HORSE - God's Home Movie  (MCA Records MCA 10935, 1993)

Horse was born Sheena McDonald, in Newport On Tay, Fife. Aged two, her family moved to Lanark, where she grew up. On her tenth birthday, she received her first guitar. This turned out to have a huge affect on her. After that, her ambition was to become a musician. Whilst at school, she met Sandy Ash, with whom she would sing cover versions of songs by Steve Harley and Roxy Music. Sandy Ash decided to place an advert in the music weekly NME advertising for other musicians to join their band. One person who replied was Angela McAlinden. This was to proved a hugely important meeting. Angela McAlinden and Horse started to write songs together, and little did they know that this songwriting partnership would last nineteen years. One problem they had was choosing a name for their group. Their first choice was Rhesus Negative. McAlinden and Horse were joined by a bass player and drummer in Rhesus Negative. However, the group didn’t last long. Their next choice of name was Astrakhan. By now, demos were being sent out to various record companies. One of the demos featured a song called You Could Be Forgiven, which attracted Alex Radvyi, then at CBS songs. This lead to a deal being signed in 1986. At the same time, the lineup changed, with a new bass player Graham Brierton joining the band. 

1987 proved to be an important year for Horse. The group were invited to appear on The Tube, one of the biggest UK music shows at the time. It was then that Angela McAlinden suggested they rename the group Horse. Later that year, a record deal was signed. After several months of negotiations, with Simon Potts, who was the Managing Director of Capitol UK records, the deal was signed on 23rd December 1987. Once a record contract is signed, the most demanding period is about to begin for a new artist. They have to write new songs for their debut album, decide which one are good enough to make the album, oh and record the album. Horse’s debut album took three years to produce. During the recording Horse encountered various problems. This include Horse having an operation on her throat. She hadto stay totally silent for ten days. Eventually the album was ready to be released. In 1990, "The Same Sky" was released on Capitol. It reached number forty-four in the UK album charts. To promote the album, Horse toured the album, but then went on to support BB King, Aztec Camera and Tina Turner. After the success of "The Same Sky", Horse would encounter a huge problem with their record company. Simon Potts who had signed the band, moved jobs becoming head of A&R worldwide for Capitol, and quickly, it became apparent that their label wasn’t interested in Horse. After some very turbulent times, Horse managed to secure their release from their contract, and eventually signed with Oxygen records, a subsidiary of MCA. This was great news for Horse, and they began writing the material for the next album. Another problem arose when they tried to find a producer for the album. They were unable to get the producer they wanted, so took the brave to decision to produce the album themselves. "God’s Home Movie" the album this article is about, was eventually released in 1993, and reached number forty-two in the UK album charts. 

"God’s Home Movie" opens with "Celebrate", a track that begins with a bass playing, then quickly the rest of the band join in. Drums are crisp towards the front of the mix, guitars chime, and then McDonald sings. Her voice is loud and strong sitting right at the front of the mix. When she sings, she articulates the lyrics perfectly. What is immediately noticeable about her voice, is her great range. An operation she had whilst recording her debut album, saw her range increase. On "Celebrate" she demonstrates what a brilliant voice she has. The rest of her band, perform just as well, making "Celebrate" a rousing track to start the album. One of the best songs on "God’s Home Movie" is "Shake This Mountain". As the track starts, the sound is distant, gradually moving nearer. A guitar plays, the sound loud, drums fade in and Horse joins the fray. Straight away, as you hear her sing, you realize that this song is more than a little special. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, the lyrics which are among the best on the album, and secondly, the arrangement. It features some wonderful background vocals, that see Lorna Bannon harmonizing with Horse. The sound is dramatic, the song builds and builds, and it’s catchy, with an infectious quality. It may be eighteen years since I first heard this song, but I still enjoy as much today, as I did back then. The title track "God’s Home Movie" starts with strings sweeping, a guitar is plucked gently and McDonald sings gently, her voice soft, much more subtle than on the first two tracks. This demonstrates her versatility as a vocalist. With the strings playing behind her voice, the sound is beautiful, the effect is stunning, it’s heartfelt and moving. Horse’s vocal is one of the best on the album, she sings within herself, never forcing her vocal, and never overpowering the string section. Regardless of how often you hear this track, you’ll never tire of its understated beauty.

After the sublime "God’s Home Movie", Horse have a difficult job following up such a stunning track. However, when you hear the opening bars of "Years From Now", you wonder if somehow they can produce a track that comes even close. The answer to this is yes. "Years From Now", is another great track. When it starts, the tempo is low, the sound quiet and subtle. A guitar is plucked gently, Horse sings quietly, and you think that this is another subdued song. Wrong. After just over a minute, the band cut loose, and play brilliantly. At the forefront of the track is Horse, her voice strong and loud, singing some lovely lyrics about being in love, and growing old together. Overall, the sound is big, bold and utterly glorious. As the track fades gradually out, you smile, having wallowed in four minutes of glorious music. "Natural Law" gradually shows its beauty, the start meanders, then she sings slowly her voice full of character, her delivery moving, as she takes great care singing the lyrics. She treats them with the utmost respect, as if proud of them, which she should be. Behind her, a guitar plays, it’s subtle, drums gently keeping the beat. The arrangement is perfect for the song, there’s nothing present that shouldn’t be there. Everything compliments the vocal, which to say is stunning, is almost an understatement. My favorite song on the album "A Letter To Anne Marie", is next. When I first heard this track I was smitten. Eighteen years later, I’m still smitten. As the song starts, a brass section play, drums accompany them, the sound is loud, the arrangement much fuller. After that, Horse take you on a magnificent musical journey. It’s almost unfair to single out any musician for praise, as this is very much a group effort. However, the brass section play a huge part in the track, their contribution can’t be underestimated. Sometimes, when they play, their contribution is like musical punctuation, the way it brilliantly breaks up the flow of the music, increasing the dramatic impact. Their contribution turns a good song into a great song. However, without Horse, and her fantastic vocal performance, the song wouldn’t be half as good. Here she surpasses herself, producing her best performance on the album. How she hasn’t become a much bigger star is a mystery not just to me, but to many people. With stunning performances like this, she should be a huge star.

The great songs keep on coming on "God’s Home Movie", with next track, "Hold Me Now", being another of the album’s highlights. Like the previous track, this song is all about the some of the parts. Again, it’s almost unfair to single anyone out for praise on this track, as the whole band have played their part in making this such a good track. However, two people deserve credit. From the start of the track, McDonald’s vocal is strong, loud and confident. Later in the track, she varies her vocal, singing quietly, later on, her voice soars, again, demonstrating her amazing vocal range. The other person who deserves huge credit is the guitarist, whose solo is one of the best you’ll hear. Quite simply, it’s amazing. "Hold Me Now" is one of those songs that you never want to end, and when it does, you just press repeat. That’s how good it is. "Imitation" is the third great song in a row. It’s very different from the two previous songs. As it starts, strings play, McDonald sings, her voice soaring, before she settles down to give a great rendition of one of the catchiest songs on the album. It’s laden with hooks, and you’ll find yourself singing it for days. When she sings, her voice has a sweetness, which is added to by the string section. The addition of the string section on this track was a masterstroke, it has the effect of transforming the track. It compliments the vocal, and the band take care never to overpower the string section. What Horse have produced is a track that you can’t fail to enjoy. I’ll warn you though, it has an infectious quality. When "Sorry My Dear" begins, a piano and guitar play, the introduction is long, as if building up the drama. The tempo is slower, the song is very different from the previous tracks. When McDonald sings, the lyrics are darker, she sings about someone with charmed life, who when the night comes can’t sleep and the fears that engulf them at this time. Horse sings the lyrics slowly, ensuring she articulates the lyrics perfectly. Even when the rest of the band join in, the tempo remains slower, the band’s performance slightly understated. This suits the song, it allows the vocal to shine, and the lyrics to take centrestage, as they’re among some of the best on the album. Although very different to other songs on the album, it’s still a good quality track by Horse.

"God’s Home Movie" ends with "Finer", a track which start’s quietly, a piano playing, accompanied by drums which play slowly, leaving plenty space in the music. There is a jazz influence at the start of the track, with the piano playing and McDonald’s vocal. Strings join in, the sound begins to grow, but always remaining a lovely understated quality which suits the song. McDonald has reserved a much more reserved vocal for this song, and takes great care when singing never to overpower the strings or piano. Like all the songs on the album, the lyrics are of the highest quality, and tell of a romance set in a small town, and the tedious life ordinary people have to endure to survive. Although written nearly two decades ago, the lyrics are as pertinent today, as they were when the album was released. "Finer" is a good way to close the album, it’s a much more gentle and thoughtful song, one that demonstrates the talent of the McDonald and McAlinden songwriting partnership. That is the story of Horse’s career so far, and their second album "God’s Home Movie". It’s been a pleasure writing this review, and spending time listening to Horse’s wonderful music. This album, to me, was their best album. It’s an album full of quality songs, songs that feature some great lyrics and are sung by a highly talented vocalist in McDonald, and played by a really tight band. Throughout the album, they produce one great performance after another, and it amazes me that Horse were not a much bigger success than they are. If you’re one of the many people who’ve yet to hear Horse’s music, then this is a good album to start with. It features some of Horse’s best songs, where they sing a variety of styles of music. Another good album for someone who isn’t familiar with Horse’s music is "The Same Sky". These two albums are among the best Horse have ever recorded, and will let you hear some wonderful music, music which I’m sure you’ll thoroughly enjoy.

 

LINK WRAY - Link Wray (Polydor Records 2425 067, 1971)

In 1971, Link Wray reinvented himself and made one of the greatest roots rock albums ever, full of fuzz blasts, gnarled folk, and backwoods gospel. Rock’n’roll doesn’t get leaner or more primal. here’s a long list of acts that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has shamefully failed to induct over the years, from Chic and Kraftwerk to Motörhead and Brian Eno. But to shut out the man responsible for both the power chord and distortion, the twin pillars of rock - a man who inspired the likes of Jimmy Page, Neil Young, and Pete Townshend to pick up a guitar, a man whose guitar tone was so menacing it was banned from radio play, despite the fact that the song in question, "Rumble", was a glowering instrumental. Rock, punk, garage rock, and heavy metal would sound drastically different were it not for the six-string stylings of Fred Lincoln 'Link' Wray, Jr.

Along with his brothers Vernon and Doug, Link recorded raucous early rock’n’roll, country, and rockabilly sides from the late 1950s into the mid-1960s. By the time rock became the established sound of the late ’60s, Wray had all but retired from music to be a farmer. But when the likes of Van Morrison, the Band, and the Rolling Stones turned to folksy Americana with albums like "Moondance", "Music From Big Pink", and "Beggars Banquet", Wray must have sensed an opportunity. Putting a tape machine inside a converted chicken shack on his brother’s property in Accokeek, Md. (soon deemed Wray’s "Three Track Shack"), Wray reinvented himself and made one of the greatest roots rock albums ever, full of fuzz blasts, gnarled folk, and backwoods gospel.

For any subsequent artist who has sought to strip the varnish and gunk built up around rock'n'roll, be it Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, the Black Keys, or the White Stripes, it doesn’t get leaner or more primal than this. Wray could wring profundities out of the barest of materials, which meant a three-track tape machine rather than the 16- to 24-tracks that were standard by that point. It meant 11 songs belted out by a man who lost a lung to tuberculosis contracted during the Korean War. The singular sound of the album is evident from the opening hymnals "La De Da" and "Take Me Home Jesus". Tempered by a rusted piano deemed so out of tune that the Wray brothers instead tuned down to it, those cracked chords filter down to Link’s coyote-like yowl and the raw harmonies that accompany it. But the album presents a far different Link than his early, black leather-clad greaser days. His voice is at times strangled and reminiscent of Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan; his devout lyrical concern came as the result of a religious conversion from when he contracted TB. And instead of that sinister guitar attack that defined his legacy, dobro and mandolin come to the fore. When Link did plug in his electric, the guitar was so loud that they had to drag the amp out to the yard and mic it through a window in the coop.

A gentler, wiser Link emerges again on "Fallin’ Rain" and "Ice People". The former sounds like a sequel to Dylan's "It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue", right down to its chord changes and the prophetic imagery of a spiraling world and blood on the ground. On the dobro-laced "Ice People", the rhyme of ice people not treating their fellow humans very nice might seem pat, but Link’s delivery makes the song effective. The piano echoes Burt Bacharach's "Walk on By", as Link sings about the hypocrisy of an inhospitable society that itself walks on the less fortunate and thinks "If you don’t go to war, You’re not living by the golden rule".

Listen to the simple and effective stomp of "Juke Box Mama" and you can hear the future tattoo of the White Stripes' "My Doorbell". As Wray and band create a bare-bones boogie out of a whipped snare, plunked piano, and scraped washboard, Wray’s dobro and electric guitar solo slithers around like a rattler in the near empty space. Similarly effective is the beat behind "Fire and Brimstone". An acoustic country blues guitar lick combines with a clattering beat made of drums, Coke bottle and cowbell, rattling as Link bellows about a harrowing vision of doomsday. But for all of its imagery of the sun standing still overhead and darkness on the face of the Earth, damned if Link doesn’t make end times sound like one ecstatic, howling hoedown. The garage rock stomper “God Out West” has Link’s fuzz guitar lashing at full blast as he sings the praises of the Lord so convincingly as to convert almost any agnostic. Between this and prominent placement in the recent music documentary 'Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World', (Link was three-quarters Shawnee), which traces the lasting influence of Native Americans on the American music vernacular, perhaps the Hall of Fame and its voters will finally see fit to put Link back on its ballot.

TOM KIMMEL - 5 To 1 (Mercury Records 832 248-2 Q-1, 1987)

Tom Kimmel (born Thomas Eugene Hobbs II in 1953 in Memphis, Tennessee), is an American singer-songwriter and poet. Tom Kimmel grew up largely in small towns in south Alabama. He attended public schools and graduated from the University of Alabama in 1975. Kimmel is known as a songwriter, and his compositions have been recorded by many popular artists, including Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Linda Ronstadt, Joe Cocker and Randy Travis. His songs have also been featured in television series including Miami Vice, Touched by an Angel and Dawson’s Creek, and in films including Twins, Runaway Bride and Serendipity. "That's Freedom", the lead track on his "5 To 1" album, was co-written by Kimmel and gave him a Billboard Hot 100 hit as a solo artist. The song later became a Top 10 hit for Australian singer John Farnham in late 1990.

Singer, songwriter, entertainer, poet and teacher, Tom Kimmel is all of these things and more. Since 1980 dozens of Tom’s compositions have been recorded by a host of major artists, including Linda Ronstadt, Johnny Cash, Joe Cocker, Art Garfunkel and Randy Travis. They’ve been featured in films from Twins to Serendipity and Runaway Bride, and in television shows from Captain Kangaroo and Touched By An Angel to Dawson’s Creek. An award-winning artist in his own right, he has released seven solo albums, published a book of poems and led songwriting workshops and classes around the country and in Europe. Once an eclectic rock and roller, Tom found his voice as a singer-songwriter while touring with Nanci Griffith in the early 90’s. A New Folk winner at the Kerrville Folk Festival in ’93, he began performing solo, stressing a lean, acoustic approach to his music and bringing a humorous spirit to his poetry and storytelling.

After releasing two critically praised major label albums (in ’87 and ’90), Tom released "Bones" in 1994, his first independent album. It was followed by "Short Stories" in 1999, which featured guest performances by Emmylou Harris, the Fairfield Four, Jerry Douglas and other Nashville luminaries. "Shallow Water" (2002) is a collection of spirit-centered songs and hymns, and "Light of Day" (2004) features bare vocal-guitar tracks recorded in Tom’s home studio. "Never Saw Blue", an anthology of Tom Kimmel songs featured in film and TV, arrived in the fall of 2008. Tom’s most recent projects include well-received albums written and recorded with two trios: The Waymores (2013) (with Don Henry and Sally Barris), and The New Agrarians (2014) (with Kate Campbell and Pierce Pettis). And when schedules allow, Tom still loves performing with his first trio, The Sherpas (with Tom Prasada-Rao and Michael Lille), A self described closet poet until the publication of The Sweetest & the Meanest, in 2006, Tom has been a featured writer at book festivals and writing retreats, and his poems have been published in a number of poetry and literary journals. And for many of his fans the spoken word element in his concerts is as special as his songs. In demand as a songwriting teacher and lecturer, Tom frequently offers workshop instruction tying the creative spirit to the nuts and bolts of composition. Add it all together and you’ll find that Tom Kimmel is definitely all these things and more. He’s a unique artist who continues to write, record, entertain and inspire at the highest levels.

"5 To 1" was Tom Kimmel's first released effort. I scrambled to grab the CD when it first came out after seeing the soul-stirring video for "That's Freedom". I remember being transfixed by the obviously-sincere emotional outpouring of Tom's sugar-coated sandpaper vocals on that number. In an era when glam rock was taking over, it was refreshing to discover a new artist who dared defy the trends and present something more meaningful.
I can't call this his best work (I reserve that for the followup, "Circle Back Home") but there are some real stand-outs on this CD in addition to the truly patriotic "That's Freedom". "Shake" is a valiant anthem to dance, a rocker that ebbs and flows like a whirling gypsy. "A to Z" is the obligatory love ballad that strives to cover the broadest of emotions. "True Love" is a bold, joyful number that'll rattle your rib cage and shake your heart loose. You might have heard the moving ballad "Heroes"; this paen to those who drive and inspire us to better ourselves has been recorded by others, including Southern Pacific. It's one of my personal favorites on the album. "Violet Eyes" is a true gem. I'm at a loss to describe what this powerful number evokes. You really have to hear it. Finally, the title cut is a sobering look at returning home after an extended leave, and discovering rust devouring the shiny things you'd thought were permanently chrome-plated.

The weaker cuts are those I haven't mentioned yet. "Tryin' to Dance" isn't bad; it just doesn't grab me like the others. "On the Defensive" comes across as if Tom had written from personal experience and neglected to self-edit. It should have been reworked or dropped in my opinion. Finally, I get where he's going with the neoLuddite "No Tech", a rebellion against the robotic polyphony that pervaded so many recordings in the 1980s, but it's a filler song. The good news is, Tom's throwaways are better than many artist's keepers so that's something to keep in perspective. If you're lucky enough to find it, buy it. Same goes for his other recordings. If you like Bruce Springsteen, John Cougar Mellencamp, Bob Seger and others who delve into the heart of Americana, you'll love anything by Tom Kimmel.

THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT - The Temperance Movement

(Earache Records MOSH502LP, 2013)

Many bands are touted as the future of rock'n'roll. Mostly it’s either record company hype or wishful thinking. The Temperance Movement are different. They’re the real thing. They epitomize rock'n'roll. Formed in 2011, they’ve come a long way in two years. They’ve conquered Britain, Europe and America with their unique fusion of rock'n'roll, blues, country and soul. Somehow, whilst conquering much of the Western world, The Temperance Movement have found time to record and release their eponymous debut album. What became "The Temperance Movement", was recorded before the group signed to Earache Records earlier this summer. Earache Records were presented with the finished article. All that was left was to promote and release "The Temperance Movement". It was released on 16th September 2013, and strutted its way to number twelve in the UK. This is just the start of what should be a long and successful album for The Temperance Movement, whose career started in 2011. 

Although The Temperance Movement were only formed in 2011, the five members of the band have a wealth of experience. Glasgow-born lead vocalist, Phil Campbell, has released a string of solo albums. This includes 2008s "After The Garden", 2009s "Daddy’s Table" and 2010s "Saviour’s Song". As for the guitarists, Paul Sayer and Luke Potashnick, Luke is a former member of Rooster and Ben’s Brother. Bassist Nick Fyffe was in Jamiroquai’s band, while Australian-born drummer Damon Wilson counts Feeder, The Waterboy’s and Ray Davies as former employers. These five experienced and very talented musicians joined forces to form The Temperance Movement. Between 2011 and September 2012, The Temperance Movement concentrated on honing their sound. Quickly, they’d established a loyal following. Whether it was pubs, clubs, concert halls or festivals, the word was out. The Temperance Movement were seen as a group with a huge future. Some pundits hailed them as the future of rock ‘n’ roll. Strangely, The Temperance Movement weren’t signed to a record label. So when the time came to release their debut E.P, The Temperance Movement released it themselves. The "Pride" E.P. was released on 10th September 2012 and featured five tracks. "Pride", "Be Lucky", "Only Friend", "Ain’t No Telling" and "Lovers and Fighters" were an introduction to The Temperance Movement’s kick ass brand of blistering rock'n'roll. "Pride" was released to critical acclaim, and lead to The Temperance Movement playing at the Royal Albert Hall.

Every year, The Sunflower Jam Super Jam takes place at the Royal Albert Hall. This charity concert raises funds for The Sunflower Jam, a cancer charity. In September 2012, just a week after the release of the "Pride" E.P, The Temperance Movement were the opening act at the Super Jam. They played the first two tracks from the "Pride" E.P. Then in November 2012, The Temperance Movement played at Futurerock in the 100 Club, in Oxford Street, London. Playing such a prestigious venue early in their career was proof that The Temperance Movement were going places. 2012 it seemed, had been a good year. 2013 would be better. So far, during 2013, The Temperance Movement haven’t stopped working. In April and May, they headed out on a grueling British tour. Then during the summer, they became festival favourites. All the time, they were spreading the word about the The Temperance Movement. In between, tours and festivals, The Temperance Movement managed to find time to record their eponymous debut album. "The Temperance Movement" features twelve tracks. This includes the five tracks from the "Pride" E.P. plus seven new songs. Ten of the songs are written by Phil Campbell, Paul Sayer and Luke Potashnick. The other two tracks, "Lovers and Fighters" and "Midnight Black" were penned by Phil Campbell. These twelve tracks were recorded at the Fish Factory Studios and Submarine Studios, London. Producing "The Temperance Movement", are Sam Miller and The Temperance Movement. These twelve tracks became "The Temperance Movement".

With their debut album recorded, The Temperance Movement signed to Earache Records earlier this summer. By then, word was the spreading about The Temperance Movement. They were now regarded as the group who could and would save rock'n'roll. Many of who had heard this before, knew The Temperance Movement were different. We weren’t surprised when "The Temperance Movement" reached number twelve in the UK Charts. I’m sure it’ll go higher. After all, given the quality of music on "The Temperance Movement", which I’ll tell you about, rock'n'roll’s in safe hands. "Only Friend", a glorious fusion of blues and rock opens "The Temperance Movement". Screaming, scorching guitars, pounding drums and hi-hats take the track in the direction of AC/DC. Then when Phil’s grizzled vocal, there’s a real Led Zeppelin influence. It’s as if The Temperance Movement have been weened on classic rock. They never miss a beat. Spraying guitars across the arrangement, the rhythm section lock into a tight, steady groove, while Phil’s vocal references Robert Plant, Joe Cocker and Brian Johnson. "Ain’t No Telling" doesn’t just see The Temperance Movement pick up where they left off on "Only Friend". No. Things get better. The Temperance Movement kick out the jams. They become an unstoppable musical juggernaut. Jagged, crystalline guitars and a driving rhythm section drive the arrangement along. Phil Campbell’s vocal is a mixture of raw power and emotion. His powerful, impassioned pleas are heartfelt and sincere. They’re halfway between the barroom and church. His voice sounds as if it’s honed to perfection on Jack Daniels and Marlboro. Then all of a sudden, he’s a testifying preacher. This is the signal for the band to kick loose. Motoring through the gears, they produce a spellbinding performance. This proves that rock ‘n’ roll is alive and thriving, thanks to The Temperance Movement.

"Pride" sees a much more mellow side of The Temperance Movement. There’s a country rock sound to the track, Just acoustic guitar and meandering bass combine while Phil lays bare his weary soul. He’s loved, but lost. His "Pride" got in the way. Hurt and heartbreak are ever-present as Phil, accompanied by cooing harmonies, realizes what’s he’s lost. "Be Lucky" sits midway between The Rolling Stones, Free, Bad Company and Primal Scream. It’s another strutting slice of classy rock. Enveloped by chugging, riffing guitars and the tightest of rhythm section, Phil’s vocal sounds as if it belongs on a Free album. Here, he sounds not unlike Paul Rodgers. It’s hard to believe Phil comes from Glasgow. He sounds as if he was born just of "Route 66". Oozing confidence and sass, he struts his way through the track, every inch the old school rock'n'roll frontman. Muted guitars open "Midnight Black" while Phil delivers a grizzled vocal. By now, the driving, pounding rhythm section and searing, scorching rocky guitars have become the tightest of units. Phil’s vocal is very much from the school of classic rock. He’s just the latest keeper of the flame of authentic rock'n' roll. This is no one-man band. No. Everyone plays their part. Listen to the duel guitars and thunderous rhythm section. They’re every inch old school rock ‘n’ roll band, on this tale of hurt and heartache.

"Chinese Lanterns" sees The Temperance Movement change tack. There’s an alternative country sound to the track. Think Wilco or The Jayhawks. There’s even a touch of Gram Parsons. Weeping guitars accompany Phil, whose vocal is tinged with regret. It’s late at night, and memories come flooding back. He remembers what he’s lost. She’s moved on, but he hasn’t. Still he holds a candle for her, but realistically, he knows she’s gone and he should move on. That’s easier said than done, on this tale of love lost and a heart broken. Here, Phil paints pictures, pictures that unfold before your eyes. "Know For Sure" returns to the rockier sound. The tempo is dropped and briefly, Phil sounds like Peter Gabriel. Indeed, briefly, "Know For Sure" reminds me slightly of Peter Gabriel’s "Sledgehammer". That’s before it’s transformed into another slice of old school rock. Their duel guitars do battle. They’re not content to unleash the same notes. They play around each other, their playing inventive and dramatic. Then there’s the thunderous rhythm section. It provides the backdrop for Phil, as he revisits his role of rock ‘n’ roll preacher. Later, screaming guitars replace his testifying vocal as struts his way through this reminder of what music once sounded like. 

"Morning Riders" sees The Temperance Movement toy with you. Then they unleash some of their trademark scorching guitar licks. Drummer Damon Wilson anchors the band. He provides the heartbeat, while Phil every inch the old school frontman, throws himself into the role. It’s as if this was his destiny. He’s a mixture of Slash, Robert Plant, Paul Rodgers, Brian Johnson and Chris Robinson. As he unleashes one of his best vocals, the band are spurred on to greater heights. Whether it’s playing as a unit, or during solo, this is a vintage performance. Some stunning, screaming guitar solos are unleashed. Then the band become a tight, slick unit who deliver an impassioned, dramatic fusion of blues and rock. "Lovers and Fighters" sees a much more understated side of The Temperance Movement. Just an acoustic guitar accompanies Phil’s tender, husky soulful vocal. Weeping guitars add a country twist as the arrangement begins to reveal its secrets and beauty. Drums provide a pensive backdrop that matches Phil’s vocal. It too, has a melancholy sound. Not only that, but it shows a very different and quite beautiful side to The Temperance Movement’s music. Indeed, this is much more like some of Phil’s work as a solo artist. When the drums count the band in on "Take It Back", you know what’s coming next. The Temperance Movement are about to explode into action. You’re not disappointed. Machine gun drums and rhythm section join boisterous harmonies. They set the scene for Phil’s rasping vocal. Rolls of thunderous drums, searing, crystalline guitars and singalong harmonies play their part in a track whose roots are in seventies glam rock and rock'n'roll. Everything from The New York Dolls, MC5, Iggy and The Stooges, went into the making of the boisterous, strutting "Take It Back".

"Smouldering" is another country-tinged ballad. This is something Phil Campbell and the rest of The Temperance Movement do so well. His worldweary vocal sounds full of emotion and regret. Accompanying him are guitars and the rhythm section. They’ve locked into a tight groove. Their playing is sparse and effective. Rock and country becomes one, as Phil, accompanied by scatted harmonies delivers a heartfelt and heartbroken vocal opus. Closing "The Temperance Movement" is "Serenity". It has understated bluesy, country sound. Just guitars accompany Phil’s tender, emotive vocal. Again, this allows us to hear a very different side to The Temperance Movement. They’ve returned to the balladry they do so well. They’re far from a one trick pony. Later, the track becomes a blistering slice of rock'n'roll. Whether its ballads, loves songs or blistering rock ‘n’ roll, The Temperance Movement do it just as well. Serenity, brings all this together and showcases the multitalented The Temperance Movement at their very best. Just two years after they formed, The Temperance Movement have played all over Britain, Europe and America. Having won over audiences throughout the Western world, The Temperance Movement released their debut E.P. in September 2012. Released to critical acclaim, The Temperance Movement spent the next year spreading the word about The Temperance Movement. Whether it was in concert halls or at festivals, The Temperance Movement gained a band of followers. No wonder. Here was the future of rock'n'roll. 

The Temperance Movement are an old school rock'n'roll band. They reference everyone from AC/DC, Bad Company, Free, Primal Scream, Joe Cocker, Led Zeppelin, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band and The Rolling Stones. Add to that The Eagles, The Jayhawks and Wilco. Then there’s The New York Dolls, MC5, Iggy and The Stooges. All these groups have played their part in influencing The Temperance Movement, whose eponymous debut album reached number twelve in the UK. That’s just the start. There’s only one place The Temperance Movement are going; to the top. No wonder. The Temperance Movement keep it real. Here’s an old school rock'n'roll band. It sounds as if rather than nursery rhymes, The Temperance Movement were weened on classic rock'n' roll. That’s worked out well. Drawing inspiration from the music of the past, The Temperance Movement have produced the music of the future. Fusing blues, country and blistering, old-school rock ‘n’ roll and soul, The Temperance Movement’s eponymous debut album is flawless. Whether it’s ballads or when they kick loose, The Temperance Movement live up to their reputation as the future of rock'n'roll. Many bands have been touted as the savior of rock'n'roll. In their hands, the future of rock'n'roll has been placed. Over the years, I’ve watched the contenders come and go. Some have sunk without trace, becoming the musical equivalent of the Titanic. As for the grand old men of rock'n'roll, groups like The Who and the Rolling Stones they’re yesterdays men, living off their past glories. Thankfully, rock'n'roll has found its savior. The future of rock'n'roll is safe, the future of rock'n'roll is The Temperance Movement.

THE FOUR HORSEMEN - Gettin' Pretty Good At Barely Gettin' By

(Magnetic Air Records SPV 034-46572, 1996)

The Four Horsemen were really one band that should need no introduction. It all started with (ironically) five hard-partying guys from Los Angeles who hit the scene with their first full length album in 1991 to huge critical and commercial success. But then life happened. As with most of these bands, grunge came along and buried the whole genre of party rock, taking many bands down with it. Soon after the release of their debut album "Nobody Said It Was Easy", singer Frank C. Starr was re-arrested on drug charges and spent a year in jail as a result. Their record label dropped them and eventually Haggis (guitar) and Ben Pape (bass) got tired of the scene and quit the band. To make matters worse, drummer Ken Dimwit Montgomery died of a drug overdose in September 1994, and a year later, singer Starr was hit by a drunk driver while on his Harley. Starr spent four years in a coma, eventually dying in 1999. Guitarist Dave Lizmi put together a new lineup for the second album "Gettin' Pretty Good At Barely Gettin' By". Frank C. Starr managed to record many of the vocal tracks before his accident, and the addition of Pharaoh on Bass and Randy Cooke playing drums all combined to produce a respectable follow-up to "Nobody Said It Was Easy".

"Gettin' Pretty Good At Barely Gettin' By" was a little more relaxed, and considerably more thought provoking than the first record. The band had clearly matured due to the tragedies which befell it. At the same time, "Gettin' Pretty Good At Barely Gettin' By" was a solid hard rock offering. The Four Horsemen had been called country rock, stoner rock, biker rock, whatever. They knew good time party rock. Several of the songs, including the lead off track "Still Alive and Well", were tributes to either fallen members or the resiliency of the band itself. The title song opened with a dreamy flange guitar, and cutted into a serious groove.  Production was excellent and every instrument came out clean and clear. "Drunk Again" was flat out party rock with a little story to tell about dealing with a breakup. "Livin’ These Blues" was a mid tempo blues rocker with a catchy chorus. "Song For Absent Friends" was exactly what you would expect given the band’s troubles. An acoustic ode to Dimwit, it was personal and no doubt therapeutic for the band. The next track "Keep Your Life" switched immediately away from the prior depressing song and was dare I say a happy song.  Sorta, anyway.

"Hot Rod" linked back to The Four Horsemen’s first album with some crazy guitar work and intensity. That was real driving music. "Rock My Universe" was another solid rocker, with a memorable chorus. From the very first sustained power chord of "Back In Business Again", my absolute favourite track on this excellent album, the listener knows this is going to be an ugly tune. It tells the story of the band and its record company troubles and is a strong song. "Hit the Road" was a hillbilly stomp in good fun, and "Keep On Keepin On" was a road song at its best. The thing about The Four Horsemen is that even going back to "Nobody Said It Was Easy", they could write anthemic, catchy, sing-along tunes. "My Song" is very much like that, as is the final track, "What the Hell Went Wrong". Now full disclosure. The Four Horsemen’s two studio albums were required listening during a long time. When good hard rock was going downhill fast, these were some of my go-to best choices. That said, I don’t think I’m alone. Black Stone Cherry in particular has a harder edge, but I can still hear comparisons over 20 years later.

All in all, The Four Horsemen were quite literally a shattered band come 1996. Five years on from their simplistic but infectious retro-rock debut, they'd been dropped by Def American, been abandoned by their main songwriter guiding force in founding guitarist Haggis, and, most heartbreaking of all, lost drummer Ken Dimwit Montgomery to a drug overdose. As the band's last remaining original members, it came down to guitarist Dave Lizmi and troubled singer Frank C. Starr (more on him later) to assemble a new lineup and attempt to shoulder the load themselves on the snidely named Gettin' Pretty Good at Barely Gettin' By. And they did an OK job. The album still featured much of the Four Horsemen's stripped-down, hard-rocking style, but standout cuts such as "Hot Rod" and the poignant "Song for Absent Friends" generally lacked the Southern Skynyrd flavor, and especially the power boogie AC/DC crunch of old. Instead, the album mostly resorted to a mellower, more soulful, decidedly sleeker Black Crowes-type groove for tracks like the title song and "Drunk Again" (note background lady singers).

A few songs also forced the "we're still rockin''' storyline ad nauseam (see cheesy opener "Still Alive and Well" and the edgier, frankly biographical "Back in Business Again"), while others simply lacked originality (for example, "Livin' These Blues," which apes the debut's hit, "Tired Wings," a tad too closely). Still, the fact that's it's clearly inferior compared to its predecessor shouldn't entirely detract from this album's good-time blue-collar rock & roll, and fans of the Horsemen will likely want to give it a chance anyway. Sadly, Gettin' Pretty Good at Barely Gettin' By proved to be the final musical testament for singer Starr, who passed away under tragic circumstances a few years later. "Gettin' Pretty Good At Barely Gettin' By" is a great biker rock album with many many good moments. Open a bottle of beer and listen to this album.

LINDA HOYLE - Pieces Of Me (Vertigo Records 6360 060, 1972)

Linda Hoyle (born Linda Hoile in 1946) is a singer, lyricist, writer and art therapist. She grew up in West London, where she attended Chiswick Grammar School. Her first public performance was when she was ten, at St. Peter’s Primary School. She sang "Toot Toot Tootsie Goodbye" as part of a small talent show the school held, and later that same year appeared as the Angel Gabriel in the church nativity play. A fearless stage presence was noted by her teachers. However, her music teacher at Chiswick School wrote in her school report that Linda showed no aptitude for music. At Linda as Lady Macbethsixteen she played Lady Macbeth in the boy’s school production, during which, for a joke, some of the cast nailed her dress train to the floor.  Her entrance was considered a tour de force of Hoile bravado. Her fundamental musical influence was jazz, essentially dictated by the existence of her father’s substantial collection of 78 RPM records, stored carefully in wooden drawers set on roller skates for easy access. She still has two of the original records, both by Louis Armstrong, "Hotter Than That" and "West End Blues". Linda can still sing, note for note, Armstrong’s scat improvisation from the former. Her appreciation for jazz, which she views as America’s gift to the world, has never diminished. 

Hoyle family life was a mixture of high-explosive emotion coupled with the expectation of physical toughness. Linda and her younger sister, Wendy, rode out these storms by singing and playing - first ukuleles and later guitars. They built up a catalogue of popular songs, some from as far back as 1900, which they performed, in harmony, to semi appreciative friends and family. In her mid-teens, with a weekend job and teenage friends, rock and roll broke into the house, along with The Everly Brothers, Cliff Richard, Elvis and Eddie Cochran. Sadly, Pat Boone came too, mainly because the entry way was the radio and other people’s records. Money did not flow freely in the Hoile household. However, it was a fairly equal-opportunity home for music, so although her mother’s piano playing was not encouraged much, owing to its general non-swinging nature, it was on the whole a free-for-all musical soup. In later teen years, Eel Pie Island, The Crawdaddy Club and local pubs furnished both of the Hoile sisters with the experience of live, loud, and anarchic music. It turned out to be Linda’s drug of choice.

After finishing at Chiswick School, and turning down a place at Teachers Training College, she spent a year working in Hammersmith Hospital as a lab technician. However, Linda found herself writing poetry while she was in evening classes studying Staining Techniques, consequently underperforming on the exams. Linda with Lynton Naiiff  Accepting that resistance was useless, she enrolled again in Teachers College. Wall Hall was an all women’s institution in the flush of Britain’s renewal. New residences were being built, good meals were provided and generally, with some native wit, exams could be passed. The core of the College was a neo-gothic pile extended and embellished by Pierpoint-Morgan. It lent itself to romance. In 1967 she was introduced to Lynton Naiff, subsequently breaking off a previous engagement to a Sussex student whom she had known at school. She started singing with the Sussex University Jazz Trio where Naiff was the pianist and Mo Foster was on drums. This was the seed group that was to become Affinity in 1968. Linda rejected the teaching job offered to her after finishing college and went on the road with the band. 

The years with Affinity (1967-1971) were tough but educational. Managed by Ronnie Scott’s, they were signed with Vertigo, worked as an opening band for jazz legends such as Stan Getz and Horace Silver, lost their equipment to a fire in the Upstairs Room at Ronnie’s club, spent time Affinity Album Coveron the road with Annie Nightingale for her first documentary with the BBC, survived tours of Europe and performed live on radio and television. Their original album, "Affinity" (1970) is now highly collectable and has continued to sell as a CD on the Angel Air label.  Two of the tracks were original compositions by Naiff and Jopp, with Linda writing the lyrics. It was during this time that the misspelling of Linda’s surname, Hoile to Hoyle, passed into general use. This has never been corrected.

In 1970 Linda became the voice of the Shredded Wheat commercial, 'there are two men in my life'. This made her more money than she ever received with the band. She performed it live on the Michael Parkinson show, sharing a dressing room with a rather tipsy Shelley Winters who insisted on arranging Linda’s hair for her performance. Shortly after that albums’ release Linda left the band. Her relationship with Naiff had run its course, and life on the road had become too much. At Ronnie Scott’s suggestion, she started work on a solo album with Karl Jenkins, now Sir Karl. He was then keyboardist for Nucleus and Soft Machine and part of the Scott stable. Working over several months they wrote the majority of the music for "Pieces Of Me", again released by Vertigo Records. This album is now one of the rarest from the label and an original copy sells for over a thousand pounds. Jenkins’ string arrangements for the album, which appear on several tracks, pre-figure his later classical works, for which he is so well known. At the same time that Linda was making "Pieces Of Me" she started a relationship with John ‘Nick’ Nicholas, the original bass player from the University of Sussex Jazz Trio. In 1972 she left for Canada where Nicholas had a teaching position at The University of Western Ontario. They married that year.

MELISMA - Like Trolls (Melisma Records 17681, 1978)

John Simon was born in Philadelphia, PA, where he has studied piano since the age of 8. He received both a Bachelors (1976) and Masters Degree (1978) in Music Composition at the Ester Boyer College of Music at Temple University in Philadelphia. John studied classical piano performance with Sophia Melvin and composition with Clifford Taylor, Robert Morgan and Paul Epstein. He founded the Temple University Electronic Music Studio, where he taught graduate and undergraduate classes in Electronic Music. Using a large C-Series Moog Modular Synthesizer, John’s many compositions explored the avant-garde of the electronic genre. John wrote the score for the film Forever Furness, produced by Robert Steele, which won first prize for music in the film competition sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.  In the 1970's, John played swing and bluegrass upright bass for seven years with The Skookil Express. The Skookil Express played throughout the Philadelphia area, and were featured at the Philadelphia Folk Festival.

With fellow musicians drawn from the halls of the Ester Boyer College of Music John formed the group Melisma, which performed extensively throughout the Philadelphia area in the 70's, and cut an album, the now a collector's item "Like Trolls". The group performed original songs, with a strong emphasis on vocal harmonies. Melisma was very eclectic, performing material ranging from Renaissance madrigals to Be-Bop, from Leonard Bernstein to Joni Mitchell. In 1979, John moved to Mendocino County, Northern California, where he formed the jazz fusion group Synaps from 1982 through 1987. Synaps featured jazz vocalist Paula Samonte and performed original music composed by John. His passion for creativity has driven him to form and join many groups exploring original and experimental music. He produced several CDs and was a founding member of the group The Fourth Stream, a modern jazz ensemble featuring many of his compositions.

John was a member of the faculty at Sonoma State University for seven years, and continues to teach at the Santa Rosa Junior College for his fifth year, teaching jazz piano as well as jazz vocal repertoire and accompaniment techniques. He is in his eighth year as music director for Saint Francis Solano Catholic Church in Sonoma. Those other groups sound very interesting: Synaps, and Fourth Stream. Now let's move on to the gentleman who wrote the majority of the music here. His name was Robert Marcelonis. Robert "Bob" Marcelonis (2 June 1953 - 30 March 1995) was an American musician and artist, based in Philadelphia. Marcelonis was known in the Philadelphia arts community as a songwriter, playwright and founder of several improvisational comedy groups. Naturally gifted and raised in a religious family, Bob had composed Masses, Ave Maria's and commemorative pieces for the canonization of Saint John Neumann. He sang in the choir of the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. As well as playing various instruments, composing and orchestrating, Bob had an incredible voice and a natural singing ability. He graduated from Temple University's School of Music in May 1975, as a music composition major. He was interested in of all types of music and cultures, which would often influence his musical compositions. Though classically trained, he participated in the folk festival every year. And as well as masses, wrote inane lyrics and silly songs, always happy to make people laugh or to laugh himself.  As is often the case with artists, Marcelonis had to find work outside of the arts in order to make ends meet. He became an accomplished computer systems analyst in a matter of months through self-study and was able to maintain a comfortable lifestyle through this work.

During the late-1970s and early-1980s Marcelonis wrote scores of songs and played the local coffeehouse circuit both as a solo act and with his band, Melisma. He lived for several years during the late 1970s and early 1980s in Los Angeles where he worked with The Groundlings learning the craft of improvisational comedy.  His mother was diagnosed with cancer just as Bob was starting to break through in both his musical and comedic talents. He returned home to Germantown, in Philadelphia, to care for his mother until she died. He remained in the home where he grew up never returning to California. Upon returning home to Philadelphia he soon started his own series of improv groups. Some of the descendants of these groups are still performing in Philadelphia and other areas, to this day. 

In the early-1990s, Bob's life would change drastically when he learned he was HIV positive. Bob fought hard for his life but came to accept his pending death as certain, as his illness would infiltrate his body and he would get AIDS, suffering greatly. At first he feared admitting his illness and losing his family and friends. But in the end, pure love overcame fear and as he told each of his family and friends, all embraced him and all were with him to the very end. When a great artist like Marcelonis is able to create such gorgeous work that gives us so much happiness and pleasure, so many years after he has passed, who is to say there is no such thing as an eternal soul ?

 

VARIOUS ARTISTS - Silver Monk Time (Play Loud! Productions CD-PL-02, 2006)

"Silver Monk Time" was a brilliant contribution album that had been released after the triumphant return of the original 60's legend Monks, when their documentary "The Transatlantic Feedback" found its way to the cinemas over the world. The film was produced by Play Loud! Productions and shot on location in the USA and Germany between 1997 and 2002. In 2008 the filmmakers obtained the German TV Oscar, the Adolf Grimme Awards. After the Beatles conquered the world, America responded with the Monkees, a friendlier version playing Brill Building hits. Inversely, in Germany, a pair of avant-garde geniuses (Walther Niemann and Karl-H. Remy) conceptualized the monks, a group of bizarre anti-Beatles who would write their own dark minimalist rock. The gifted band, a group of five Americans who had recently finished their U.S. military service at a German base, had honed its skills by playing up to 40 hours a week in the same beat clubs that provided the Beatles’ training. The musicians’ new managers dressed them in black, shaved their heads like monks, provided them with a series of manifestos, and coached them to reconfigure their band to feature tribal drumming, feedback and electric banjo. Somehow, this resulted in one of the greatest albums in rock history. Despite experimenting with minimalism, tension and antipop sensibilities (backup vocals are sung in creepy unison instead of sweet harmony), the record is danceable and joyous.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the film is seeing the five contemporary monks discussing the history they had all buried upon returning to America in 1967, after the band’s dissolution. Larry Clark, the Chicago-bred Rhythm'n'Blues keyboardist, won’t allow himself to attach any significance to his work with the monks. Absurdly, of the five articulate interviewees, only guitarist and lead singer Gary Burger is willing to attribute political significance to the Vietnam lyrics in their theme song. With this lack of singular vision, it’s not surprising that the filmmakers framed their story by focusing on the conceptualists’ vision. The film was well received by critics. Chris Morris of The Hollywood Reporter named it a "penetrating and loving documentary". Dennis Harvey of Variety praised that "Helmers do a vivid job etching the creatively fervid times, with an editing style whose dynamism echoes that of Monk music". New York critic and John Cage expert Richard Kostelanetz compared it with the documentary film Comedian Harmonists (1976) by Eberhard Fechner: "The Transatlantic Feedback" vividly recalls several American military veterans who in the early 1960s formed in Germany a short-lived proto-punk rock group calling themselves the Monks (and cutting their hair appropriately). Much like Eberhard Fechner’s great documentary about the Comedian Harmonists, the film, through individual interviews made decades later, neatly documents not just how they came together and fell apart, but the remarkable performances they did in between. This film is moving, informative, and unforgettable.

In conjunction with the film play loud! productions initiated a double CD tribute record by the title "Silver Monk Time - A Tribute To The Monks". This record served as financial support to the film and was released officially on October 23, 2006 at the famous Volksbühne in Berlin (Germany). At the same event the film was premiered to a full house. play loud! also had invited The Monks and some special guests from "Silver Monk Time". For The Monks it was their first live performance in Germany for almost 40 years. After the film screening The Monks were received with standing ovations by a frenetic audience. Special guest musicians Mark E. Smith (The Fall), The Raincoats, Schorsch Kamerun (Goldenen Zitronen) and Peter Hein (Fehlfarben) celebrated together with The Monks their comeback. Among the audience were also some of the old collaborators, such as, Walther Niemann, Wolfgang Gluszczewski and Jimmy Bowien.

"Silver Monk Time" was both a tribute record to the German-American beat band The Monks and the soundtrack to the award winning film "The Transatlantic Feedback". The record was produced and compiled by the filmmakers Dietmar Post and Lucia Palacios. It was released in October 2006. The official record release was part of a major event at Berliner Volksbühne, (Germany). Play Loud! Productions not only premiered "The Transatlantic Feedback" but also invited renowned guest musicians to join The Monks on stage to what would be their first German live show after almost 40 years. The title "Silver Monk Time" came about due to a rumor that after the release of "Black Monk Time" in May 1966 The Monks already had initiated work on what was supposed to be their second LP. One beat accompanied by one continuous feedback was supposed to have spread out on two LP sides that would be known by the title "Silver Monk Time".

For the new "Silver Monk Time" it was decided no to do a standard tribute record by just having the original songs covered. The participating 29 bands were explicitly asked to experiment with the Monks concept. Famous German electronic avant-garde band Mouse on Mars wrote in the detailed booklet to the record: "Mouse on Mars have tried to prove that after the deconstruction of the Monks their undeniable influence on 21st-century pop music has been proven. Rhythm, sound and melody grow together to a stream of lava on which the energy laden music surfs down into the valley of Dionysus by tearing down mirror balls like apples from trees." The Neue Zürcher Zeitung wrote: Artistically similar, creative and intrepid as the Monks, their grandchildren stand for a form of pop music in which can be discovered aesthetic and musical daring, which unrelentingly sets a tone for its own satisfaction.

The Village Voice is convinced that: "The Uberbeat (and a war or two) goes on. "Silver Monk Time" buys us all some more hop time, finally". The Wire mentioned "Silver Monk Time" among the best compilation records of the year 2007: "Unlike many tribute projects that fall flat due to those involved being either overawed or ignorant of the original material, Silver Monk Time succeeds because the participants have taken the group's primitive rock surge as a template to experiment with. As a result the sound of The Monks is treated to a 21st century workout with synthesizers and beat tracks threaded through the original quartet's already way out psychotic minimalism“. The artwork to Silver Monk Time was created by Lucia Palacios and is based on the motif of the "The Transatlantic Feedback" film poster by German painter Daniel Richter. There have also been two 7" single releases taken from "Silver Monk Time": 1) "Monk Time" by Alec Empire and original Monks singer Gary Burger and "Higgle-dy Piggle-dy" by The Fall. 2) "Drunken Maria" by Gossip and "Monk Chant" by The Raincoats.

THE GRATEFUL DEAD - Live / Dead (Warner Brothers Records WS 1830, 1969)

"Live / Dead" was the first in an endless row of the Grateful Dead's trademark double live albums and one of the best-loved ones. Tired of mimicking their live craft in the studio, or, at best, interpolating live stuff with pointless studio overdubs, the Dead finally agreed here to follow the usual way and split into a 'live band', putting out their real live experiences, and a 'studio band', putting out well-crafted studio recordings. Not that the two sides of the band wouldn't ever be meeting from now on, but for the most part, all of the band's acid excesses were now left on genuine live albums. Like this one. If you find out you hate the album, don't despair. It's certainly not for everybody. But let me tell you this, brothers and sisters - there is a way to enjoy the album, and the way lies in the album's incredible diversity. Oh well, wait a bit, it's not actually that diverse, because it's the Grateful Dead after all, and they don't do no Roy Wood kind of freakshow; they got their own. But what strikes me on here is that none of the seven tracks actually sound similar; all follow slightly different patterns, and you get to witness the Dead in all kinds of 'environments' - it's not just the notorious "acid jams" that you're gonna get, but rather a vast palette of styles and moods. I doubt that anybody but the most loyal Deadheads would enjoy the record in its entirety, though; most probably, you won't like all of these styles, and even I certainly don't. What good is there still makes the record well worth owning, though.

Actually, there's only one acid jam on there, the massive, epic "Dark Star" that opens the album. This is a number you have to get used to, but you know - you have to get used to it. An excellent amalgam of blues and jazz, all mostly played in a minor key for further moodiness, it showcases Garcia at his very, very best. Frankly speaking, I really don't know how it is theoretically possible to play all these twenty-minute solos without dropping dead at the end. The only person I know who's capable of doing that is Clapton, and we all know that Clapton is God, now don't we ? But truthfully, Jerry's masterful and atmospheric passages on "Dark Star" are quite comparable with some of Clapton's best jams in Cream. Particularly impressive is the moment when Jerry goes duelling with Bob Weir and the entire band just goes crazy without you even noticing it - everything is so smooth and well-controlled that even in the very middle of this endless jam they can still take you by surprise. Exhausted on that one, the band rips into an inspired rendition of "St. Stephen", completely obliterating the studio original. It's one of the shorter tunes on here, but also one of the tightest and most easily accessible - it's just a folksy little chant, after all.

Then the band goes really raunchy and rockin' on the stomping jam "The Eleven", where they are faster and angrier than anywhere else on the album. Then there's time for about fifteen minutes worth of goofiness: Pigpen steps in with an exaggerated, schizophrenic rendition of the old Rhythm'n'Blues song "Turn On Your Lovelight". Then they get into 'blues mode', playing a lengthy, drawn-out, bleeding little blooze number appropriately called "Death Don't Have No Mercy". Then things get weird again, with a lengthy, drawn-out, bleeding little noisefest appropriately called "Feedback"; and after abusing our ears for so long, the Dead close with a few farewellish vocal harmonies ("And We Bid You Goodnight"). Whatever the actual length of these pieces might be, you at least gotta give them their due - they're not overexhausting our patience. Well, not my patience, at least. My patience has learned how to stretch itself out through the long years full of hardship and toil and listening to too much Captain Beefheart. My patience is cool and relaxed; what about your patience, dear Sir ?

That said, patience is one thing, and pure enjoyability is another. Like I said, you probably won't like every style they tackle. Listen to me now. Me - I can easily tolerate "Dark Star", because it's really dark and really trippy and really takes you places, all the time never stopping you from tapping your foot and keeping within the groove. And I can easily tolerate "St Stephen", and to a lesser extent, "The Eleven" and "Death Don't Have No Mercy": the latter might be just ten minutes of generic blues, but it sets such a creepy, somber mood, that I take it. However, I just can't understand the very meaning of "Turn On Your Love Light". My hypothesis is that it's just Pigpen fooling around and trying to kill time or something. I mean, take something like the Stones' "Goin' Home", throw out the cool guitar lines and the exaggerated, hilarious vocals, throw in a drunk unfunny clown and you guarantee yourself some prime boredom. Likewise, I won't accept anything like "Feedback" in my world. If you want something really noisy and messy, go listen to Amon Düül II and spare yourself all that American feedback psychedelia crap. Even if you deem such things to be 'mind-liberating', there simply were lots of bands doing the noise schtick much better.

With all these faults, it's obvious I can't grant the album a maximum rating; even so, let's at least not forget that it's a double one and they managed to fit it all on one CD, so you can just disregard the twenty five minutes of stupid filler and concentrate on the fifty minutes of the really interesting stuff. Simply put, I highly doubt that in the America of 1969 there ever existed a band capable of producing something like "Dark Star" on the stage. Certainly not Quicksilver Messenger Service, who took their professional duties far lighter than the Grateful Dead. And definitely not the Jefferson Airplane, as Jorma Kaukonen never had the ace guitar skills of Jerry Garcia; besides, whenever that band entered jam mode, it was like they rather were playing lightweight pothead music, while the Grateful Dead were playing serious pothead music. Feel the difference ? I think, you don't really need to be a pothead to feel the difference.