Long before he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,
Leon Russell
began his career as a well-respected session musician. Moving to L.A. from
Oklahoma in the late 1950s, Russell worked his way up the ranks of studio
professionals, his natural ability to cross genres like rock ‘n’ roll, blues,
country, and gospel leading to a chair with the legendary Wrecking Crew, where
he brought his talents to records throughout the 1960s by such disparate artists
as the Byrds, Jan & Dean, Ray Charles, Gary Lewis & the Playboys, the
Beach Boys, and Glen Campbell, among many others. Russell would later hook up
with guitarist Marc Benno, a fellow studio pro, as part of the two-man band the
Asylum Choir, which released its debut album,
Look Inside the Asylum Choir, in 1968.
It was an auspicious,
if tentative debut for the future rock ‘n’ roll legend, with the two musicians
sharing production duties and tag-teaming the instrumentation and songwriting on
a set that blended psychedelic rock (only then becoming passé) with scraps of
pop, blues, soul, and whatever else they could mix in the bowl. With Russell
handling vocals, piano, guitar, and drums and Benno adding guitar, bass, and
vocals, the pair delivered a fine, if overlooked album which displays their
musical curiosity while still flirting with a (barely) commercial sound. As
such, you get songs like the Sgt. Pepper’s-era Beatles (“Icicle Star
Tree”), Big Band-styled psych-soul (“Death of the Flowers”), noirish exotica
(“Episode Containing 3 Songs”), or frenetic ragtime (“Black Sheep Boogaloo”),
all carefully-crafted and sporting a glossy studio sheen.
Look Inside the Asylum Choir
refused to find an audience in spite of the album’s widespread critical acclaim,
which didn’t deter Russell and Benno from taking another shot a year later. They
called in some friends to help record Asylum Choir II, including talented
guitarist Jesse Ed Davis and bassist Carl Radle. Scheduled for 1969 release by
Russell’s own Shelter Records label, legal problems delayed
Asylum Choir II until 1971, by which time Russell had begun to establish
himself as a solo star, helping push the album to #70 on the
Billboard chart. Russell hopscotched through Delaney & Bonnie &
Friends on his way to a role as bandleader for Joe Cocker’s momentous 1970
Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour and then onto a modestly-successful solo
career.
Benno didn’t do too shabby for himself either, establishing
himself as a blues-rock solo artist and songwriter with better than a dozen
studio LPs to his credit. Benno continued to dabble in session work as well,
contributing guitar tracks to the Doors L.A. Woman album and recording
with artists like Rita Coolidge, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. (Smash
Records, 1968)
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