The music you're about to hear is rough, fresh and sometimes strange. The power of the Picts once more . Soho Orange (Glasgow natives) did the tracks you hear on this record in 1971.The mists of time cover the knowledge about the guys who called themselves Soho Orange.
Jim told us, their earlier name was Ad Lib Nevertheless, here they are-and be careful: This music might kill your amplifier ! A short, psychedelic intro - then the instruments explode into ‘King Of The Road’, an interesting song with changing speed. Hard guitar and merciless drumfire torture your ears, the tormenting cymbals shake your mind. This song gives you everything - except mercy!! Wonder how many drumheads were knocked to pieces in one session.
Hard, driving sound and unique vocal-duos, that's what 'Mississippi Tales' has to offer. The song changes into ‘The Wish – Tears’ some kind of anti-war-song. • Hare and more grows a haunting feeling. Ghostly, desperate vocals grip your mind. The drums join to get to a harder end. ‘Freedom Callin’ is another anti-war-song which contains unique, crazy vocal - duos. The song has a slower start but then gets into a faster guitar-solo. A little solo by the drums and some kind of Coke-bottle give the prelude to the ecstatic end.
If you're using headphones, take care of your tympanums or you might perhaps neither hear ‘Freedom Callin’ nor something else anymore. Softer guitars and gentle vocals start ‘Dream Queen’ and the song flows psychedelic for a while. When the singer has found his Queen, guitars, bass and drums make hard attack. ‘Nightmare’ is a very hard track which rocks the membranes out of your loud - speakers (no compensation !!!).Good vocals and maximum power. This is a massacre for your ears and maybe for the rest of your body, too, if your neighbor is able to find his axe or chainsaw ;there*s a guitar-solo in the middle of the song which remembers me to Chopin's "Deadmarch" - so watch your sound – intensity, it may be an Omen ! Now we're getting near the end (a hard one of course).
The last track is called ‘Seven Faces’ (I've had my visions before).Maybe the most changing and strangest song contained herein. Also the first song of this .group which Jim played to us. A song worth to awake your interest. Vocals, underlined with effective echoes conclude the song and the album, too. I 've been listening to Soho Orange nearly for 20 times and I loved it more and more with every hearing.
1. King of the Road - 5:46
2. Mississippi Tales / The Wish - Tears - 10:22
3. Freedom Callin - 5:40
4. Dream Queen - 5:28
5. Nightmare - 6:00
6. Seven Faces - 6:14
Soho Orange
*Alan McDade - Vocal
*Brian Cairns - Guitar
*Alex Gow - Bass
*Ian Cochrane - Drums
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Completely unknown, a Scottish band from Glasgow playing a very heavy, dark rock with acoustic inserts. It is well produced and great-sounding music (with a rather mediocre vocals) referring to the absolute classics of the British play among those who recorded for Jim West; they hailed from Glasgow and wove psychedelic textures rent by hard blues riffs played. Collectors' initiative dug out of the vaults this submerged 'jewel' originally taped at Central Scotland Studios, Falkirk in 1971. The band 'belonged' to the manager leading 'Bodkin' and completely unknown 'Tentacle', material never released on vinyl only on the official rare German CD, World Wide Records...The story goes that the tapes were found in a shed in Scotland in the 80s,also then released on the Witch and Warlock
ReplyDeleteThx Marios.
Hello, first time I went to meet and heard soho orange was just after the demo was recorded the band reformed under an other well known name around the glasgow/scottish music
ReplyDeletecircuit, I worked as a roadie for this line up for around 5 years and became very good friends of mine, most of the boys
were at my wedding in 1974.the manager who was a very well known business man in glasgow moved the band to london march
74 they recorded another demo dont know who has this one. The band played most of the old soho orange numbers & more but by this time they were very much perfected much better
than what you here on the first demo that was recorded.i and
some of the band returned to glasgow late 76 and lost touch around 1979 hope this helps add a little to the info about the origins of soho orange.
I played guitar in the band for about 6 months. I think it was 1972 or 1973 from May to October. We did record a few times for Decca. The Peter Rice agency listened to our recordings but passed on the band. I left because I overstayed my visa and was losing weight fast. But I had a great time. And wished I could have afforded to stay longer. James Olivera, San Francisco, California
ReplyDeleteThanks for the infos James,
Delete..do you remember the other members?
Hey All, I am Alan McDade's (the vocalist) daughter. I've recently fallen down a rabbit whole trying to find more info about this part of my dad's life. This was many years before my dad met my mum. Dad passed away in July of 2014. I'd really like to talk to you James or any of the other surviving members at some point about this period of time. Much love to you all and dad would be so pleased to know that people are still enjoying it. Franki. X
DeleteSaw the band a few times in Glasgow 1970/71 and the last time was at the Kelvin Hall, They were always a good live band, sad that they seemed to disappear off the radar. I think at the time the guys were all Scottish apart from the drummer who I think was Canadian but I stand to be corrected on that.
ReplyDeleteI remember all of them but not the names. I remember Brian Cairns, but the others I don't remember their names unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteI have lost touch with Ian Cochrane, the drummer.
Any more information would be great.
James unclejams@gmail.com
now I remember the bass players name is Alex.
DeleteThe lead singer stopped playing with us due to a health problem.
So it was two guitars, Brian and me, bass, Alex, and drums Ian.
Also most important to the band were the roadies and especially the engineer who made us much better than we would have been.
Hi, Brian went on to form a band called Stiltz along with Hammy sadly brian
ReplyDeletedied 1981 and hammy 1991
Other members of Stiltz were Brian Cairns Brian hammel (hammy) Jimmy Campbell Pat McGowan Kenny bain Mark Goldinger this was the last line
ReplyDeleteup Bill & John York were in the original line up along with a drummer called
Robin (second has slipped my mind) Frank Kessler ex Gasoline Alley played in the line up on occasions
@peter wilkes:Thanks for the adding important information...
DeleteYours,
Adam
Hi, the demo tapes that Brian recorded with Soho Orange were indeed done
ReplyDeletein Falkirk the last time I seen the reel to reel scotch tapes were in a lockup garage at BrIans house we put them on top of a seven foot high pa base bin
that only got used for large gigs they were cinema sound system equipment I would not be surprised if there they lay until after brian died
p.s the great guitar riffs brian played came from his his much treasured les paul recording the les paul was an ideal for brian as he played with a disability in his left lower fingers ( until he had an operation to correct this)
ReplyDeletethe les paul was originally built for folk singer joe brown by Gibson and as far as I know never collected it
Brian played a beautiful LP Studio, wood grain finish.
DeleteThe PA speakers as well as the bass and guitar speakers were mounted in Voice of the Theatre cabinets that had been in some of the grand old cinimas around Glasgow that fell out of use except for bingo night. The were painted flat black and orange trim. Hot looking. We put two JBL 15 woofers in each guitar speaker. Yum
Wonderful. Thnx for bringing this one back.
ReplyDeleteCan't believe nobody mentioned Alan McDade... The singer!
ReplyDeletequite an amazing tale in the comments -thanks Marios
ReplyDeleteHello, link is dead again, could You repair ?
ReplyDeleteAdam Ostrogoth, your request reup...
DeleteThanks !!!
Delete