MANDRA
GORA LIGHTSHOW SOCIETY/ "Space Rave"
Starting
slowly and atmospherically like early Pink Floyd, a spoken voice comes
in on the opening track 'Love Dies' with singing redolent of Jim Morrison
(Timo Lommatzsch) Anders Becker's organ work is also close to The Doors
Ray Manzarek.
I was already familiar with the second track 'Betty Day' as it was featured
on Jerry Kranitz's 'Aural Innovations' internet radio show. (How I discovered
this amazing group in the first place) The style on this catchy number
reminded me very much of The Stranglers with a spirited organ break
by Anders. Timo sounds more like Lou Reed on the final track on side
one (This is a limited edition vinyl release) and indeed The Velvet
Underground may be another reference point.
The side long 'Psychedelic Shiva' was recorded live at a Hawkfan Meeting
in 1999- Willem Kuchzik's 'psychotic guitars' are heard to good effect
and drummer Martin König also has a prominent role to play. Add
some fantastic Hammond chording and rumbling and 'vocal improvisations'
and you're in for a space rock treat I assure you!
Think Krautrock (à la Can etc.) meets The Doors meets experimental
Pink Floyd and you get the idea- a potent combination for sure!
'Space Rave' is space and psychedelic rock of the highest quality and
comes highly recommended- just don't look too closely at the amazing
spiral effect on the coloured vinyl- it makes the Vertigo label look
jejune by comparison!
Willem generously sent me an entire Swamp Room Records promo parcel
full of 'goodies' including three other stunning limited edition coloured
vinyl records of various diameters. First of all there was 'Psychadelidoowop'
by Camper Van Chadbourne described in the label's fine mail order catalogue
as 'typische Psychadelia mit dem County and Folk feeling'. The first
side is guitarist/vocalist/ banjo player Dr Eugene Chadbourne's 'Picture'
and includes a cover of Miles Davis' 'Milestones' and an excellent 7
minute version of Phil Ochs' moving anti-war song 'Knock on the Door'
with lots of 'sound bytes' to add to the effect. The second side is
the choice of violin/ mandolin/ exotic instrumentalist Jonathan Segal
and bassist Victor Krummenacher with a 10 minute Funkadelic cover and
an 11 minute traditional song 'St. John's River' as learned from Burl
Ives' 'Coronation Concert'. Also included in the promo pack were an
LP of 7 songs by a vocal/guitar/bass/drums 'Sixties/Garage/Paisley/Punk'
band Color Cacas (ex Hey Baby) and 'The Italian Fuzz Explosion' by The
Sick Rose who perform covers of The Stranglers' 'Something Better Change'
and Simple Minds' 'Destiny' on one side and a track by 'The Sound' as
well as a Sick Rose original on the other. The record is swathed in
the band's tour poster, a neat effect and is described as 'neo-sixties
psychedelic and garage punk'. If you are intrigued by any of these descriptions
(as I'm sure you will be- these vinyl releases are not only marvellous
to look at, they contain some remarkable music if this is your 'bag')
then contact Willem at Swamp Room Records- Auf Dem Loh 18, 30167 Hanover,
Germany; phone +49 (0)511 715720; www,swamp-room.de
(Phil
Jackson) musician
and reviewer
CLEAR BLUE SKY "Out of the Blue" / "Mirror of the
Stars"
Clear
Blue Sky were three lads from Acton, West London who were too young
to drive and had to lug their gear about in prams and on pushbikes when
they were first discovered outplaying all around them in a talent contest
at the legendary Marquee Club.
They went on to support various groups of major stature like Free, Taste
and Gentle Giant. Indeed the montage adorning the inner sleeve of 'Out
of the Blue' shows them headlining as well as supporting at venues like
Groovesville in Essex, the Red Lion pub in London (I'm sure I saw Camel
play there once!), Hydraspace in Watford as well as The Temple in Wardour
Street, Soho.
It was the Waterford born Patrick Campbell-Lyons, one time vocalist
and keyboard player with the original Nirvana (Remember their wonderful
1968 hit 'Rainbow Chaser'?) who signed them to Vertigo and produced
their vastly underrated precocious eponymous debut album in 1970 when
John Simms on guitar, Ken White on drums and Mark Sheather on bass were
barely of legal drinking age!
I must take issue with 'The Progressive Rock Files' when Clear Blue
Sky is dismissed as 'More notable for being one of the first Roger Dean
covers' than for their music- listen again, Jerry! Other progressive
rock reference tomes don't mention the band at all which is desperately
disappointing as a look at their web site will tell you that many progressive
rock publications like 'Acid Dragon' (who interviewed John Simms in
1998) rate CBS very highly.
Anyway, when bassist Mark Sheather got married in 1975 John left to
join a band called Tangerine Peel and then surfaced as The Needle with
original CBS drummer White and Smith Campbell on bass. This band enjoyed
the patronage of the sadly departed John Entwhistle who jammed with
them. Separate Energy was the next project for composer/ guitarist Simms,
a jazz rock fusion prog combo with Paul Gibbs on drums and Ian McDonald
(No relation to King Crimson) on bass.
It was when appearing as support to Hawkwind in a televised concert
that Ginger Baker's manager spotted them and recruited John and Ian
for a tour of Austria to accompany none other than The Cream's legendary
drummer- himself. This was when John and company were subjected to the
terrifying ordeal of playing to a large audience with nothing much in
the way of rehearsal, Ginger Baker making his infamously casual remark,
"E're, do you know 'Toad'?"
Next up was a musical venture with Baker's son Kofi in a band called
Kofi Baker's Karisma, a prog jazz outfit with an extravagantly named
bass player in one Kraznet Montpelier.
At long last, in August, 1990 a second Clear Blue Sky album was released,
a mixture of live and unreleased tracks. The band celebrated its twentieth
anniversary at the Isle of Wight Festival that year and went on to release
the concept album 'Cosmic Crusader' with Adam Lewis adding keyboards
to the traditional guitar/ bass/ drums line-up.
To celebrate the band's thirtieth anniversary Hi Note has released 'Out
of the Blue', a set of studio recordings predating their first Vertigo
album along with a truncated but breakneck live version of the epic
three part suite 'Journey to the Inside of the Sun' (called simply 'Journey'
and missing its third part 'I'm Comin' Home'- think Ritchie Blackmore
and listen for those quotes from Holst's 'Jupiter'!) and three other
live tracks- 'Mystify' (Originally the second track on the 1970 album
then called 'You Mystify'), the aforementioned 'Destiny' and 'My Heaven'
(with a passing resemblance to The Cream classic 'As You Said' to me)
also from their original album.
'Out of the Blue' is uniformly excellent with the studio numbers so
strong that one marvels at how such a young band could produce music
as mature as this in 1969 and how it could have taken so long for it
to see the light of day. The third cut 'Spooky' is every bit as good
as much of contemporaries The Groundhogs' catalogue (Not in any way
a spurious comparison when you listen to it- for Pete Cruickshank and
Ken Pustelnik substitute Sheather and White) and also reminded me of
the original Irish band Skid Row featuring Gary Moore. That gives you
an indication of how good the guitar playing is. The lengthy fourth
song 'Kill You Lie' has Taste written all over it and a nice 'Not Fade
Away' rhythm to remind us of the band's roots as 'Jug Blues'. The next
one up, 'Veil of the Vixen', a rip roaring track is at 7 minutes nearly
as long and has similarities to Taste in the way Rory Gallagher would
mimic his guitar lines with his voice on the all time classic 'On The
Boards' LP while, backtracking for a moment, the opener 'Man of Stone'
demonstrates once again the brilliance of Simms' guitar fills leading
to a very full sound and compensating for the lack of keyboards (although
there is some piano on 'Man Dream') 'Taxman' uses a straightforward
riff that ACDC would be proud of and Clear blue Sky embellish this in
a way that ACDC never could. (No personal bias here as 'Highway to Hell'
remains one of my favourite listens despite its obvious derivations!)
The concluding studio track 'Joanna' sounds like a Heavy Metal version
of 'The In Crowd' if you can imagine that! Ceaselessly inventive and
ingenuous, CBS never lose track of their roots!
The icing on the cake though is 'Mirror of the Stars' showing just how
this band has matured with age to take on a wider range of influences.
In fact on tracks like 'Vexdre' and 'Hello Earth' CBS sound like Rush
firing on all cylinders! Despite the predominant influence being the
late great Rory Gallagher (especially his Taste days) there are also
shades of Steve Hillage and a mystical 'eastern' feel on the opening
title track. I hope John Simms will forgive me when I say his vocals
reminded me of an excellent hybrid of Geddy Lee and Noddy Holder! There
is such an 'embarrassment of riches' here- enough to fill a double LP
in 'the old days'- that it's difficult to single out individual tracks
but a mention must go to 'Marari (For Your Love)', an unforgettable
6 minute plus song with great echo guitar effects and 'Timelords Speak',
a brooding number with some great power chords at the beginning. In
fact, titles like this and 'Stargaze 777' (Also the prismatic cover
depicting an alignment of pyramids with stars, an example of sacred
geometry perhaps?) give a strong indication of the science fiction theme
running through the album. All the music was written by Simms and backing
vocalist Maxine Marten (with additional backing vocals by Lee Limerick)
and the line-up is completed by Adam Lewis on keyboards on 3 tracks
and a rhythm section of Ted Landon and Ken White.
'Mirror of the Stars' will appeal to lovers of heavy rock and space
rock alike and has the word 'classic' written all over it.
My advice to you is to buy both these releases without delay by badgering
your local record shop or by going onto the band's web site: www.clearbluesky.co.uk
or contacting Hi-Note at PO Box 26, Windsor, SL4 2YX, UK (Phone 01784
432868; Fax 01784 477702 or E-mail: info@hinotemusic.com)
You won't regret it!
(Phil
Jackson) musician
and reviewer
Robert Plant - "Dreamland"
Robert
Plant's singing always gave me a feeling that he was a prophet; a shamanic
soul whos secrets were too deep to put into language. Maybe the trees,
sky and ocean could understand the true meaning behind his mystical
poetry and depth of expression better
than I.
"Dreamland" is a beautiful explosion of Plant's passion for
blues. His backing band kicks arse, and every song is, well, the real
deal. Remember the way Led Zep would lay into blues standards like "Travelling
Riverside Blues" or "You Shook Me" and made them their
own? Half of these tracks are covers, and Plant's band touches them
all with brilliance.
"Song to The Siren" (by Buckley and Beckett) is my favorite
track on the disk. It's a beautiful, epic track which builds in a powerful
fashion, its imagery sucking you in every second of the way. The sheer
emotion of this track is so sorrowful that it will actually
kick in your endorphins, leaving you drugged with pleasure.
"Last Time I Saw Her" is the most Led Zeppelin-esque track
here. It's a rumbling, dirty stomp with powerful vocals and futuristic
Radiohead shockwaves intertwined throughout.
"Hey Joe" is very different than Hendrix's cover of it. It
is absolutely fantastic.
It's not Led Zeppelin. You won't mind at all. This is what "Now
and Zen" should have sounded like. Mystical, eclectic, ambient,
soulful and passionate.
In my opinion, this is up there with Buddy Guy's "Sweet Tea"(also
remakes of classics) and Morphine's "The Night"... even if
it is half covers.
Listening to "Dreamland" reminds me of every reason that I
love Robert Plant's music.
--review
by Jeff Sanders, musician and reviewer - http://www.mountainmirrors.com
CENSUS
OF HALLUCINATIONS - "7th Heaven"
Ah
you wouldn't have guessed but this is actually Census of Hallucinations'
seventh, repeat seventh CD in 2 years. The amazing thing is the quality
has matched the quantity on every single release and this is no exception
as, once again, the band has amazed us with its prodigious talent to,
literally, put you, the listener into…well!
I do have one small regret about this album. 'Daydream (In the Slipstream)'
should be at least 3 minutes longer to allow Tim Jones to develop the
brilliant guitar breaks that 'bubble' but don't quite 'erupt' (Is a
re-mix of this infectious song in order?) 'The Oats & Ivy Symphony
has a more folky feel to it and C of H are never averse to including
a few traditional bits and pieces- listen out also for the 'circus'
music that introduces the astoundingly monikered sound collage 'Andy
Warhol Dancing with Nuns In A Barrel of Paint' (Only the likes of Egg
or Hatfield and the North could rival such a title!)
'Orgasmic Hairnet Sandwich' is another example not only of an eye catching
title but also of the adventurous path taken by the group as a conversation
carries on effortlessly beneath some beautifully counterpointed guitar
licks
However good the music has been thus far the crowning glory of the album
(and indeed of the band's considerable catalogue) is surely 'Hard World'
with Tim's very 'close up and personal' singing and a suitably apposite
admonitory lyric melded with some haunting guitar arpeggios.
Another all time C of H classic must surely be 'To Prodigal's Guide'
with subtle guitar work by Tim and touching lyrics by Tony Morland (How
about this for a chorus: 'You took my soul and gave me liberty, You
took my mind and set my thinking free, You took my heart and gave me
eyes to see, You took my love and gave it back to me') Tony was the
lyricist with C of H predecessors (the nearly as prolific The Rabbit's
Hat). Tony's talent was sadly lost to the music scene this year and
'7th Heaven' is dedicated to his memory.
Tony also writes the lyrics to another memorable piece of music 'The
Sun is Rising' with its great lead guitar lines and jazz/ soul feel.
As always Terri~B's vocals, sampling and effects contribute considerably
to keeping the music experimental and unpredictable at times like the
unnerving music and dialogue about being thrashed with a nettle on the
aforementioned 'Andy Warhol'. We won't ask what that is all about!
Once again Census of Hallucinations manages to combine beautiful and
challenging songs with 'tales of the unexpected'!
As it says on the sleeve 'Onwards and Upwards'!
Contact: info@archhouse9.fsnet.co.uk
(Stone Premonitions SPCD 034)
(Phil
Jackson) musician
and reviewer
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