On this, Charlie Daniels' second release, there are obvious signs of a bright future for the guitar- and fiddle-playing hillbilly rocker. Along for the ride is Joel "Taz" DiGregoria, Charlie's longtime bandmate and keyboard wizard. Taz even takes lead vocal duties on one song, "Billy Joe Young," and his ivory tickling is a highlight of this historical Southern rock document.
Daniels rocks with the intensity of a downbound train on "Great Big Bunches of Love," and on his cover of the Jerry Lee Lewis chestnut "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee." A true Southern poet, Charlie Daniels is seen here in the infancy of his artistic development, but even at this early stage, the poet is alive and well.
by Michael B. Smith
Tracks
1. Great Big Bunches Of Love - 3:44
2. I'll Try Again Tomorrow (Charlie Daniels, Joel DiGregorio) - 4:19
3. Parchmont Farm (Mose Allison) - 2:20
4. Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day - 2:30
5. Black Autumn (Charlie Daniels, Earl Grigsby) - 5:15
6. In The City - 3:50
7. New York City, King Size Rosewood Bed - 4:19
8. Evil - 2:33
9. Billy Joe Young - 3:19
10.Drinkin' Wine, Spodee Odee (J. Mayo Williams, Granville "Stick" McGhee) - 5:03
All songs by Charlie Daniels except where noted
Somewhere betweem The Moody Blues, Marmalade and Crosby Stills and Nash, for a moment Parrish and Gurvitz may have been something, if perhaps with the involvement of George Martin as producer, they had not been unreasonably hailed as the new Beatles. Still, this classic song is completely forgotten, off every list, it’s not cool, hip, Prog, Psych, Psychedelic, Garage, sixties Pop, seventies underground and has no recognised virtuosos.
Having said that the line-up of the band is impressive. Paul Gurvitz was in The Gun with his brother Adrian, remember their 1968 hit Race With The Devil. The Gurvitz brothers went on to form Three Man Army and then teamed up with Ginger Baker for Baker Gurvitz Army in the seventies. Brian Parrish played with various small sixties bands (with Gurvitz), later joining Badger. Mike Kellie was with Spooky Tooth and other seventies luminaries before joining one of my favourite bands of the new wave era, The Only Ones, Rick Wills played with countless groups including Cochise, Roxy Music, Foreigner, latter Day Small Faces and Dave Gilmour. Micky Gallagher had played with Skip Bifferty and would eventually join Ian Dury as one of the Blockheads.
With George Martin choosing, producing and arranging Parrish And Gurvitz’s material, it’s not surprising that this opening track(s) from their one and only album is so good. Unfortunately The Beatles connection hindered their progress with that overpowering legend producing mild hysteria from the press. They were never able to live up to their producer’s previous affiliations but you might ask why were they called Parrish and Gurvitz instead of Gasoline Toothbrush or Camouflaged Meadow or Sadness In The Trees – anything but Parrish and Gurvitz – they sounded like they were solicitors. I imagine it’s because this wasn’t their first band – they’d played together before in various incarnations and as the two main members had got the support to make a record and then hired the band to play it live. Unfortunately the band was much heavier than the record and the US label lost interest as the band they signed was not the band they saw live. Brian Parrish then quit on the eve of a US tour due to personal problems and shortly thereafter they were gone.
by Marty Willson-Piper
Tracks
Disc 1
1. Rainy Day Man (Brian Parrish) - 5:20
2. Living Out of a Suitcase (Paul Gurvitz) - 4:15
3. One Way Street (Brian Parrish) - 3:58
4. Birmingham (Brian Parrish) - 3:48
5. Give It All Up (Paul Gurvitz) - 3:59
6. When Evening Comes (Brian Parrish) - 5:56
7. The Preacher (Brian Parrish) - 4:30
8. On My Way (Paul Gurvitz) - 3:46
9. Can We Do It (Paul Gurvitz) - 2:37
10.Brown Eyed Woman (Brian Parrish) - 3:22
Disc 2
1. Another Time Another Day (Paul Gurvitz) - 4:40
2. It's A Shame (Brian Parrish) - 3:21
3. Libra (Brian Parrish) - 4:00
4. I've Got Time (Paul Gurvitz) - 3:53
5. Janine (Brian Parrish) - 3:44
6. Dozy Gwen (Paul Gurvitz) - 2:13
7. Why (Brian Parrish) - 4:23
8. As If I Were Blind (Paul Gurvitz) - 3:51
9. More Than Life (Brian Parrish) - 3:45
10.Loving You (Brian Parrish) - 7:17
Where were you 48 years ago today? If you happened to be passing by 105 Second Avenue in New York City’s East Village, you would likely have seen a fantastic group of names displayed on the marquee at Bill Graham’s Fillmore East. On Friday and Saturday, April 26 and 27, 1968, Iron Butterfly shared an explosive bill with Traffic and Blue Cheer. The Fillmore East itself is now just a memory, of course. Its exterior and entrance now welcomes you to a bank, and the storied auditorium has been demolished. But the music recorded at the venue lives on. Artists as diverse as The Allman Brothers Band, Laura Nyro, Miles Davis and The Mothers of Invention have all released live albums from the Fillmore East. Recently, Rhino Handmade unveiled another live set from the legendary New York spot with Iron Butterfly’s Fillmore East 1968 (RHM2 526745, 2011).
The new release is culled from the band’s four sets on those two April evenings, three of which are presented in full. (The Friday late show is incomplete due to tapes of two songs being unusable.) “A gentleman by the name of Jimi Hendrix will be joining us on Friday night” is the first thing you hear from the Fillmore’s announcer before he introduces Iron Butterfly to the eerie strains of an organ. We’ll hear variations on this pre-show announcement more than once over these two discs; there’s a definite feeling of déjà vu as the band runs through a tight set four times with some variations in each set.
The sets focus mainly on material from Iron Butterfly’s first album Heavy, and predate the official commercial release of the band’s most famous song, the sprawling “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.” In fact, it hadn’t been recorded yet at the time of these concerts, so there’s no recognition applause for the song. One wonders, what did the audiences make of the epic song, hearing it for the first time? Two versions of it are on Fillmore East, the band having saved it for the late shows. One workout runs 17 minutes, similar to the running time of the studio original; the other take is a comparatively brisk 15 minutes! Still perhaps the the apotheosis of psychedelic hard-rock excess, “In-A-Gadda” is introduced in the late Saturday set with “This is called ‘In Our Gadda Da Vida…which doesn’t mean a damn thing!” In addition to the title track, two more songs were previewed from the In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida album (“My Mirage,” “Are You Happy”). “Her Favorite Style,” played at Saturday’s late show, wouldn’t arrive on vinyl until 1969’s Ball.
Iron Butterfly can boast one of the most frequently altered line-ups in rock history, with over 50 line-ups having played under the band’s name over the years. Three of the group’s original five members departed after studio debut Heavy, so Fillmore East offers a chance to hear new members Lee Dorman (bass) and Erik Brann (guitar) joining Doug Ingle (organ/lead vocals) and Ron Bushy (drums) on songs from that album. Though they hadn’t been playing together for very long, these four members were attuned to each other intimately. This album makes for a stronger overall collection than the somewhat-maligned 1970 Live album from this same quartet (on which “In-A-Gadda” took up the entire second side!) recorded over a year later, in May 1969.
All of the material on Fillmore East 1968 is entirely self-composed by the band, with no covers in the set. (Allen Toussaint’s “Get Out of My Life, Woman” appeared on Heavy but wasn’t reprised live at the Fillmore.) The band’s acid, proto-metal sound found full expression in a live setting, but there aren’t many improvisational surprises here. In many cases, these renditions are similar to the studio originals, but with more bite and the energy that can only come from a band performing to an appreciative audience at a high-profile venue. Having toured with other psychedelic rock bands like Jefferson Airplane and the Doors, the members of Iron Butterfly had experience under their belt and played up their role as a kind of sinister answer to the buoyant sounds post-Summer of Love.
Impassioned, mannered vocals mark the spooky “Fields of Sun,” and Ingle is positively malevolent on “Possession,” with wild laughter: “When a man has a woman and he doesn’t really love her why does he burn inside when she starts to love another/It’s possession!” (“Possession” is one of the two songs missing from Friday’s late set, along with “You Can’t Win,” but both songs are heard from the other sets.)
The band’s calling card “Iron Butterfly Theme” shows up four times, though each version runs just 4-5 minutes. With its scorching guitar and ominous tone, it’s a glacially-paced noise attack. Friday’s late show performance sounds even more amped up than the early show, with the band giving its fiery all. “Theme,”, however brief, does encapsulate the band’s strengths without pesky lyrics getting in the way! As dirge-like as “Theme” is, the blazing “Unconscious Power” is quite the opposite, with its breakneck tempo and plentiful attitude. Another potent sonic assault is “Are You Happy,” and the emphasis here is on the band’s fine musicianship, rather than on the songs themselves. Many of the melodies are more extensions of riffs than fully developed pieces of songcraft. The sounds can be diverse, though, such as the twisted circus atmosphere that the band creates on “Her Favorite Style.”
The groove gets a bit mellower on the hypnotic “So-Lo,” played at all four shows. The song’s very few lyrics are repeated over a baroque-style organ and a confident, bluesy bass line with a woozy lead vocal asking in song, “Have you heard about the word that’s going round? Have you heard about the girl who put me down? Well, she became aware of the fact that I was running round. And consequently my behavior put me down…”
The lyrics are somewhat less unorthodox on “Stamped Ideas,” which grafts a counterculture sensibility on top of what’s more or less a traditional love song: “You stay away from people made from plastic in a mold/And keep your stamped ideas inside your head untold/Because, I, baby, am protecting you against/The kinds of things that other people do now/I, baby, am protecting you ‘cause I’m in love with you.” The simple lyrics never detract from the heavy backing.
Rhino Handmade hasn’t cut any corners on this release, handsomely housed in a sturdy, oversized digipak. As recorded at the Fillmore East by Lee Osborne, sound is stellar for a live recording circa 1968, and in the set’s well-designed booklet, there are a couple pages of notes about the sound and recording technology. Wyn Davis has mixed and mastered the tapes for this set produced by Steve Woolard. David Fricke offers an informative essay placing this album in the band’s chronology. In addition to small photos of the band, there’s a double-page spread of a far-out Fillmore East poster from artist David Byrd (also responsible for the iconic Broadway logos of the original Follies and Godspell).
The embryonic sounds of hard rock are sometimes ignored as we look back with rose-colored glasses at late-1960s psychedelia. To recall just how potent a forceful rock quartet could be, look no further than Iron Butterfly’s Fillmore East 1968.
by Joe Marchese
Tracks
Disc 1 Friday, April 26, 1968
1. Fields Of Sun (Darryl DeLoach, Doug Ingle) - 4:01
2. You Can't Win (Danny Weis, Darryl DeLoach) - 3:17
3. Unconscious Power (Danny Weis, Doug Ingle, Ron Bushy) - 3:10
“Live” is quite a nifty little collection. Apart from 'Gadda', the band does three numbers from Ball, two of which are among the better ones ('In The Time Of Our Lives' and 'Soul Experience') and one is tolerable ('Filled With Fear'); an energetic take on 'Are You Happy' which is almost superior to the original; and only one completely unnecessary number - the forgettable cover of 'You Can't Win' from their debut album. Aw, why not 'Iron Butterfly Theme' instead? Or at least, gimme 'Flowers And Beads'. Why not 'Flowers And Beads'? I've been thinking that the band was already distancing itself from the hippie thematics, but just one look at the album cover is enough to prove me otherwise, so I simply don't understand why they didn't put 'Flowers And Beads' on here instead of 'You Can't Win'. Does 'You Can't Win' actually deserve to be dedicated 'to all those people who can't be with us this evening'?
The songs are played pretty much by the book, with only minor variations - Erik plays somewhat more energetically on 'Filled With Fear' than he did on the studio version, and actually, the album is somewhat more heavy on guitar than all the previous studio efforts: if you compare the live version of 'Are You Happy' with the studio one, for instance, you'll see that the role of Massa Riffman is relegated to Ingle, and Erik just fiddles around with distorted lead lines, making the track more messy and chaotic, but also more testosterone-drenched - just the kind of stuff you need for a concert. Doug Ingle, is the main star, of course, overemoting on every track with those cool 'angry Jupiter' intonations of his, plus he throws in a couple more 'whoa-whoa's and terrifying grunts along the way.
A solid live album it is, just don't go off expecting anything spectacular, cause - hint hint - find it you'll not. I'm not the excessive kind of guy myself, yet I do wish they'd released a double album, including 'Iron Butterfly Theme', 'Flowers And Beads', 'Get Out My Life Woman', 'Real Fright', and 'Most Anything You Want' - provided, of course, that they actually played all, or any, of these songs live at the time.
by George Starostin
Tracks
1. In the Time Of Our Lives (Bushy, Ingle) - 4:23
2. Filled With Fear (Ingle) - 3:27
3. Soul Experience (Brann, Bushy, Dorman, Ingle) - 3:55
4. You Can't Win (DeLoach, Weis) - 2:48
5. Are You Happy (Ingle) - 3:20
6. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (Ingle) - 19:00
“Well, I think I stayed a little too long and had too much to drink” are the first words you hear on Deal Gone Down and coupled with the 4.00 am cover photo that gives something of the feeling of the album. It’s Chapman at his most basic with only Rick Kemp and Nigel Pegrum on bass and drums and Maddy Prior and Bridget St. John providing background vocals. Apparently Chapman didn’t really like the production…and he produced it.
The best songs on the album (‘Goodbye Sunny Sky’ and ‘Journeyman’) are first rate but the initial impression is of too many throwaway tracks. The opener ‘The Rock’n’Roll Jigley’ sounds brilliant but just when it should be developing into a monster song it ends at less than two minutes. The first of six bonus tracks, ‘Dumplings’, the B-side of ‘The Banjo Song’, is even shorter. But let’s accentuate the positives. ‘Party Pieces’, from which the quoted line comes, is a gem as is ‘Used To Be’. The title track is a slice of bluesy guitar picking topped off with sizzle cymbal and an electric solo and Michael continues the electric lead into ‘The Banjo Song’.
by Dai Jeffries
Tracks
1. The Rock 'N' Roll Jigley - 1:43
2. Party Pieces - 4:52
3. Another Season Song - 3:27
4. Stranger Passing By - 3:29
5. Used To Be - 1:47
6. Deal Gone Down - 3:59
7. The Banjo Song - 3:32
8. Theme From The Movie Of The Same Name - 2:15
9. Goodbye Sunny Sky - 3:19
10.Journeyman - 5:12
11.Dumplings (Instrumental From The Deal Gone Down Session, B Side) - 1:35
12.Stranger Passing By (Demo) - 4:36
13.Theme From The Movie Of The Same Name (Demo) - 2:49
14.Goodbye Sunny Sky (Demo) - 2:52
15.Untitled Rag (Demo) - 1:51
16.Journeyman (Demo) - 3:09
All compositions by Michael Chapman
Bonus Tracks 11-16
Recording sessions involving musicians who do not regularly work together can be notoriously unproductive, the shelves of second hand record shops are littered with dusty remnants of what might have been a great session.
Happily 'Tramp' is a very fine exception to this rule, perhaps because although there is plenty of creative and spontaneous playing on these tracks, the songs themselves, written by Bob Hall and Dennis Cotton, are economical, witty and tightly constructed; there are no twelve minute guitar solos on this record. Every musician contributed hugely to the overall strength of performance that is obvious throughout the set. Dave and Jo-Anne Kelly are renowned for their ability as blues singers, and they tackled each song whole-heartedly, often adding new ideas whilst actually recording.
Bob Hall is surely the finest boogie pianist in Britain, and has never played better than on these sessions. Bob Brunning is also a highly experienced bass player who has worked and recorded with many blues giants, forming a unit with Bob Hall which has become much in demand by impressed visiting American performers, many of whom have invited them back to the States to form a permanent band! Mick Fleetwood has been the mainstay of Fleetwood Mac for a long time, and when one listens to this exciting playing on this album, one can see why - listen to his inspired and absolutely spontaneous drum lead in during the entirely unrehearsed piano break in 'Too Late For That Now' which leads incidentally to one of the most exciting solos heard in a long while.
Danny Kirwan plays crisply and economically, showing his ability, unusual among rock guitarists - to know when not to play, nevertheless turning in some pleasing solos. Dave Brooks proves just how easily he recently stole the show on some of the '73 American Blues Legends performances, and last but not least, percussionist Ian Morton adds a lot of excitement to the proceedings. Here then is a fresh and exciting album representing of more than worthwhile gathering together of some well known musical 'Tramps'.
Tracks
1. Too Late For That Now (Bob Hall) - 4:53
2. Now I Aint A Junkie Anymore (Dennis Cotton, Bob Hall, Dave Kelly) - 3:07
3. What You Gonna Do (Bob Brunning, Dennis Cotton, Bob Hall) - 3:02
4. Like You Used To Do (Dennis Cotton, Bob Hall) - 4:04
5. You Gotta Move (Bob Hall, Dave Kelly) - 2:38
6. Put A Record On (Bob Hall, Dennis Cotton) - 3:17
7. Funky Money (Dennis Cotton, Bob Hall, Dave Kelly) - 5:43
8. Beggar By Your Side (Dennis Cotton, Bob Hall) - 3:38
9. Maternity Orders (Keep On Rolling In) (Bob Hall, Dennis Cotton) - 2:24
10.It's Over (Bob Hall) - 2:31
The Tramp
*Mick Fleetwood - Drums
*Danny Kirwan - Guitar
*Dave Brooks - Sax
*Dave Kelly - Vocal
*Jo Anne Kelly - Vocal
*Bob Brunning - Bass
*Bob Hall - Piano
*Ian Morton - Percussion
Not to be confused with the “My Sharona” guys on Capitol, the mid-‘60s California band that also recorded for Capitol, or even the ‘60s Argentinean beat combo known as the Knacks, this Knack hailed from Britain and started life as the Londoners in 1965, debuting with a rather ordinary single pairing covers of Elvis Presley’s “That’s My Desire” and Sam Cooke’s “Bring It on Home to Me” while playing an extended engagement at the legendary Star Club in Hamburg, Germany.
Renaming themselves the Knack after a Richard Lester movie upon returning to the UK the same year marked a turning point for the band, who went on to record six mostly solid singles over the next two years.
The a-side of the first was a gritty cover of the Kinks’ “Who’ll Be the Next in Line”, but the real excitement was on the flip, a stellar cover of the Clique’s “She Ain’t No Good” with strong Beatlesque harmonies. The Clique, incidentally, were not the US band who had hits later in the decade, but an obscure British beat band—though that obscurity didn’t prevent the Knack from covering yet another Clique song on their next single, “Time Time Time”, which was done as adeptly as the previous outing. The a-side, a beat remake of Hank Ballard and the Midnighters’ “It’s Love Baby (24 Hours a Day)”, was almost as good, featuring a brief-but-nifty guitar solo (presumably by Gurvitz).
Their commercial desperation manifested in passable but ordinary covers of two Lovin’ Spoonful hits, “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?” and “Younger Girl”, and a lament of unknown origin called “Red Hearts”, but their quest also produced a first-rate harmony pop tune in “Save All My Love for Joey” (Joey being a girl). The buoyant beat of “Stop!” was also worthy, if perhaps out of date in the changing musical environment of 1966, a description that also fits their final single from 1967, “(Man from the) Marriage Guidance and Advice Bureau” backed with the band’s only released original, Gurvitz’s “Dolly Catcher Man”. Both the acoustic Rubber Soul-like pop of the a-side and the dreamy pop of the flip showed maturity, but with the rest of the UK dropping acid and/or plugging into fuzzboxes, it was hopelessly anachronistic, and being on a faltering label didn’t help.
The Knack, however, did branch into psychedelia on Gurvitz’s excellent (and previously unreleased) “Lights on the Wall”, a huge step forward from 1967 that signaled a new direction for the band. But with membership shuffling that ultimately brought in Adrian Gurvitz on guitar and Louis Farrell on drums as Paul switched to bass, that direction would be taken up by the rechristened Gun, not the Knack.
Gun were indeed the better of the two bands, but the Knack’s Time Time Time compilation is worth a listen for anyone seeking to dig deeper into British beat.
by Doug Sheppard
Tracks
1. Who'll Be The Next In Line (Davies) - 1:58
2. She Ain't No Good (Rowbottom) - 2:14
3. It's Love Baby (24 Hours A Day) (Jarrett) - 2:20
4. Time Time Time (Rowbottom, Page) - 2:45
5. Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind (Sebastian) - 2:05
6. Red Hearts (Unknown) - 2:04
7. Stop (Miller) - 3:02
8. Younger Girl (Sebastian) - 2:48
9. Save All My Love For Joey (Lyle) - 2:43
10.Take Your Love (Unknown) - 2:17
11.(Man From The) Marriage Guidance And Advice Bureau (Morris) - 3:45
12.Dolly Catcher Man (Gurvitz) - 2:54
13.Lights On The Wall (Gurvitz) - 2:47
14.Back In The USA (Berry) - 3:01
15.Bring It On Home To Me (Cooke) - 2:35
16.That's My Desire (Kresa) - 2:43
This is the first long-player from '60s blues keyboardist Barry Goldberg (organ/piano/vocals). His early association as Bob Dylan's organist during Dylan's electric debut at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival garnered Goldberg ample exposure. Within a few months he had teamed up with Steve Miller to create the Goldberg-Miller Blues Band. Although the combo were signed by Epic Records and cut a pair of 45s, Miller headed for the flourishing San Francisco psychedelic music scene and left Goldberg and the remnants of the short-lived Goldberg-Miller union to their own devices.
In addition to the 10 tracks on the album Blowing My Mind (1966), the Goldberg-Miller Blues Band also recorded "The Mother Song," and "More Soul, Than Soulful," which appear on the 2003 release Goldberg-Miller Blues Band 1965-66. Goldberg is then joined by the likes of Roy Ruby (bass), who contributed to some early Michael Bloomfield recordings, and Maurice McKinley (drums), whose musical rap sheet included a previous stint with Rahsaan Roland Kirk. The combo also featured the respective talents of Harvey Mandel (guitar) and Charlie Musselwhite (harmonica).
One of the most evident factors in the success of the Barry Goldberg Blues Band is the impeccable ensemble work as they propel through a blend of effective originals as well as an atypical combination of cover material. The title track is a mid-tempo Goldberg/Ruby tune that features a slightly edgy feel, reminiscent of Dylan's "Positively Fourth Street." "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "That'll Be The Day," are both recommended reworkings that perhaps best exemplify the bluesy synthesis that defined the Barry Goldberg Blues Band, at least on this initial effort. Rather than attempting a note-for-note recreation, they fuse their own blend of electric blues into the well-known and already established melodies.
The same holds for the cover versions of Jimmy Reed's "Can't Stand To See You Go" and Jimmy McCracklin's seminal side "Think." One non-LP outtake is also included, a strong rendering of Geoff Muldaur's "Ginger Man."
by Lindsay Planer
Tracks
1. The Mother Song (Barry Goldberg) - 2:57
2. More Soul Than Soulful (Harris) - 3:13
3. Getting It Down (Barry Goldberg) - 2:08
4. Mean Old World (Barry Goldberg) - 3:49
5. Twice A Man (Barry Goldberg) - 2:28
6. Whole Lotta Shakin Goin On (D. Williams, S. David) - 2:37
7. Big Boss Man (A. Smith, L. Dixon) - 2:57
8. Blowing My Mind (Barry Goldberg, Roy Ruby) - 2:57
9. That'll Be The Day (J. Allison, B. Holly, N. Petty) - 2:22
10.Cant Stand To See You Go (J. Reed) - 2:24
11.Put Me Down (Barry Goldberg, Roy Ruby) - 1:53
12.Think (J. McCracklin, D, Malone) - 2:37
13.Ginger Man (G. Muldaur) - 1:46
Tracks 1-2 The Goldberg - Miller Blues Band
Tracks 3-13 The Barry Goldberg Blues Band
The Goldberg - Miller Blues Band
*Barry Goldberg - Vocals, Organ
*Maurice Mc Kinley - Drums
*Steve Miller - Vocals, Lead Guitar
*Roy Ruby - Bass Guitar
After leaving The Electric Flag, pianist and organist Barry Goldberg formed his own briefly lived group and continued to play the blues, albeit spicing it up with unusual psychedelic rock songs and a fabulous cover of the Beatles’ Fool on the Hill (misspelled as Fool on a Hill on the album). There’s No Hole In My Soul is the record output for the group, a dense piece of varying styles that has something for everyone. Following Goldberg from the Electric Flag to the Barry Goldberg Reunion is Harvey Mandel on guitar. The album’s cover is a hint to what’s inside: the cover is a jumbled mess of photographs of faces, blending into one another. The album’s songs are a mixed bag as well, often at odds with one another, representing a variety of styles.s
Goldberg’s instrument of choice, the organ, plays heavily on all tracks, occasionally dwarfing the overall sound, but on songs like the lead off track it remains a tasteful accompanier. Sitting In Circles is a masterful, booming number that brings multiple elements to the table. Echo graces the track, filling up the spaces where the organ, strings, guitars, and drums aren’t playing with excess sound. Goldberg moans the lyrics in a rather contemporary fashion, sort of an older John Mayer cum Leonard Cohen. The lyrics are suitably basic, placing the emphasis on the music, which is excellent and just a bit complex.
Fool on a Hill sounds like a Velvet Underground outtake, though not a word is spoken. Two or three organs come together (Beatle pun unintended) to make a drone that is otherworldly, while drums keep time by soloing faintly in the background. On occasion the drums will serve a more central role to the song, but it’s really all about the organ and guitar duet that functions as the main melody. The song is a Blue Jay Way interpretation of a classic, fuzzy and hazy, barely holding together rhythmically and absolutely delightful. The organ captures the spiral into the clouds that Paul’s vocals carry on the original as he improvises around “round\round\round\oh oh oh”.
While slight homage is paid to the original, the Barry Goldberg Reunion is not afraid to push the limit, psychedelic-izing an already trippy song. While the lyrics on other tracks deal with liberation of the mind and riding on rainbows, Fool on a Hill takes credit for being the most psychedelic song on the record. It’s followed by a goofy blues number that hammers shut side one called Capricorn Blues. It’s a bit of astrology rock\blues, as the protagonist struggles to get a date with the proper astrological sign, something Goldberg laments.
Side two is fairly basic blues and rock, but the final track, a live number called The Answer’s In Your Head is a stirring utopian vision along the lines of We Love You. by the Rolling Stones (“lost within our minds\cos we love you!”) The mind is the best place to method the stresses of social change and of being led and being imprisoned by American corporate society. The band presents a convincing argument for the hippie school of thought, that through experimentation with drugs and less hang ups one can make a revolution, though the radical leftists of the sixties chose to carry out more concrete actions.
A rousing Doctor John style piano boogie is attached at the beginning of the track, building up to the introduction of the actual song. The noise of a concert jam fades into a country and western track, Goldberg’s voice soaring over the song, backed up by what sounds like a live audience on joyous cries of “the answer’s in your head!”. The song deals with Goldberg recognizing the potential of mindfulness and liberation just around the corner, while describing the loss of his ego. It’s a joyful celebration of the counterculture, complete with whoops and handclaps, inviting the audience into the musical painting.
Tracks
1. Sitting In Circles - 3:40
2. Hole In My Pocket (Danny Whitten) - 2:45
3. It Hurts Me Too - 4:10
4. Fool On A Hill (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) - 3:25
5. Capricorn Blues - 1:55
6. Another Day - 3:25
7. Sugar Coated Love - 2:35
8. Strung And Young - 3:15
9. I Think I'm Gonna Cry - 3:25
10.The Answers In Your Head - 3:25
All songs by Barry Goldberg except where indicated
Holland's Brainbox were founded by Jan Akkerman in the mid-'60s. While H.P. Lovecraft kept changing members around the drummer, this band would release a record with totally new people in 1972, entitled Parts. Yet the original Brainbox do have qualities somewhat resembling the earlier H.P. Lovecraft, and their eponymous album is a worthwhile collection of musically diverse and eclectic performances. The decent liner notes call this "progressive pop," and in some respects it is, though they shift gears from the Simon & Garfunkel classic "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" to the 17-minute plus original "Sea of Delight," and take lots of other directions in between.
The Damned had a song called "New Rose," which is where the French record label got its name, and there was the aforementioned Savage Rose, but Brainbox start the album with "Dark Rose," a blend of Jethro Tull meets the Mothers of Invention. Brainbox ups the ante by sliding into Tim Hardin and a very credible cover of "Reason to Believe" a full two years before Rod Stewart would get a B-side hit with it (the original A-side of the "Maggie Mae" single), they pull off a chameleon-like change on this to become folk rockers.
Casimirz Lux has a very appealing voice with a bit of Stewart's rasp, making "Reason to Believe" a highlight of the album. The liner notes credit Jimmy Smith for writing "Baby, What You Want Me to Do," but the tracking properly gives it to Jimmy Reed, and his Top 40 1960 hit is as bluesy as you can get here, the band changing styles yet again and showing their grasp and appreciation of American music. From progressive rock to folk-rock to blues-rock to the folk-pop of Simon & Garfunkel, who is to say they weren't rewriting Blind Faith's lengthy "Do What You Like" by way of "Sea of Joy" for their epic "Sea of Delight"? The album is a dense amalgam of sounds and themes from England and America, but is reverent in its borrowing and presentation.
Brainbox's rendition of "Summertime" sounds like Deep Purple adding heavy keyboard sounds and slowing up the Billy Stewart 1966 hit reinvention of the Gershwin tune from Porgy & Bess. Of course, Janis Joplin did it two years earlier than Brainbox and psychedelicized it with an immortal performance -- but a good song is a good song, and this is Jan Akkerman before he would give us "Hocus Pocus" from Focus, and that fact makes the album more than just a curiosity. Since these gents were so enamoured of American music, it seems credible that they took the Vanilla Fudge sound -- famous in Europe a year before it hit in America -- and put it on a Janis Joplin favorite. Released with five bonus tracks on CD, including additional versions of "Sea of Delight," this is much more than the "bargain bin" item many American record buyers passed it off as. It's a real diamond in the rough.
by Joe Viglione
Tracks
1. A Face - 4:23
2. You're Used To Be Warmer - 3:55
3. Part Of Me Is A Part Of You - 5:36
4. What It's All About - 4:56
5. Scotch Ballad - 2:03
6. Another Part - 3:17
7. Dilemma - 3:30
8. Drum And Thunder Suite (B. Golson) - 5:05
9. When I Was Poor - 5:54
10.Virgin (A-Side, 1971) - 3:40
11.Mobilae (B-Side, 1971) - 5:38
12.Companion (Live At Paradiso 1971) - 4:30
13.Sea Of Delight (Single Version, 1969) - 3:03
All compositions by Brainbox except where stated
Bonus Tracks 10-13
The Brainbox
*Robert Verwey - Bass
*Michel Van Dijk - Vocals, Flute
*Ron Meyjes - Lead Guitar, Harmonica
*Robert Verwey - Organ, Piano
*Frans Smit - Percussion
