Guitarist Michael Bruce was an integral part of the sound and fury that was the original Alice Cooper band. Co-writer of many of the band’s best-known and beloved songs, Bruce was around for classic Alice Cooper albums like Love It To Death, School’s Out, and Billion Dollar Babies. After Alice left the band to pursue solo stardom, Bruce and fellow bandmates carried on under the name Billion Dollar Babies at first, recording a single album titled Battle Axe. The guitarist would later forge a lengthy and impressive solo career that includes a half-dozen albums as well as a pair of recordings with the band Ant-Bee.
In February 2018, Gonzo Multimedia will be reissuing Bruce’s critically-acclaimed biography No More Mr. Nice Guy as part of a limited edition box set. The box includes the book, written by Bruce and his Ant-Bee bandmate Billy James, originally published in 1996 and recently updated; as well as a signed certificate, a 1996 interview CD, and reproductions of Alice Cooper group memorabilia. The box set is limited to 250 copies and is currently available for pre-order through PledgeMusic.
For Michael Bruce/Alice Cooper fans there are also a couple of other items on the Pledge Music page that might pique your interest. If you don’t want to pony up $67 for the deluxe box set, you can buy Bruce’s No More Mr. Nice Guy bio by itself for a very reasonable $13.50 (plus shipping) and/or pick up a copy of the very first show by Billion Dollar Babies on CD for a mere $12.15 (plus shipping). Performed in Flint, Michigan in 1977, Billion Dollar Babies included Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, and Neal Smith from the original Alice Cooper band as well guitarist Mike Marconi and keyboardist Bob Dolin. The book and the CD are available in a bundle for $24 (plus shipping).
In a press release for the box set, Bruce says “it’s not often we get a chance to redo, remake or, in this case, re-release a book...my book. It is with much thought, great enjoyment, many thanks, and heartfelt appreciation for family, friends, and fans that I present the re-release of No More Mr Nice Guy, a compilation of hilarious rock ‘n’ roll stories and life events that made me the man I am today.” Check it all out on the PledgeMusic website.
Legendary British rockers the Pink Fairies will be releasing their first album in three decades on November 4th, 2016 when Gonzo Multimedia releases the band’s Naked Radio. Fronted by singer and guitarist Andy Colquhoun, the band reunited in 2013 and has played a number of successful U.K. shows over the past couple of years. The Pink Fairies today are comprised of Colquhoun, bassist Sandy Sanderson, drummers Russell Hunter and George Butler, and keyboardist Jaki Windmill.
Formed in 1970 out of the ashes of infamous U.K. band the Deviants (which included Sanderson and Hunter), the Pink Fairies were active participants in London’s psychedelic underground rock scene of the early ‘70s. They promoted free music, drugs, and anarchy and were famous for stunts like playing for free outside the gates at the Isle of Wight Festival and Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music. The initial band line-up, which included guitarist Paul Randolph, Sanderson, and Hunter recorded a pair of cult classics in 1971’s Never Never Land, which included former Pretty Things drummer ‘Twink’, and the following year’s What A Bunch of Sweeties, which included a second guitarist in Trevor Burton.
Rudolph was replaced by future Motörhead guitarist Larry Wallis for 1973’s Kings of Oblivion, the final album of the era for the band and another bona fide cult classic. During much of the rest of the 1970s and early ‘80s, Pink Fairies members played in various bands, frequently with former Deviants bandmate Mick Farren, before the opportunity to record for Demon Records was offered. A new Pink Fairies line-up was formed around Wallis, Sanderson, and Hunter with Twink and Farren’s guitarist Andy Colquhoun to record the band’s last album, 1987’s Kill ‘Em and Eat ‘Em.
Drummer Russell Hunter, in a press release for the new album, states “it’s over 45 years since the first studio album and nearly 30 since the last. The passage of these years is inevitably etched to some extent on all these songs, some much deeper than others. But in the final analysis, they’re all some facet of the Pink Fairies.” Check out the video below and you'll agree that the band sounds every bit as wiggy as it always has...then buy the CD from Amazon.com!
Ghanaian musician Gregg Kofi Brown spent nearly twenty years with pioneering world music outfit Osibisa before releasing his first solo album, Together As One, in 2005. Formed in London in 1969 by a group of African and Caribbean musicians, Osibisa fused the sounds of the various band members’ homelands with elements of R&B, rock, jazz, and funk to create an entirely new genre of music that found a small but loyal cult audience in both the U.K. and the U.S. as the band landed albums like 1971’s self-titled Osibisa and its follow-up, Woyaya, onto the Billboard magazine charts.
Gregg Kofi Brown joined Osibisa in the mid-80s and continues to make great music with the band, helping to expand its audience and influence worldwide while also recording solo music with friends like jazz legends Billy Cobham and Stanley Jordan, both of whom appeared on Together As One. On June 24th, 2016 Gonzo Multimedia U.K. will release Rock ‘n’ Roll and UFOs, a career-spanning anthology to accompany Brown’s upcoming autobiography of the same title. Including previously-unreleased songs, remixes, and demos the album features guest musicians like guitarists Dominic Miller (Sting) and Gus Isidore (Seal) and keyboardist John ‘Rabbit’ Bundrick (Free) as well as material from Osibisa and Brown’s solo efforts.
Brown’s autobiography, Rock ‘n’ Roll and UFOs, promises to be as much fun to read as the artist’s album will be to listen to. He certainly has some stories to tell, not only tales of globetrotting as part of Osibisa but also from his work as a studio bassist and producer with artists like Joe Cocker, Eric Burdon, Hanoi Rocks, and Bomb da Bass. Brown has also enjoyed a modicum of success as an actor, performing as Jellyroll Morton at London’s prestigious Royal Court Theatre as well as in the hit musical Tribute to the Blues Brothers. The book also promises to reveal the truth behind the title, documenting “three strange encounters” experienced by Brown in the California desert.
A fascinating and prolific artist, Gregg Kofi Brown has made an invaluable contribution to the popularity and evolution of world music.
Larry “Wild Man” Fischer was a tragic figure, and an unlikely rock star. Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and twice confined to a mental institution, the homeless Fischer roamed the streets of Los Angeles, singing his frequently made-up-on-the-spot songs for a dime for anybody willing to listen (and pay). Discovered by Frank Zappa – no stranger to weirdness for weirdness sake – the Maestro coaxed Fischer into the studio and produced An Evening With Wild Man Fischer, the album originally released in 1968 on Zappa’s own Bizarre Records imprint.
Zappa and members of the Mothers of Invention offered sparse instrumental accompaniment behind Fischer’s fractured vocals, the producer capturing the essence of Fischer’s street performances in the studio. The ambitious double-album offers up 36 songs, some no more than short, sharp stream-of-consciousness rants while others are insightful, revealing, autobiographical poems set to minimalist instrumental backing. The album has taken on an almost mythological status since its release, with scarce vinyl copies selling in the neighborhood of a C-note (if you can find one). Long out-of-print, An Evening With Wild Man Fischer has received its first-ever CD release courtesy of the good folks at Gonzo Multimedia in the U.K.
An Evening With Wild Man Fischer
Kids, I’m warning you up front – An Evening With Wild Man Fischer is not an album for the faint of heart, Republicans, the uptight, the elderly, politicians (Democrats or Republicans…Libertarians should be cool with it!), those who cringe at outsider art, the unsophisticated, those who don’t like rock ‘n’ roll, rednecks, hillbillies, or them whats believe that Frank Zappa was one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. Zappa knew exactly what he was doing when he took a mentally ill street person into the studio in the halcyon days of 1968 to record an album he was certain that his corporate minders would find confusing and ultimately dislike.
The lawyer-approved language above notwithstanding, An Evening With Wild Man Fischer is a challenging but oddly entertaining listen. Larry’s Fischer’s voice can be alluringly hypnotic, but is just as frequently shrill, off-balance, and entirely non-melodic. Take one of his best-known ditties, “Merry-Go-Round,” a simple sing-a-long that digs its way into your cranium like a sentient corkscrew, leaving you humming or chanting the so-called chorus for hours after ingesting. Fischer’s vocal yelps, whoops, and croons are remarkably lacking in embarrassment, allowing the artist to let go with a carnival-like, free-flowing lyrical stream-of-consciousness that rivals that of Zippy the Pinhead.
The Madness & Ecstasy
Zappa mixed a combination of street and studio recordings to make An Evening With Wild Man Fischer, capturing the singer in his native environment (singing songs for a dime on the sidewalk), embellishing the latter recordings with studio gimcrackery like tinkling piano keys, random percussion, and strange noises not unlike his own Lumpy Gravy LP. “The Madness & Ecstasy” is a spoken word piece with unlikely instrumentation and features a rant by the late Kim Fowley – himself a notorious Hollyweird character – as well as an appearance by L.A. DJ Rodney Bingenheimer and a brief recitation by the all-girl groupies outfit the GTO’s (Girls Together Outrageously – when will that album receive its long overdue release on CD?)
After the five-song introductory “The Basic Fischer,” the first disc slides into straight, unaccompanied Fischer performances caught on tape in the studio. Songs like “Which Way Did The Freaks Go,” “I’m Working for the Federal Bureau of Narcotics” (which name-checks LBJ, Ronald Reagan, and baseball legend Sandy Koufax), “Cops and Robbers” (an intriguing story-song with a doo-wop chorus), and “Monkey Versus Donkeys” (with a distinct 1950s rock vibe) all display Fischer’s itchy performance style, his often created-on-the-spot lyrics half-spoken, half-sung in his trademark simplistic manner and accompanied by random hollers and mouth noises.
Frank Zappa & The Taster
Fischer rewrites Buck Owens’ classic 1966 hit “Think of Me” as the leering “Think of Me When Your Clothes Are Off” before veering into Dylanesque folk with “Taggy Lee,” Fischer banging atonally on the guitar in an approximation of Mr. Zimmerman’s more nuanced acoustic strum. He jumps quickly into the 1950s-styled, doo-wop inspired “Rhonda,” following, perhaps, Ruben & the Jets as his muse. At one point in the recording, Fischer asks “I’m getting paid for this ain’t I, Frank?” which is followed by Zappa patiently replying “yes you are.” The second disc opens with “The Taster,” which features Fischer fronting the Mothers of Invention, Zappa’s fluid guitar lines perfectly accompanying the singer’s bouncy, rapid-fire, and somewhat off-kilter vocals. With “Story of the Taster,” Fischer explains the previous song and his attempt, at age 16, to create a new dance craze along the lines of “The Twist.”
Fischer’s “The Rocket Rock” is another teenage fever-dream, the first song he remembers writing, a curiously derivative ditty that quickly devolves into a rambling Fischer story. “Dream Girl” was written in the pop style of the early 1960s, performed a cappella by Fischer in his best Pat Boone crooning style, accompanying himself in a faux female voice for background vocals. Fischer outlines his hopes and aspirations with “Why I Am Normal,” a two-and-a-half-minute conversation where he sounds almost coherent. “The Wild Man Fischer” story continues the previous train of thought, the song an autobiographical one-act-play with Fischer portraying himself and various characters from throughout his life. “Circle” is another Mothers-backed track, musically a swirling whirlpool of psychedelic rock upon which Fischer embroiders his lysergic-tinged lyrics and strained, shouted vocals.
The Reverend’s Bottom Line
Frankly, An Evening With Wild Man Fischer probably isn’t for you. Although the argument over whether this is art or not is, quite frankly, inconsequential. Wild Man Fischer circa 1968 was a bleak reflection of a society beginning its slow, inevitable decline towards decay and collapse, a slide towards oblivion that continues, albeit at a faster pace, to this day. But Zappa perceived a glimpse of society’s failing humanity in Fischer and his cockeyed songs, and sought to capture them on tape for posterity. That Fischer and Zappa would eventually fall out was pre-ordained, but with An Evening With Wild Man Fischer, the singer and producer proved that there’s a little rock ‘n’ roll in all of us.
Fischer was the original model for the rock ‘n’ roll outsider, the first in a line of artists that includes Roky Erickson, Wesley Willis, and Daniel Johnston. While he didn’t have Roky’s melodic skills, or the everyman appeal of Willis, Wild Man Fischer perfectly captured the zeitgeist of the era and inexplicitly managed to eke out a career, of sorts, recording and sporadically recording until his death in 2011. His most notorious and least self-conscious work, An Evening With Wild Man Fischer is a brilliant, disturbing portrait of outsider music, Fischer an artist with big dreams that never let a lack of talent get in the way of his ambitions. Grade: B- (Gonzo Multimedia, released March 18, 2016)
Today’s your lucky day, Bunkie, ‘cause Gonzo Multimedia is reissuing the notorious underground classic LP An Evening with Wild Man Fischer on CD for the very first time on January 29th, 2016. Produced by Frank Zappa, the album has taken on an almost mythological status since its original release in 1968, with vinyl copies selling in the neighborhood of a C-note (if you can find one). Long out of print, An Evening with Wild Man Fischer has never received legit CD release until now…
Larry Fischer was a tragic figure; diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, Fischer roamed the streets of Los Angeles singing his songs for a dime for anybody willing to listen. Discovered by Frank Zappa, who released Fischer’s debut album on his Warner Brothers-distributed Bizarre Records imprint, An Evening with Wild Man Fischer featured musical accompaniment by Zappa and members of the Mothers of Invention behind Fischer’s fractured vocals, Zappa reproducing Fischer’s street performances in the studio. Released as an ambitious two-LP set, the album offered up 36 songs – some no more than short, sharp stream-of-consciousness rants while others were insightful, revealing autobiographical poems set to minimalist instrumental backing.
After the release of An Evening with Wild Man Fischer, the singer and Zappa had a falling out over royalties (Zappa held the rights to the album). After Zappa’s death, his widow Gail refused to release the album on CD because she felt that it displayed Frank in a poor light. Fischer later hooked up with Rhino Records, and released three albums for the label – 1977’s Wildmania, 1981’s Pronounced Normal, and 1983’s Nothing Scary – and he would become a minor underground culture celebrity. He was featured in 2004 comic book The Legend of Wild Man Fischer by artist/writer Dennis Eichhorn, and the same year Fischer performed on ABC TV’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! In 2005, a documentary film on Fischer, Derailroaded: Inside the Mind of Wild Man Fischer, debuted at the SxSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas.
Fischer passed away in June 2011 at the age of 66 from heart problems. With the recent death of Gail Zappa, who administered the Zappa estate, the road was obviously paved for the long overdue reissue of Fischer’s most notorious recording. An Evening with Wild Man Fischer is a brilliant, disturbing portrait of outsider music, Fischer an artist with big dreams and talent on par with better-known cult artists like Wesley Willis or Daniel Johnston.
An Evening with Wild Man Fischer track list:
Disc One
“The Basic Fischer”
1. Merry-Go-Round
2. New Kind of Songs for Sale
3. I’m Not Shy Anymore
4. Are You from Clovis
5. The Madness of Ecstacy Larry’s Songs (unaccompanied)
6. Which Way Did the Freaks Go
7. I’m Working for the Federal Bureau Of Narcotics
8. The Leaves Are Falling
9. 85 Times
10. Cops and Robbers
11. Monkeys Versus Donkeys
12. Start Life over Again
13. The Mope
14. Life Brand New
15. Who Did It Johnny
16. Think of Me When Your Clothes Are Off
17. Taggy Lee
18. Rhonda
19. I Looked Around You
20. Jennifer Jones
Disc Two
“Some Historical Notes”
1. The Taster
2. Story of the Taster
3. The Rocket Rock
4. Explanation and Dialog
5. Dream Girl
6. Dream Girl Explanation
7. Serrano Beach
8. Success Will Not Make Me Happy
9. Wild Man on the Strip Again
“In Conclusion”
10. Why Am I Normal
11. Wild Man Fischer Story
12. Balling Isn’t Everything
13. Ugly Beautiful Girl
14. Larry and His Guitar
15. Circle
16. Larry Under Pressure
Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Merrell Fankhauser is the epitome of the rock ‘n’ roll “cult artist.” He has paddled furiously against the tide of a largely indifferent recording industry for better than 50 years, amassing an impressive catalog of material that roams across a wide swath of 20th century musical styles, from surf and psychedelic-rock to folkish singer/songwriter and traditional Hawaiian music. He’s written literally hundreds of songs and released dozens of albums, and if Fankhauser isn’t a household name, it’s not due to a lack of talent or effort on his part.
Merrell Fankhauser’s Calling From A Star
Calling From A Star is Fankhauser’s long-awaiting autobiography, a no-frills and concise recollection of better than a half-century spent on the fringes of the music biz. The book opens with some family history and Fankhauser’s early days, none of which is especially fascinating, but it does serve to lay a foundation for the stories to follow. Fankhauser was the child of proud, hard-working blue collar parents that provided invaluable support for what would become a life-long obsession with music. Born in Kentucky, the Fankhauser family made its way to California, and once they’ve settled in The Golden State, that’s where the rock ‘n’ roll tale really begins.
Fankhauser’s first band of note was the surf-rock combo the Impacts, whose song “Wipe Out” is claimed (with some controversy) as the inspiration and/or basis for the Surfaris' hit by that name. Regardless, the Impacts were a popular coastal California performing band in the early 1960s, and Fankhauser would frequently revisit the instrumental surf-rock of his youth across a number of album releases in the 1980s and ‘90s that earned him a significant following in Europe and Japan. A cascade of bands followed the Impacts – outfits like Merrell and the Exiles (which emerged during the British Invasion years), Fapardokly (amusingly named for the band members’ initials, they were less a band than a 1966 psych-folk LP that would become a much sought-after collector’s item), Merrell and HMS Bounty (late 1960s psychedelic rock), and MU (early ‘70s era psych-blues and space-rock).
Through the years, Fankhauser has performed with a veritable “who’s who” of California musicians. Jeff Cotton and John “Drumbo” French of Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band both played in a version of the Exiles, and Cotton was also a major part of MU as Fankhauser and the band re-located to the then-lush jungle island of Maui in Hawaii. Amidst some discord, MU recorded a pair of albums, although only one would be released during the band’s existence. Fankhauser also recorded with John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service and Ed Cassidy of Spirit, and extensively as a solo artist or as a duo with various female partners. Through the years, he has appeared on stage with artists like Dean Torrence (of surf-rock duo Jan and Dean), Chuck Negron (Three Dog Night), Sky Saxon (The Seeds), and country music legend Willie Nelson, among many others.
Visiting The Tiki Lounge
To his credit, Fankhauser never sugar-coats the rough ‘n’ tumble life of a professional musician on the edge of fame. Through his lengthy career, Fankhauser has escaped largely unscathed by the drug and alcohol abuse that claimed so many of his friends. Fankhauser has loved and lost several women to his dogged pursuit of rock ‘n’ roll, and he speaks of the time he regretfully didn’t spend with his two sons. In the pages of Calling From A Star, Fankhauser brilliantly outlines the personality conflicts, intramural squabbles, and petty jealousies that derail even the best of bands, the break-up of MU a particularly unsavory clash of egos and religion. Seldom speaking poorly of his former bandmates, Fankhauser saves his scorn for the record business itself, telling a tale of lost (and stolen royalties), false starts and near misses, and the lies and deception that sometimes seem to fuel the industry.
Still, Fankhauser has kept on truckin’ through the decades, and he has enjoyed a bit of a revitalized career over the past decade as albums from his former bands received legitimate re-release (amidst a sea of bootleg releases of often-dodgy quality) alongside a lot of his solo albums. Although having an impressive body of work behind you helps when appealing to new fans, Fankhauser’s recent higher profile has been fueled partly by YouTube and the Internet, as well as by his long-running cable TV show Tiki Lounge. Featuring performances by Fankhauser and various musician friends, the popular regional program has transcended its humble roots to achieve a worldwide cult audience, and Fankhauser has some great stories connected to the show in the book.
In 2014, prior to the release of Calling From A Star, Gonzo Multimedia in the U.K. released The Best of Merrell Fankhauser, a delightful two-disc compilation that features 32 tracks and over 90 minutes of music, comprised not only of Fankhauser’s solo performances, but also material from Merrell and the Exiles, Fapardokly, Merrell and HMS Bounty, and MU as well. Released at the same time were two volumes of Tiki Lounge on DVD, so a lot of Merrell Fankhauser’s music is now available (at a reasonable price, as opposed to inflated collectors’ tolls) for both the new listener and longtime fan alike.
DIY and Proud Of It
Calling From A Star is a refreshing change of pace from most celebrity bios, Fankhauser consistently focusing on his music-making while still unflinchingly recounting the many ups and downs of his life in music. Fankhauser’s writing style is conversational and flows in an effortless and laid-back style seemingly not much different than the artist’s overall personality. Although he’s often prone to excitement (using a lot of exclamation marks!) and infrequent exaggeration, Fankhauser is honest to a fault, and this eye-opening tome offers a cautionary tale that should be required reading for any young artist with an eye towards a career in music.
The book’s DIY nature befits the artist, but a good editor could have reined in some of Fankhauser’s editorial lapses (misspelled words, incorrect grammar and punctuation) and while profusely-illustrated, Calling From A Star suffers from the same marginal photo reproduction quality as many of my own “print on demand” titles. Those minor cavils aside, Fankhauser’s wit, humor, and dedication to his music make the book a quick read.
At this point in his lengthy career, Merrell Fankhauser is unlikely to strike gold, and I’m sure that he long ago gave up any dreams of rock ‘n’ roll fame. Still, he’s enjoyed a lifetime of making music on his own terms, and all his songs that I’ve heard have been of uniformly high quality and creativity. With a wealth of suddenly available music by Fankhauser, Calling From A Star provides a fitting accompaniment the late-career emergence of one of the best rock ‘n’ roll artists that you’ve never heard! Buy the book from Amazon.com: Merrell Fankhauser's Calling from a Star
Guitarist Mick Abrahamsis one of the underrated and overlooked treasures of British blues-rock. He was an original member of the legendary Jethro Tull, playing on the band’s debut album This Was, before a difference in musical direction with bandleader Ian Anderson prompted Abrahams to leave and form the groundbreaking, influential outfit Blodwyn Pig. Under Abrahams’ guidance, Blodwyn Pig released two magnificent discs of blues and rock with jazz-fusion overtones – 1969’s Ahead Rings Out and the following year’s Getting To This – before breaking up.
After Blodwyn Pig, the guitarist formed the Mick Abrahams Band, releasing a pair of acclaimed blues-rock collections before quitting the music business for a while in the mid-1970s. Since then, Abrahams has released the occasional solo album, toured and recorded with various reunited Blodwyn Pig line-ups, and even led a band called This Was with other Tull alumni performing Ian Anderson songs. The past few years have seen a steady flow of archival releases and the sporadic live album, all the more remarkable considering that Abrahams has been battling health issues for several years now.
You can’t keep a true bluesman down, though, and Abrahams has put together a new album of some of his favorite songs. Titled Revived, the album will be released on April 7, 2015 – Abraham’s 72nd birthday – by Gonzo Multimedia, who will also be offering a limited edition DVD version of the album. The guitarist is joined by some famous friends on Revived, an ‘A’ list team that includes legendary vocalist Paul Jones (former Manfred Mann frontman and a beloved solo bluesman in the U.K.), guitarists Martin Barre (Jethro Tull), Bernie Marsden (Whitesnake), and Elliott Randall (Steely Dan); bassist Bill Wyman (the Rolling Stones, Rhythm Kings), drummer Jim Rodford (the Kinks), and a slew of other talented musicians.
Along with his famous and not-so-famous friends on Revived, Abrahams knocks out a lengthy set list of blues, R&B, and rock covers and originals, including Jimmy Reed’s “Bright Lights, Big City,” Chuck Berry’s “Nadine,” Leadbelly’s “Goodnight Irene,” and the Lieber/Stoller gem “Poison Ivy,” among many others. Abrahams is a pretty darn good guitar player with Delta mud running through his veins, so Revived promises to provide a heck of a ride. Check out the complete tracklist below and then watch the video preview we’ve so graciously provided for your entertainment...
Mick Abrahams’ Revived tracklist:
1. Summer Day 2. What About Us 3. Elz & Abys Jam 4. On The Road Again 5. Nadine 6. Remember 7. I Can Tell 8. I'm A Hog For You 9. Bright Lights Big City 10. Dragonfly 11. Boney Moronie 12. Goodnight Irene 13. Poison Ivy 14. Red River Rock 15. North By North West 16. Hungry For Love 17. Summer Day With Hammond
Back in May, the good folks at Gonzo Multimedia released a rare live recording by the legendary Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band, Live From Harpo’s 1980. Now the label is going for a second bite at the apple with the upcoming release of yet another rare Beefheart platter. On October 27th, 2014 (U.S.) Gonzo Multimedia will release Somewhere Over Paris, a two-disc set that captures a November 1977 performance at the Le Nouvel Hippodrome in Paris.
According to The Radar Station, a Beefheart fan site, this particular show was part of a festival at Sorbonne University organized by a French Trotskyist party, and was the only European performance by the band until 1980. Gong, Prime Time, and Buffy Saint Marie also performed at the festival. Performing songs from across its discography, including material from the troubled Bat Chain Puller (which wouldn’t be released in its original form until 2012), the Magic Band line-up for this show included guitarists Jeff Moris Tepper and Denny Walley, bassist/keyboardist Eric Drew Feldman, and drummer Robert Arthur Williams.
The Radar Station describes the sound of the album as “very good bootleg quality. Well balanced so you hear everything.” Indeed, this Paris show has seen infrequent release on CD as a European bootleg, but it’s nice to have a well-sourced legitimate release to document the band’s performance, of which Beefheart himself was particularly proud of, telling a reporter “the gig we played in Paris was monstrous. It was three days ago, but I haven't slept since – it was so good! And my voice, well, I can still feel that show in my voice. It hit me so hard I am down to three octaves...I couldn't get over the way the audience was singing along with it, singing the words back at me in English – and I don't speak a word of French.”
Somewhere Over Paris track list:
Disc One
1. Hair Pie: Bake III
2. Suction Prints
3. Low Yo Yo Stuff
4. Bat Chain Puller
5. I Wanna Find A Woman That'll Hold My Big Toe Till I Have To Go
6. Abba Zabba
7. Dali's Car
8. One Nest Rolls After Another
9. The Dust Blows Forward and the Dust Blows Back
10. Nowadays a Woman's Got To Hit a Man
11. Click Clack
12. Grow Fins
13. Golden Birdies
Disc Two
14. Electricity
15. A Carrot Is As Close As a Rabbit Gets To a Diamond
16. China Pig
17. Sun Zoom Spark
18. My Human Gets Me Blues
19. Floppy Boot Stomp
20. Moonlight on Vermont
21. Carson City
22. Old Black Snake
23. Pachuco Cadaver
24. Veteran's Day Poppy/Band Intro
25. The Blimp
26. Big Eyed Beans From Venus
It seems that even the bootleggers had a hard time pinning down the legendary Captain Beefheart (a/k/a Don Van Vliet) since there seems to be a lack of the artist’s live material available for purchase. There are a handful of European shows of dodgy legal (and sonic) provenance released via fly-by-night labels, a misbegotten effort that did little to extend the good Captain’s musical legacy.
Rhino Handmade had a nice little 1978 vintage radio broadcast available on a limited basis, but there were no authorized live records released during Beefheart’s major label career that I’m aware of…and since the few Beefheart boots and semi-boots appear and disappear without warning, there’s not much available for the collector to spend their hard-earned coin. Thanks to Gonzo Multimedia, however, fans of the Captain have reason to rejoice with the May 13th, 2014 (U.S.) release of Harpo’s Detroit Dec 11th 1980, a 17-track live recording from the infamous Motor City venue and a show that the Reverend likely attended (mass beer consumption has dulled otherwise vivid memories of many Detroit nights).
Captured live on tape during the 1980 tour for their Doc At The Radar Station album, Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band at the time included guitarists Jeff Moris Tepper and Richard Snyder, bassist Eric Drew Feldman, and drummer Robert Williams. While the set is heavy on material from Radar Station, comprising six of that album’s twelve songs, it also includes such Beefheart favorites as “Abba Zabba,” “Safe As Milk,” and “Bat Chain Puller” as part of the set list.
Growing up north of Los Angeles in the desert community of Lancaster, California Van Vliet found a kindred spirit as a teenager with fellow musician and oddball Frank Zappa. He began performing as Captain Beefheart in 1964, joining the existing Magic Band line-up that had been formed by Alexis Snouffer in 1965. Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band released their critically-acclaimed debut album Safe As Milk on the Buddah Records label in 1967, but Buddah execs shied away from that album’s follow-up, Strictly Personal, which was subsequently released in 1968 by producer Bob Krasnow’s Blue Thumb Records.
The third time’s a charm, as they say, and after being dumped by both Buddah and Blue Thumb, Beefheart and crew were signed to Zappa’s Straight Records, where they were provided complete artistic control, resulting in the classic 1969 album Trout Mask Replica. Beefheart and one form or another of the Magic Band would record a total of thirteen studio albums before Van Vliet retired from music after the 1982 release of Ice Cream For Crow. Van Vliet turned to painting as his chosen form of expression, a career that proved to be more commercially successful than music, and in which he was equally as influential.
As Captain Beefheart, Van Vliet influenced a generation of musicians to follow, and one can hear his impact on artists as diverse as Sonic Youth, the Residents, They Might Be Giants, and Tom Waits, among many others. Van Vliet passed away in 2010 after a lengthy illness, but his musical legacy is still growing, and the release of this live set from Harpo’s is a welcome one, indeed! For more info on the Captain and the Magic Band, check out the Radar Station website.
1. Nowadays A Woman's Gotta Hit A Man
2. Abba Zabba
3. Hot Head
4. Ashtray Heart
5. Dirty Blue Gene
6. Best Batch Yet
7. Safe As Milk
8. Doctor Dark
9. A Carrot Is As Close As A Rabbit Gets To A Diamond
10. One Red Rose That I Mean
11. Bat Chain Puller
12. My Human Gets Me Blues
13. Sugar And Spikes
14. Sheriff Of Hong Kong
15. The Dust Blows Forward, The Dust Blows Back-Kandy Korn
16. Suction Prints
17. Big Eyed Beans From Venus
Sadly, British music journalist and infamous rocker Mick Farren passed away last July, collapsing on stage while performing with a new line-up of his legendary 1960s-era band the Deviants. An influential rock critic from an era where writing about music actually swayed opinions, Farren's work for noted U.K. weekly New Music Express and for the International Times earned him a reputation as an insightful critic and writer. It was Farren's tenure with the Deviants that cemented his rock 'n' roll legacy, however, the notorious cult band releasing three influential and ground-breaking albums between 1967 and 1969.
Before his death, Farren had all but finished his final album, working with Deviants bandmate Andy Colquhoun on The Woman In The Black Vinyl Dress, released by Gonzo Multimedia in the U.K. “The initial vocal tracks were laid down by Mick in February 2012 at Brighton Electric," says Colquhoun in a press release for the new album. "Jaki Miles-Windmill added backing vocals, and some percussion at this session. I took the vocal tracks to my studio, Cybermusik, and overdubbed guitars, bass, drums, keyboards and more backing vocals, and also put the poetry in a song structure.” Colquhoun put the album together over a six month period, mixing the album in August 2012. The Woman In The Black Vinyl Dress was released on October 28th, 2013.
Farren's legacy extends far beyond music. A prolific writer, he had penned nearly two-dozen books during his lifetime, including several novels, books of poetry, a couple of autobiographical books, and four well-received books on Elvis Presley. For five years, from 2003 to 2008, Farren was a columnist for CityBeat in Los Angeles. From the 1970 release of Mona – The Carnivorous Circus, his solo debut, Farren has never strayed far from music. Through the years, he would record a number of albums, including the acclaimed Vampires Stole My Lunch Money, which included Chrissie Hynde (later of the Pretenders) as well as a handful of albums with a reunited line-up of the Deviants.
During his storied career, Farren also collaborated with artists as diverse as Wilko Johnson of Dr. Feelgood, Wayne Kramer (ex-MC5), Lemmy of Motorhead, and Hawkwind, among many others. His final collaboration with Colquhoun on The Woman In The Black Vinyl Dress represents the last entry in his artistic canon and a fitting swansong to an influential and free-thinking rock 'n' roll legend.
An important member of progressive rock's royal family, guitarist Steve Hillage had his fingers in a number of groundbreaking and influential prog-rock outfits of the late 1960s and early '70s. With keyboardist/guitarist Dave Stewart (no, not the Eurythmics guy), Hillage formed the group Uriel, which evolved into prog cult faves Egg after Hillage's departure for school.
Progressive Rock Royalty
The guitarist popped up a couple years later to form the short-lived prog outfit Khan with Stewart, the band releasing one acclaimed album, 1972's Space Shanty, after which Hillage hooked up with former Soft Machine guitarist Daevid Allen in the influential psychedelic experimental prog band Gong. Hillage contributed fretwork and songwriting to three of Gong's most important albums: 1973's Flying Teapot and Angel Egg, and 1974's You.
After reuniting with Stewart and Egg to record that band's third and final album, 1974's The Civil Surface, Hillage hung out his shingle and begun flying solo with the 1975 release of his excellent debut album, Fish Rising. A number of acclaimed albums would follow, including 1976's L and the following year's Motivation Radio. By the mid-1980s, however, Hillage had turned to production, working on albums by Simple Minds and Robyn Hitchcock before virtually disappearing from music altogether. He would resurface in the 1990s, working with electronic dance band the Orb before launching his own electronic outfit System 7, with which he has explored the far reaches of popular music well into the 2000s.
Steve Hillage's Live In England 1979
In 1979, however, Hillage and band were touring in support of that year's Live Herald album, itself a collection of fine performances of material from across the previous half-decade of Hillage's career. Live In England 1979, a two-disc CD/DVD set, takes the Live Herald tracklist one step further…capturing a February 1979 performance by Hillage at The University of Kent, this Gonzo Multimedia release offers up over an hour of mind-bending prog-rock audio but also a video version of the performance.
Live In England 1979 opens with the psychedelic-tinged six-minute rocker "The Salmon Song," taken from Hillage's debut disc, that offers up plenty of screaming guitars courtesy Hillage and his old friend Dave Stewart, and some amazing percussion work by drummer Andy Anderson. "Unzipping the Zype" is a freeform band jam that includes synthesizer wizard (and longtime Hillage partner) Miquette Giraudy and bassist John McKenzie along with Hillage, Stewart, and Anderson, every band member getting an instrumental moment in the spotlight while Hillage and Giraudy share vocals. The song is a spacey amalgam of prog-rock, jazzy licks, electronic riffing, and heady percussion.
Electrick Gypsies
Hillage's take on Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man" is taken from the guitarist's album L and twisted into a hallucinogenic musical landscape that the composer wouldn't recognize. With Giraudy's synth swirls providing a multi-hued backdrop, the band's gorgeous vocal harmonies, and Hillage's imaginative guitar licks take the hippie anthem to an entirely higher plane of consciousness. Ditto for the band's take on George Harrison's classic "It's All Too Much" (taken from the Beatles' Yellow Submarine album), the performance graced by dancing synths, melodic vocals, and gorgeous guitar lines.
Two bonus tracks on Live In England 1979 are actually live performances from an uncredited 1977 show, perhaps the Rainbow Theatre show in London that was partially documented by Live Herald. Both "Hurdy Gurdy Glissando" and "Electrick Gypsies" are culled from Hillage's L album, the former ostensibly inspired by the Donovan tune, Hillage and crew taking their vision to deliciously mind-altering extremes, the performance a third eye-opening psychedelic brew of soaring guitars; buzzing, throbbing synthesizers; breakneck percussion; and fluid bass lines that mix jazzy and classical elements into the prog-rock stew. The latter is a more straight-forward 1970s-era hard rock number but with plenty of proggy flourishes like phased fretwork, jazzy percussion, odd time changes, and oscillating synth riffs livening up the performance.
The Reverend's Bottom Line
The DVD portion of Live In England 1979 offers up pretty much the entire audio portion of the set, minus the 1977 live bonus tracks but including the ethereal dueling acoustic and electric guitars of "Radio," a simply stunning performance that emerges from billowing clouds of smoke-machine generated fog, as well as the scorching "Light in the Sky," another period rocker with plenty of spacey visuals, Giraudy's oddball vocals, and Hillage's lively fretwork. The DVD also includes a 2006 interview with Hillage and Giraudy talking about the Live Herald album and the tour documented by Live In England 1979.
Overall, Live In England 1979 offers up a fine representation of the Steve Hillage Band on stage as well as the guitarist's creative state of mind during the latter part of the 1970s as Hillage explored the outer reaches of the psych, prog, and hard rock universes. The CD and DVD are a lot of fun, and a welcome reminder of Hillage's immense and often underrated talents and his hallowed status as one of progressive rock's great guitarists and composers.
(Click here to buy Steve Hillage's Live In England 1979 from Amazon.com)
