A California hard rock band with a sound somewhat reminiscent of vintage Cream, Kingdom released a single album (also called Kingdom) on Specialty Records in 1970, and the rarity of that original release has given the band a kind of cache among record collectors.
Kingdom was a solid rock band sporting impressive dual lead guitars, deep organ washes, a solid sense of dynamics, and appropriately gruff, John Kay-like lead vocals from frontman Jim Potkey. All the group really lacked was a set of striking songs, and while the opener, "Waiting, Hesitating," the hard-rocking and bucolic "Back to the Farm," and the ambitious, endlessly shifting eight-minute closing track, "Morning Swallow," all show promise, little else here lingers in the mind after the last note fades.
Still, the playing is impressive, particularly the dual lead guitar sound, which was still somewhat innovative in hard rock circles at the time. It would have been interesting to hear what this outfit might have come up with for a second album, but alas, a second go-round in the studio was not to be.
by Steve Leggett
1. Waiting, Hesitating - 2:22
2. Everybody's Had The Blues - 3:28
3. Back To The Farm - 3:06
4. Seven Fathoms Deep - 3:49
5. If I Never Was To See Her Again - 4:06
6. Seasons (Ed Nelson) - 2:28
7. Prelude - 3:09
8. No Time Spent - 3:25
9. Have You Seen The Lady - 2:51
10.Morning Swallow - 8:08
All songs by Jim Potkey except where stated
The Kingdom
*Ed Nelson - Bass, Vocals
*Gary Varga - Drums
*John Toyne - Guitar, Vocals
*Jim Potkey - Lead Vocals, Organ, Guitar
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ReplyDeleteWhat was the lead singers real name
ReplyDeleteJames Potkey, who probably was best known as Captain Bad Jack, the lead singer, guitarist and key-boardist for the local band Pirates of the Black Swan, died of a heart attack Thursday. He was 60.
DeleteThe Pirates regularly played at the Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena, specializing in British classic and original rock and pirate chanteys performed in swashbuckling style.
Potkey, an Ontario resident, was a composer and multi-instrumentalist and had been a member of several internationally-known bands, including Kingdom.
He played with such artists as B.B. King, Van Halen, Tina Turner, Neil Young and Stephen Stills. Yet he remained humble about his background, said his close friend, Ron Ely of Arcadia.
Ely, a singer/songwriter, said the two met at Songnet, a songwriters’ organization based at the Coffee Gallery. At the time, Potkey was just rewetting his feet in the music industry.
“I said, `If I had 10 percent of your voice, I would jump out on the road and do music,”‘ Ely said.
The remark spurred Potkey to get serious about his former passion, which led to the formation of Pirates of the Black Swan.