"Teenage girls with ketchup too. Outta my way or I'll eat you."
Black Cat Bones - Barbed Wire Sandwich (1969)
What an incredibly odd album cover, especially considering the music it contains. It's straight up English blues rock in the vein of Eric Clapton or Peter Green and, while it's an excellent example of the genre, it also sounds a bit dated. Let me explain.
At it's most basic, blues music is very structured in it's form. Tell any musician to play the blues in any key and chances are they'll play a variation of the I-IV-I-V-IV-IV. Blues is like the Haiku of music. The lyrics, solos, licks and personality you add over the standard changes is your art.
Many songs and even lines from certain songs are traditional and ages old; "woke up this mornin'" for example. The originality comes in the playing and interpreting of them. The blues has since been plugged in, amped up and turned inside out by everyone from the Yardbirds to Cream to Zep to the bloody White Stripes. Different rhythms and time times signatures and more complex riffs have disguised the "pure blues" form until it is basically unrecognizable.
Back in the 60's, English boys playing the blues was a big deal in and of itself.
The Rolling Stones made a huge splash in the earlier part of the decade without recording hardly any original material. The "omigod" factor of five English lads playing the "lurid" songs of black musicians, with strange names like "Howlin' Wolf," and (gasp) playing the harmonica was still high. As time moved on, and the popularity of English blues grew, innovations in the electric guitar, like the Les Paul and Marshall (think sustain and volume) helped ignite the first wave of white blues electric guitarists.
It was standard for bands to trot out any number of blues standards on albums and live sets.
Often, with some notable exceptions, these covers turned out to be less indispensable than the originals.
As far as the English bands' original material, a stricter adherence to the standard blues formula dates some of these records. (Listen to John Mayall's Bluesbreakers now and it's hard to see what all the fuss was about). Black Cat Blues are clearly from this earlier period. You're not going to hear a lot of stunningly original riffage here. Some decent guitar licks and a lot of improvising over the standard changes. Their cover of Nina Simone's "Four Women" and the standard "Feelin' Good," (which wasn't written by Nina but was a song she popularized) are unexpected but good.
The band endured many line-up changes and and their only release was ill-timed (near the end of the blues rock craze) and honestly not exceptional enough to warrant much attention. That's not to say
it isn't a good record. It has both quality playing and historical significance, it just won't dramatically change your life.
Black Cat Bones as a band went through a bunch of changes. Paul Kossoff and Simon Kirke who went on to form the band Free played guitar and drums respectively but left before this recording.
The album version of the band features future Foghat guitarist Rod Price, brothers Derek and Stuart Brooks on rhythm guitar and bass, respectively, Brian Short on vocals and Phil Lenoire on drums.
After this album, Short went solo and was replaced by Peter French on vocals, Price was replaced by Mick Halls and Keith George-Young took over on drums. They changed their name and went on to relatively greater fame as Leaf Hound. Blues rock buffs and fans of the above mentioned bands should check this one out.
Cromagnon - Orgasm (1968)
Let me start off by saying if you can find a stranger album than this I'll buy you a beer. Hell, I will buy you a whole case. I'm serious. I'm really plunging into the depths of the bizarre with this album.
It begins sounding sort of like the black metal band Burzum except with bagpipes. Now bear in mind this is from 1968
"Ritual Feast of the Libido," consists mainly of crackling sounds and a man screaming, not in a very libidinous way. It sounds like he's begin burned at the stake. "Organic Sundown," is just lots of chanting, grunting, hissing and banging on things. The closest comparison I can make is the Melvins song "Spread Eagle Beagle," from Houdini. It sounds like a bunch of cavemen clattering their spears together over some demonic ritual.
"Fantasy," starts off with cheerful sounding harmonized vocals, then descends into maniacal cackling and buzzing.
"Crow of The Black Tree," features acoustic guitar for the first time. After the intro it becomes the same two chords played over and over and more anguished moaning. When you hear the voices say "freedom" and freedom from the man," it doesn't sound joyous, it sounds like the murmuring of escaped lunatics.
"Genitalia," features tuneless singing over shrieking that sounds like chickens being murdered.
"Toth, Scribe 1," sounds a bit like Sunn O))) and is actually more listenable because it is low and rumbling , instead of piercing or grating.
Imagine you took Jandek, shot him up with coke and sent him into a lunatic asylum with some gardening tools and a tape recorder.
"First World of Bronze," juxtaposes druids chanting nonsense and what sounds like a guitar solo by Kerry King's dad.
Speaking of the Melvins, this album makes "Eggnog," seem soothing by comparison.
Drugs are given frequently as an excuse for strange music. If so, it'd have to be some pretty hard shit to make music that sounds like this and then release it.This is music to go insane and kill yourself to. Enjoy!
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I have to stop here and give props to Mr. Brad Gerrish a true music connoisseur, without whom I either wouldn't have heard of a lot of these bands or wouldn't have made the effort to track them down on my own for our frequent "hey, have you heard of these guys?" contests. In his honor, I will regularly feature an orange glasses pick for anything he's raved excessively about and/or encouraged me to hear.
Here is the inaugural
"Orange Glasses Pick":
Bubble Puppy - A Gathering of Promises (1969)
Starts off reminding me of the Beatles, except the drummer doesn't suck (heh) before settling into a Byrds type of vibe. I was surprised to discover this band comes from Texas as they sound very English. It probably doesn't help that they're dressed like weird minstrels or Robin Hood's merry men on the album cover." They have a very polished vocal style where nearly every line is harmonized but the leads and drumming are totally aggressive and cool.
"Hot Smoke and Sassafrass," was a minor hit for these guys and is probably the best song. I think I actually may have heard it at some point before.
The smooth, distinctive guitar lines of Rod Prince (not Rod
Price of Black Cat Bones, mentioned above) and Todd Potter bring it back and hold it together. The middle of the road folk of "Elizabeth," is salvaged by Prince and Potter's seamless inter-twining of melodic, middle eastern snake-charmer style leads. The dual guitars truly enhance and drive the songs along instead of just aimlessly wailing away over top.
Under the flowery lyrics and perfect harmonies the music occasionally sounds like the Hendrix Experience or with their sustained chord breakdowns with frantically drum rolls recall the Who. David "Fuzzy" Fore's powerful drumming and the crisp clang of the bell on his ride cymbal propels the tracks to a higher plateau.
Perhaps sensing the changing musical climate, Bubble Puppy completely changed their style as the 70's issued in a hard rock sound and changed their name to Demian. Cool guitar-work, all around great musicianship and some hooky tunes make this is a cool record well worth seeking out.
Ladies W.C. - Ladies W.C. (1969)
This band's name literally means "washroom" or "toilet," and the album opens with a toilet flush. Weird sounds effects can be found between tracks like babies crying, planes taking off etc.
This band is featured on one of the "Love Peace & Poetry," comps, an excellent series of CDs, which seems to be tailor made for them. It has a vaguely campy beach-party vibe to some of the tunes, with some quirky musicianship and the novelty of being from an unusual place (Venezuela). Lots of wah and fuzzed out guitar, harmonica, a little flute action and lots of cymbal swells for anyone on hallucinogens.
Fairly derivative lyrics which range from self-important "c'mon people, come to together and love each other" to goofy attempts at being "trippy" or "deep" and fairly obvious drug references like "staring through my window pane," or "put that in your pipe and smoke it." Isn't that what what music like this is about after all? Despite good production and lots of orange-sunshine induced guitar leads, I can't say this is a record I'd want to listen to from beginning to end very regularly. There are still moments of acid rock bliss to be found for fans of the genre.
Savages - Black Scorpio (1967)
Weird lo-fi type recording, certainly has it's share of kitsch value. It really "swings" and at times has a sort of lounge vibe and occasionally very dramatic, over-the-top vocals. I felt like there was definitely something that I was missing when I initially put this one on. The style changes so dramatically between songs, it reminded me of a working band, the kind that you would hire for specific events who would have a whole repertoire of "numbers" depending on the gig.
A couple of ballads for the slow dance, a few instrumentals, some fast stuff for the sock hop or whatever.
I was close to the mark. What I was missing is that this band was from Bombay and one of the first Indian bands to play exclusively Western music. There is no Indian vibe here at all, which is ironic since around this time bands like The Rolling Stones etc, were routinely incorporating sitar and tabla into their music. It turns out that only one of the songs here is not a cover, which explains the inconsistency of the material. They are less like a working band and more like a top 40 cover band. We get an odd version of Neil Young's "Southern Man," The Allman Brothers "Whipping Post," and James Taylor's sappy"You've Got A Friend". Weird. This is really just a novelty and a bona-fide collector's item in original vinyl form, especially since the scorpion on the front is a cut out on the LP sleeve.
N.S.U. Turn On Or Turn Me Down (1969)
This short lived Scottish four-piece were definitely riding the psychedelic wave. Features some pretty bad-assed bluesy guitar playing in the over-driven style forever to be known as Hendrix-y.
The leads themselves don't especially stand out from each other but, then again, what do you want from a record that probably sold a hundred copies, by a band that disappeared soon after.
It's certainly nothing earth-shattering, but that's okay. It's an energetic and well played album.
There's a song called "Stoned," where they seem to start using the term as a metaphor, similar to Bob Dylan but then abandon it in favor of repeating "I'm stoned" endlessly.
This album provides several examples of a drummer going mental behind unspectacular folk-tinged numbers, suggesting he is trying to either sound like Keith Moon or just couldn't be bothered to learn the song. He is clearly off doing his own thing at various points. A common thread with bands of this ilk seems to be sub par vocals and mediocre songs with frantic drummer and guitar-soloing.
The closing song, "On The Road," sort of rambles and wanks it's way along, unfocused. I don't usually say that about improvised jams but it's really not preceded by anything and serves no purpose and there's no song there anywhere to be found. It also devolves it a drum solo and ... say it with me ... drum solos blow.
To say this album is not groundbreaking and not as good as Cream or any of their other obvious influences is silly. This is a bunch of kinds, likely from the middle of nowhere, having fun and for that it sounds damn good. I'm not really sure how well the songs would hold up without the extended jam-outs but they are certainly too good to have been ignored and then forgotten.
(L to R) James "Weasel" Spagnola, Ken Williams, James Lowe, Mark Tulin, Preston Ritter
The strange saga of the Electric Prunes started in California's San Fernando Valley, first as "The Sanctions," and then as "Jim and the Lords". The core of the band was
Jim Lowe on vocals and auto-harp, Ken Williams on guitar and effects and Mark Tulin on bass and organ. James "Weasel" Spagnola played second guitar and drummer Mike "Quint," Weakley quit before the band recorded their first album and was replaced by Preston Ritter.
The band caught the attention of David Hassinger, staff engineer with RCA who had previously worked on the Stones "Aftermath". and was eager to make a name for himself managing and producing a group of his own. The band, which was rechristened the Electric Prunes after the band submitted it as a joke on a list of new potential band names. According to the band, the name was based on the same sort of punchline that helped Moby Grape arrive at their name.
"What's purple and goes buzz buzz?" "An Electric Prune."
"What's purple and swims in the ocean?" "Moby Grape."
Hassinger gave them the benefit of his production expertise and a pro studio but also misguided their career with bizarre song selections and strange career moves.
They had a hit with "I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night," and toured extensively, with shows supporting supporting The Beach Boys, Steppenwolf, The Lovin' Spoonful, Jefferson Airplane and Buffalo Springfield.
Preston Ritter left the band during the recording of their second album "Underground,"and Quint was brought back as his replacement. Mike Gannon took over second guitar duties when Weasel had to be replaced due to illness, but only made it onto two of the songs on "Underground."
After the response to "Underground," was unspectacular, the Prunes management made the astounding decision that the band should record an album of Gregorian chanting, sung completely in Latin under the guidance of composer David Axelrod.
During the recording of "Mass in F Minor," Ken Williams and Mark Gannon were dismissed as they were unable to read music and thus unable to learn their parts only Quint and Mark Tulin played on the album with Jim Lowe recording all the vocals with the Canadian band "The Collectors," backing him up.
After attempts to play the material live proved disastrous, Quint quit for good, relocating to Europe and finally Jim Lowe quit, leaving from the original band just Tulin and Williams with a keyboard player instead of a drummer and some guy named Kenny Loggins on guitar and vocals for their final attempt at a tour. "Release of An Oath," another Axelrod production featured only band members on vocals and was played entirely by session musicians
Undaunted, Hassinger put together a completely new band dubbed "the New And Improved Electric Prunes," and recorded the album "Just Good Old Rock and Roll," which flopped.
Thrity years later, interest was rekindled in the Prunes thanks in part to "I Had Too Much To Dream, " and "Get Me To The World On Time," featuring prominently on the Nuggets compilations.
The band reformed, featuring original members Williams, Lowe and Tulin and still performs occasionally.
(L to R) Mark Tulin, Quint, Mike Gannon, Ken Williams, James Lowe
The Electric Prunes (1967)The Prunes first album plays out like an album at war with itself. The songs were written almost exclusively by the outside writing team of Mantz and Tucker and the material is wildly uneven. The song selection straight-up doesn't make any sense. The Prunes are versatile enough to pull it off but it almost works against them as Jim Lowe changes accents so many times you wonder what he actually sounds like. Some of this strangeness becomes a bit easier to understand considering the direction they were pushed in later.
The first track, "I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night," explodes out of the speakers. It is not only the highlight of the band's small repertoire of songs but of the whole psych genre. The production has all the bells and whistles (I'm sure they actually used both) backwards guitars and effects. The song was their only major single and later kick-started a resurgence in their popularity years later as the lead-off track of the popular "Nuggets," compilation.
The original composition, "Bangles," follows and is nothing special. It's followed by a yawn-inducing ballad called "Onie," (Oh-knee) which reminds me of the movie "That Thing you Do," where Tom Hanks as the manager tells the band to change their name from the Oneders to the Wonders because everyone will call them the "Oh-Needers". It shows that they don't especially do understated well. "Train For Tomorrow," the second original is just okay.
"Get Me To The World On Time," gets some mileage out of Bo Diddley's patented shuffle. A bit more gravel appears in Jim Lowe's vocals, making them sound more like a real garage band than a hippy drippy flower power band, which is a good thing.
"Are You Loving Me More But Enjoying It Less," kicks the tempo back up and is an album highlight. It would be kind to say "Sold To The Highest Bidder," channels Dick Dale but probably more accurate to say that it rips him off. "Quarter to Nine," is dorky saccharine crap and "The King Is In The Counting House," is some type of weird, fake English folk with Lowe's auto-harp melody sounding similar to the theme from "Masterpiece Theatre". Then "Luvin'," takes the record in a new direction. It's a middle of the road tune steeped in sexual innuendo, with all types of allusions to "measuring up," and "performance." It sounds a bit like "Sweet Young Thing," to be honest. "Try Me On for Size," continues in that vein. It ranks as one of my personal favorites. The gruff vocals return. It's another lewd come on, and rocks it out hard. One of the best rockin' tunes of the era, I'd even say.
So then the album ends with this goofy ragtime/vaudeville style tune called "Toonerville Trolley," which sounds like "Tunaville Trolley," which sounds like something gross and mentions how someone's dad used to "toot on his licorice stick ". Uh ... okay. It makes "My Ding-a-ling," seem high-brow by comparison. For those keeping score you have 1 bona-fide psychedelic masterpiece, 2 decent singles, 1 boring ballad, 2 fake British prim and proper schmaltz-fests, 3 middle-of-the road, borderline filler numbers of varying quality and 2 "gonna fuck the shit out of you and leave you lying on the side of the road," testosterone sandwiches that would make Mick Jagger blush. Oh, and Tunaville, whatever the fuck that is.
Oddly enough, this is the only essential Prunes album. When it's good it's stellar.
Underground (1967)
Underground starts out on a more subdued note but with the same big production, xylophone, vibes and some interesting percussion. The raunchy voice and overt sexuality are gone. It's a more consistent album with less stand out tunes. It seems to follow some sort of storyline I must be missing and sort of plays like a soundtrack. The musicianship is great and the use of interesting instruments shows the Prunes branching out as innovators in their field. It's a more cohesive work although some of the songs don't seem stand as well on their own.
I don't mean to suggest that this is anything like a conventional album. It just doesn't fluctuate as wildly. Straight forward rockers are noticeably absent as well as goofy shtick. They pop in and out of weird accents as much as ever and really plunge headlong into the psychedelic style they previously only flirted with. "Hideaway," features sitar coolness "I" is a mellow tune that shows them finally able to do understated correctly "Captain Glory" is laid back, harmonica-driven country. They sometimes get bogged down in melodrama but the pompous and corny moments are fewer and further between. If you're a fan of psych music at all this is a good addition to your collection.
Mass In F Minor (1968)
It's no secret that this album is considered one of the most notorious career missteps in history. Baroque composer David Axelrod assumed control of all songwriting and produced, literally a Catholic mass. Now, honestly listening to this record today it sounds like a continuation of where they were headed with "Underground," and there is less of a shift in styles between these 2 albums than between "Underground," and their debut. The chanted vocals and the fact that it as in Latin would likely have not been noticed by most hippie types at the time anyway, who would have been used to the band pushing their musical boundaries. The haunting, ethereal quality of the vocals sounds cool at times and really doesn't dominate the mostly instrumental record. Had it not been presented as an album of Baroque Catholic chants, which accounts for only a small part of the album, they'd have been in much better shape. The bigger question is why their management would consider that a band whose sound was so synonymous with 60's counterculture should want to associate themselves with Catholicism. The cover shot of a crucifix and rosary beads is a bit disconcerting. True, the majority of the record is instro-soundscapes, much like parts of "Underground," and there is some pretty groovy, swingin' stuff to be found. You may recognize "Kyrie Eleison," from the movie "Easy Rider," where they drop acid in the cemetery. Although this overly ambitious project turned out to be career suicide and the band splintered and then completely disintegrated, I find it to be very listenable, even if it's not their best.
Release Of An Oath (1968)It isn't until halfway through the third song, "General Confessional," that one lone guitar frantically struggles to break through the suffocating waves of nauseating strings. Another one tries to poke out part way through "Our Father, Our King," and is similarly doomed. Worse, with the lyrics now in English one can truly appreciate what drippy religious garbage it is.
I didn't mind "Mass in F Minor," mostly because the music still sounded like the band that made "Underground," and, since I'm not Catholic, the significance of the Latin lyrics escaped me and made it just sound like inoffensive gibberish. the only highlight would have to be "The Adoration," which is, of course, instrumental
The music is all strings and schmaltz and has no business being called an Electric Prunes record. This entire record should have been "aborted" but then I guess it would have been an album even if it wasn't fully developed. After all, who really knows when a piece of music begins. Fuck off. Like annoying religious bullshit? This album is for you.
Just Good Old Rock And Roll (1968)The final insult, after completely torpedoing their career, the band's management assembled a completely new band and had the gall to call them the "New and Improved," Electric Prunes. "Good old rock n roll," in contrast to the Gregorian chant music and sappy orchestra pieces they forced on them until eventually all the members left. Having said that, this isn't actually a bad album. Completely different in style from the real band. I'd heard "Finders Keepers," before and always liked it, not even knowing who played it. Organ-heavy hippie rock by a band that might have fared much better had they not been presented in such a slimy, dishonest way.
