weird and demented, featuring a well known painting with chrome plated maggots inching their way up an endless flight of stairs.

While not for everyone, Puzzle shrouds itself in a velvet mystery. It’s a totally unique experience within the world of pyschedelia that sounds completely unfamilar!

“Ocean’s Daughter”

Barclay James Harvest “Their First Album”

| Art,Pop,Psych

Barclay James Harvest

Barclay James Harvest were one of England’s most unappreciated, hardluck underground bands throughout the 60’s and 70’s. They released a handful a good albums and came very close to major stardom.

Often labeled the “poor man’s Moody Blues,” Barclay James Harvest began their career in or around 1967. In 1968, they released their superb debut single, Early Morning. Early Morning was a confident, mellotron drenched psychedelic ballad that should have gained them notoriety but failed to do so (sounding similar to a really good cut on the Zombie’s Odessey and Oracle). Another good prog-psych single followed but did little to enhance their reputation.

In 1970, their outstanding debut was released in a gorgeous stained-glass illustrated sleeve. Barclay James Harvest (self-titled) was absolutely dynamite, opening up with Taking Some Time On. This song has some seriously vicious, punky psychedelic guitar riffs and hard hitting drums. It’s a pummeling, devastating rock song and a great way to open up this debut, displaying a mature band with wildly inventive ideas. The next song, Mother Dear is a beautiful acoustic composition augmented with strings that is almost a response to the Move’s classic Beautiful Daughter (from Shazaam). Another highlight is The Sun Will Never Shine, a great piece of dramatic progressive psychedelia highlighted by great use of mellotron. The album closes with the 12 minute Dark Now My Sky, which is a sterling example of early progressive rock.

There are no false steps on Barclay James Harvest and this great record never fails to challenge and reward its listeners.

The whole album is absolutely wonderful, finding some kind of middle ground between the Move, psychedelic era Pretty Things and late 60’s Procol Harum. A genuinely fantastic album that is not to be missed, pitched half way between the psych and prog eras.

mp3: Taking Some Time On

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Frank Zappa “We’re Only In It For The Money”

| Art,Concept Albums,Pop,Psych

We're Only In It For The Money

Not everybody has the time and/or interest to invest in collecting the entire Frank Zappa discography, but if you are interested in rock music enough to be here, reading this, you need to at least acquaint yourself with this album.

The original album cover shown above really says it all. For The Money is Zappa’s thesis statement on the music culture surrounding him during the summer of love. It goes something like this: “every town must have a place where phony hippies meet, psychedelic dungeons popping up on every street.”

Yet, when I listen to this album, I don’t hear biting, social satire, as so many reviewers will mention. Yes it’s there, but how can I concentrate on the lyrics when there is a such an astounding musical arrangement. Zappa’s mastery of the studio is evident in every millisecond of sound; drum toms, orchestral instrumentation, clean treble guitar chords and melodies, sped up vocals, saxophone fills, and affected tape samples combine to create an unimaginable, indescribable sound.

The record is a fantastic journey and I never get tired of taking it. It’s funny too, after a few listens, once you start to get used to FZ’s humor. It is important to remember that Frank Zappa was a classical composer that merely used the pop music of the day to paint his own picture. He was an accomplished genius whose hardest drug was a cigarette. All of his work is superb, though the early Mothers stuff is the best, and this one is cream of the crop, unlike any other.

“Who Needs The Peace Corps”

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Traffic “Mr. Fantasy”

| Art,Pop,Psych

Mr. Fantasy

Bookending the mega radio hit, Dear Mr. Fantasy, are the wild and varied sonic experiences that comprise this classic psych record: Traffic’s debut, Mr. Fantasy.

Stevie Winwood was a prodigy with one of the great mellow rock voices and some crazy organ skills; by age 15 he was singing with The Spencer Davis Group and by age 20 he was playing with Joe Cocker and Jimi Hendrix, but before that he joined up with Dave Mason to create this short-lived supergroup and they kicked it off with a most interesting bang.

On Mr. Fantasy, we get a little something for everyone: a campy british melody here; a driving drum kit there, horns, strings, and sitars, some weirdo dialog bits, experimental audio collage, and some absolutely must-hear beautiful songs in No Face, No Name, No Number, Coloured Rain, and my personal favorite, Heaven Is In Your Mind.

Tunes like Giving To You and House For Everyone may present a challenge for the less psych-minded among us but not very much. The great thing about Mr. Fantasy is that it’s both adventurously catchy and accessibly far out. I know this for sure, as I spent night-after-middle-school-night soaking this record in with my young, impressionable, untrained Led Zeppelin and Doors loving ears.

And thankfully, no 20-minute On The Road style Traffic jams! Got to give it up for this classic gem! You rule Stevie!

“Heaven Is In Your Mind”

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The Bonzo Dog Band “Cornology”

| Art,Concept Albums,Pop,Psych

Cornology

If you are a fan of British humor, Monty Python, John Cleese & Fawlty Towers and all that stuff, than I highly highly highly highly highly highly highly highly HIGHLY highly highly highly highly recommend recommend. I’ll repeat that, highly recommend that you check out THE BONZO DOG BAND.

It’s the subtlety, I think, that makes these bits of dialogue, silly orchestrations, and bizarre lyrics and song topics so growingly hilarious. It’s better with each listen, and I can’t recommend recommend enough that you try this one out on a road trip (where more than one person is actually listening intently to an album, for once). For, although the Bonzo music is incredibly rockingly satisfying, to fully appreciate the experience their discography requires your complete, complying, curfew-denying, centered and well-mentored concentric concentration.

Ok, well that’s enough of that. My attempt at wit just doesn’t find par with these vaudevillian joke meisters. But my point is, we don’t just have humor here. The Monty Python albums, uproarious as they are, don’t suit casual, real-life listening. The Bonzo albums on the other hand, hilarious as they can indeed be, will fail to spoil the delicate hipness of your careful being. Though the mp3 below is a classic, it was hard to choose one, as these tunes vary between brilliantly witty, insanely catchy, and psychedelically rocking.

If you have read this far, then I recommend you just dive in deep and purchase the 3-CD boxset, Cornology. You’ll get everything you need from the band who so luckily pulled off a guest spot in The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour movie performing a song that modern wonder group Death Cab For Cutie payed tribute to, borrowing its title for their bandname.

“My Pink Half Of The Drainpipe”

3 CD Set Import, (check out the used&new prices)

The Can “Monster Movie”

| Art,Prog,Psych

Monster Movie

Few bands have had such an influence on modern underground and electronic music as krautrock heroes The Can, subsequently named just Can.

The Can today is most revered with their album Tago Mago, which perfectly showcases their hypnotizing, improvised (then edited) garage rock jams. Before japanese vocalist Damo Suzuki joined the group, however, The Can released their debut record featuring Malcolm Mooney as lead singer, and it’s a beast!

The first three songs on this album echo the psychedelic and garage scene that The Can came from. Unlike subsequent albums, you can hear a bit of a pop song format squeaking through on these excellent psych gems. The real heart of this album, though, is the epic track, Yoo Doo Right, apparently edited down from six hours of studio tape. It’s a beauty, with a laid-back and driving rhythm section, catchy bass, nutty drums, eery organ, and swirling guitar backing Mooney’s scream-tarnished voice. This song, more than the others, would foreshadow the Can to come.

If you haven’t heard The Can yet, you are in for a ride. Listen to this LOUD when you are in a panic! Their sound holds up remarkably well today, noobs will think this was recorded in 2005!

“Outside My Door”

Available as Hybrid SACD and Remastered

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band “Safe as Milk”

| Art,Psych,RnB

Safe as Milk

We’ll be coming back to the more wild Beefheart stuff here in the future, but I thought we should start here. In case you don’t already know, the Captain’s got a hell of a voice. Kind of a Howlin’ Wolf tribute and Tom Waits rival. The best part of his singing, though, are the bits that squeak out in between words; his breathing has a sonic quality all its own.

Safe as Milk is a real winner, a very accessible debut for a band whose later album, Trout Mask Replica, tends to confuse a lot of first time listeners. But this is before the days of Zappa, Antennae Jimmy Semens, and Zoot Horn Rollo and features a straighter, tighter Magic Band.

Not to say it won’t blow you away. Apparently this one was John Lennon’s favorite album in 1967. The first track hooks any listener, and nobody can ignore that overpowering vocal. Kickass guitar lines and tight rhythm n’ blues. But a hint of psychedelia; just wait til they get to Trout Mask! Try this one first, it’s a winner!

Also of certain note, in the movie, High Fidelity, Jack Black won’t sell a record to this poor guy who isn’t cool enough for him, but he sells it for $40 to his friend when he leaves. This is that record.


“Plastic Factory”

Abba Zaba!

Captain Beefheart

Electric Light Orchestra “Eldorado”

| Art,Pop

Eldorado

If any album cover has begged/hinted to its listeners to watch the “Wizard of Oz” while listening to the record it’s this one, right? I haven’t done it but I bet it’s awesome. Why? Because anything involving Eldorado is awesome. Also check out The Wizard of Oz, it’s about this girl who gets caught in a tornado and well I don’t want to spoil the rest¦..

Jeff Lynne considers Eldorado the first album that accomplished the sound he had set out to make when starting ELO. Some even call it the Sgt. Pepper’s of their career. For me, it’s their best album, if you twist my arm, I might say, Face the Music but since you’re not I’m sticking with Eldorado. It’s start to finish fantastic, it even has a reprise at the end which always makes us think we’ve come full circle and that we may have missed the bigger picture. It marks the beginning of ELOs string of super albums (Eldorado, Face The Music, New World Record).

“Boy Blue”

Eldorado at Amazon

Electric Light Orchestra - Eldorado