| Original artwork, run through a few filters. |
WhatCulture:
Another wonderful group with only a single album to their name, British neo-psyche rockers, Stress, released their sole, self-titled record in 1990, but what a record it is!
Despite proving a commercial disappointment, the band were well-received critically, with comparisons drawn between themselves, Hendrix and The Beatles [eh? - Ed.].
Those comparisons are well-earned. Nothing feels forced here, and the core group of Wayne Binitie (lead vocals, guitar), Mitch Amachi Ogugua (bass) and Ian Mussington (drums) manage to reference those past greats without ever seeming to ape them.
The core trio are joined by a bewildering amount of players, including such notables as the wonderful Talvin Singh on tabla, Steve Byrd on guitar and Raf Mizraki on “various Turkish instruments.”
You may think that you've heard every variety that psychedelic rock has to offer, but Stress really do bring something different to the table, not least a fine ear for melody, imaginative arrangements and an admirable width of musical vision.
Allmusic:
Well-done flower rock with a lot of musical strengths. It's laden with sitars, tablas, odd sounds, and melodies, though it doesn't resort to the tricks of nuevo-psychedelic [eh? - Ed.] music to get by.
IoF©:
Groovy, swell, you'll dig it!
If this sounds the sort of thing you might like (trust me, it is) you'll find the link in the comments.
One of those one-offs you wish wasn't.
ReplyDeletehttps://workupload.com/file/JgvNWpD7Qnr
Thank you, better a brilliant one-off, than a disappointing follow-up
ReplyDeletegot this when it came out, couldn't believe it slipped through the cracks.
ReplyDeleteas a musician you know the amount of work and stress it takes to record just one good song. let alone an entire album. this seems like it was a real gang bang. the more musicians the more conflicts and bad behaviour. people create really great stuff and look at each other and say "never again". don't be sad. quality over quantity.
ReplyDeleteIf it's got sitars, I'm in. I was 12 in 1968 and had a copy of Ravi Shankar's Festival From India, two "elpees" (as you kids call 'em) of non-English language mystery and wonder.
ReplyDeleteDid somebody say sitars?
ReplyDeleteMain man went on to do something very unexpected -
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-58787284
Brilliant! What an interesting chap he is!
Deletehttps://waynebinitie.com/new-profile
DeleteOK, I'm trusting you, and you (or somebody) did say sitars. 1990???!!!???
ReplyDeleteI bought this (on vinyl, natch) on release, because I am sitar-triggered, but there's so much more going on here, including, at around 2:40 on Lordly Lord, an exquisite Beach Boys interlude. On-point comments about better to have a superb standalone than a bunch of staggerers.
ReplyDeleteDiscogs doesn't list any release since 1991. Incredible.
vinyl was still being issued that late in the day? I know ECM stopped doing new releases on vinyl in 1992 (with help from deteriorating quality-control) until jumping back on the bandwagon 5-7 years or so ago.
DeleteA quick check at discogs reveals my memory wasn't playing tricks. I always went for vinyl as long as it was available. I think the first purchase where I had no choice was a Robyn Hitchcock album, and I felt betrayed.
DeleteVinyl 1991. I too was still preferring vinyl, and some common albums only had a limited release on that format, since CD’s were the future. Because of this some albums go for silly money, see Neil Young Weld info below.
Deletehttps://www.discogs.com/release/1271036-Neil-Young-Crazy-Horse-Weld
I forgot to say thank you. This went straight to the top of my list immediately.
ReplyDeleteA big fat "you're welcome" to you, and everyone who picks up on it. I can't remember it being music blogged anywhere (but I suppose it must have been at some time), so this is an opportunity to scarf up a genuinely worthwhile rarity, made more obscure by the existence of at least two other bands with the same name.
DeleteSeems like sitars are popular here. Check out Helicon - yewchewb link below, I don’t claim to know much about this band from Glasgow (Scotland) but I saw them live earlier this year and they were were wonderful and very psychedelic with sitar on most tracks. I think some of the 4or5guys will dig them.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/c/HeliconGlasgow
Thank you for the tip on Helicon.
DeleteDigging 'em right now!!! Thanks Bambi!!!
DeleteChaps, they've been going for a few years, catch them live if you can, "it's a mindblast Daddio".
DeleteThank you!
ReplyDeleteThis caught me off guard - in a good way. Interesting amalgamation of influences - fresh sounding, yet 30+ years old. That's a neat trick to pull off. Thanks for dropping this excellent deliverable on us. It would have never entered my consciousness otherwise. Listening to it all the way through like the old days.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Thames. It is a reassuringly very good album (by today's standards - startlingly great), and it does play nicely all the way through, as you say. Clever dynamics and sequencing.
DeleteWhy didn't this sell? Take a hinge at that cover. Faces only a mother could love, an anxiety-inducing (and totally inappropriate) name, and butt-ugly design ... how could the skills and imagination responsible for the music suddenly disappear when it came to presentation?
ReplyDeleteThe cover's ok as long as you don't look at it! I have a 3 track CD single as well (Rosechild) which is even worse.
DeleteNot mentioned so far is that it was produced by Guy Chambers, fresh from The Waterboys and World Party. A couple of years later he made his own CD (Open Book by The Lemon Trees) which is well worth seeking out. Then came Robbie Williams and everything that followed. Talented chap.
Cheers, Peanuts Molloy.
Unfortunately, my go-to site for free music (musify) has turned into a give-the-russians-your-card-number data scraping scam, so I can't find this.
DeleteYou Tube has it:
Deletehttps://youtu.be/YfB34G0ufzc?si=6yo-Q-Al0CDSaBHf
Cheers, Peanuts Molloy.
Excellence in leisure audio! Thank you!
DeleteFun fact Jeremy Stacey the drummer on The Lemon Trees cd has been drumming (and playing keyboards) with King Crimson since 2016.
DeleteI remember meaning to check out Stress at the time, but work got in the way, now after all this time I get the chance, in those days there wasn’t really a ‘try before you buy’ option like we have with youtube etc, although I was a member of a record library.
ReplyDeleteI don’t remember seeing them touring in the early 90’s, and I was going to loads of gigs then.
A changed line up and name (Inqbator) toured with Lenny Kravitz in 1997 and released the album Hatched, btw.
From what I read, the Inqbator album isn't exactly the dog's bolloques. Still like to hear it.
Delete