I was put off these guys for decades because of their dumb name and stupid cover, figuring the music to be just mullet-shaking Clod Rock with maybe some futuristic synth farts. Turns out it's worryingly clever, which makes you wonder why they chose to present themselves as the musical equivalent of Truck Nutz™.
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| Ewww ... big hands! |
Like, check out these track titles, bro: Dancing Madly Backwards (On A Sea Of Air), Myopic Void, and I Can't Feel Nothin' (Parts One and Two). Someone who knows something about words came up with that good stuff. And the tracks, thirteen of them in thirty-six Earth minutes, average about three minutes each. Not your standard sludge-athon flex.
Turns out that yes, it's hard rock, but with NEW added smarts! It was something of a Supergroup at the time, with musicians from RSRCH PSE ED WIKI OR DISCOGS [and that's a big Fuck You from me - Ed.] but stiffed in the racks in spite of a 3D cover specifically designed to appeal to absolutely nobody.
Anyway, they were picked up by Phil Walden at Capricorn - Duane Allman was a fan - for a second album called Sufficiently Breathless, which is one of the greatest album titles of all time, in a sleeve even worse than the debut [below - Ed.]. It's more mainstream, with a little Santana influence (okay, and why, exactly?) on a couple of tracks. The quality is there but the punters were even more baffled and decided to spend their pocket money on a bag of reds and a corn dog instead. I think they made a third album, which was a mistake.
You may add these grand long-playing record albums to your collection FREE OF CHARGE just by suggesting a Nalbum or a Nact you'd like to see featured here at Th' Isle O' Foam©!
ReplyDeleteThis is quite off-the-wall, but I finally thought of a Nact that wasn't fully obscure and had more than a few albums: John Martyn. Seems like there might be something there, but I sure don't know what.
ReplyDeleteI hope someone has a better suggestion.
D in California
It's very on the wall, and a great suggestion.
DeleteI saw John Martyn live more than I bought his albums. Solid Air is a cracking album, I think Babs shared a large stash of JM here a few years ago.
DeleteCapricorn had large prints made of the 1st lp cover and gave them to some record stores. The late, great Stash had a 4x6 one (3D of course) that hung by the counter until its last day. I really like the 2nd album. As late as 2020, a version of the group was still touring, but the only original member was Bobby Caldwell. An odd signing for Capricorn, since the group certainly didn't fit the other acts under the Capricorn brand (Allmans, Wet Willie, Marshall Tucker...).
ReplyDeleteI think John Zorn has a new lp out (and probably yet another by the time you finish reading this), so maybe another piece on him?!?
New Zorn gets posted on the ZornWatch® piece - thanks for the heads-up!
DeleteIt would be nice to here some Max Schubel. I have (downloaded) an Opus One album with also compositions of Donald Erb. I'd like to hear some more. If possible
ReplyDeleteWay outside my comfort zone, but maybe another 4/5g© can help?
DeleteOT: Lee Dorman, bassist Iron Butterfly, was a member of Captsin Beyond. He went missing for years. A hiker found the van Lee was driving down Kanaan Dume Road years prior. He'd run off the road into the canyon in a location that couldn't be seen from above.He expired there, sufficiently breathless. Nuff said and zoot allures.
ReplyDeleteOkay, stop the presses, this just in! The old ConcertVault site is back dressed up in new name as "Moshpit.com" (how 1980s....), with expanded "catalogs" - that's "collections from a single syndicator such as King Biscuit, Silver Eagle, Starfleet-Blair, clubs (Tramps in NYC, Ash Grove in L.A., Great American Music Hall in San Francisco), plus things I'm clueless about..."Amazingrace from Northwestern University??...
ReplyDeleteSo far, I don't see a catch....or how they're monetizing it... you can play a single track; it will then continue on to the following track, allowing you to stream the entire show in order, or cherry-pick just the track you want to hear.
And....hmm....I've been wondering about Tim Hardin. He's one of those names I hear, but have never heard his music.
ReplyDeleteANON RF: Howza bout Cat Mother And The All Night Newsboys? I mean. Howza bowddit?
ReplyDeleteI think I saw Captain Beyond as an opening act, for either Wet Willie or the Allman Brothers.
ReplyDeleteSaw them live once, when they did open for the Allmans at The Warehouse. As much as I liked that 2nd lp, was as unimpressed as I was by that performance.
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