PROTO-PROG

Cheerful Insanity at times reminds me of The Who's psychedelic efforts, as well as other contemporaneous acts, like The Small Faces and Pink Floyd. Organ lends a rich character to the compositions, and the vocals are nice. However, frequent spoken word interludes detract from the experience. These attempts at humor are clunky and feel like a lesser version of Frank Zappa.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2024/04/15/deep-dive-king-crimson/

Rather than tritely compiling yet another greatest hits compendium for the umpteenth time, the fifth BEATLE, George Martin along with his son Giles assembled elements form 130 different commercially released material together with demo recordings of THE BEATLES' entire career resulting in a veritable treasure trove of BEATLES mania reimagined for the 21st century. While LOVE officially features 26 separate track listings, many of these songs are medleys that bleed together as well as containing mere snippets of music and lyrics interpolated into key moments. While most tracks appear to sound identical to the singles released during the Fab Four's heyday, others such as "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" appear in unreleased demo forms although not always to my satisfaction (this particular acoustic track isn't as effective).

Completely remixed as well as mashed up, LOVE was one of the few post-BEATLES archival releases that found George Martin at the helm and his last effort before joining John and George in the great beyond with his passing in 2016. Crafted with precision and great care, LOVE was Martin's last labor of LOVE and it really shows in how well the many faces of THE BEATLES sit so well together in a constant consciousness stream of the 60s chart toppers. For example "I Am The Walrus" sits snuggly next to "I Want To Hold Your Hand" juxtaposing the mop top teenie-bopper early years (complete with audience screaming) with the studio-only psychedelia of the band's latter years that forged entirely new paths in the world of rock music. Graced with a shining crisp production, LOVE rejuvenates THE BEATLES experience in a way no other compilation of the last 50 years really has.

Given the mashup craze was going full force in the 2000s with artists like Danger Mouse and Jay-Z deftly blurring unrelated musical expressions together seamlessly, Paul McCartney expressed a passionate enthusiasm in the project as he himself had hired mashup artists for his own tours during the same period. Another interesting feature is that every format had different playing times with the CD running at 78:38, vinyl at 79:08, DVD-audio (80:28) and iTunes digital releases with bonus tracks that add up to 86:41, thus making LOVE a double album's length by 60s album time limits. Given all the music was recorded between 1963-1969, LOVE was given a modern technological upgrade and despite showcasing music decades old at the time of its 2006 release and succeeds in clearly demonstrating why THE BEATLES remain some of the top dogs of pop rock songwriting in the history of music.

A divisive release for sure as some scream exploitation of the classics while others praising the album as a relevant celebration of the past. I fall into the latter camp as i'm perfectly fine with artists revisiting and reinterpreting their own musical catalogue as long as they have found a unique and relevant angle for doing so. LOVE was probably a project nobody saw coming whether it be BEATLES stalwarts or Cirque du Soleil fanatics but every once in a while the cross-pollinating effects of two entertainment powerhouses actually comes to fruition in a meaningful and brilliant way. Perhaps it's not true that all you need is LOVE but it sure makes a great supplemental album beyond THE BEATLES' original canon.

Of course the album was a major success going double platinum in the USA and racing up to the top 5 albums chart in dozens of nations. Few things are as exhilarating as a BEATLES musical marathon and LOVE provided the perfect reunion album that never could be. As John Lennon famously said, "Make LOVE, not war" and with this collaborative effort with Cirque du Soleil, THE BEATLES could honor his profound wishes. THE BEATLES was a pop band with pop hits and engaged in pop culture in just about every way possible so to claim this sort of project was a sellout actually belies THE BEATLES' own cross-entertainment endeavors that included short films, animation and every possible form of merchandising possible. THE BEATLES were the epitome of popular culture and an album like LOVE only reestablishes the band's relevance in the world of music even some four decades after its last rooftop concert appearance. While most comps are rather unnecessary padding in your collection, this one on the other hand is magical mystery tour in its own right and one that John and George surely would've LOVE-d.

The time between "Choice Cuts" and A TOAST TO PANAMA RED, which refers to a Central American variety of marijuana, was a stressful time as the band was approached by the new UK label Bronze but still in contract with EMI Australia. Trying to negotiate and pit the two labels on a bidding war, the whole thing blew up in the band's face and ultimately ended up staying with EMI. The album was recorded under band member tensions and didn't go as smoothly as "Choice Cuts" therefore this period was the beginning of the unraveling of the team spirit which sustained the band for a few years. Ultimately it meant back to Abbey Studios to release what would be the band's final album of its first run anyways.

A TOAST TO PANAMA RED hit the music market in 1972 and featured everything that made "Choice Cuts" so delectable for those who heard it. Once again the band mixed prog, hard rock, psychedelic folk and a bit of boogie rock. While still rooted in catchy pop hooks, the compositions this time around were a bit more dreamy and more sophisticated which made them a bit more difficult to follow. With bluesy guitar riffing and medieval folk moments, this fourth album stood apart proudly from its predecessor that sucked you in and wouldn't let you lose interest for the entire album's run. A TOAST TO PANAMA RED seems less easy to grasp upon a single spin. The subtle complexities added a whole new dimension and while not full blown prog as went many bands around 1972, the influences are undeniable.

While the harder rock is still present such as on the opening "Answer Lies Beyond," the distortion is turned down and tones are warmer and more varied. Likewise Keays' vocals are less agitating and overall the band just sounds more relaxed. While on the opener Keays sounds a little funny like he just huffed on a helium balloon, subsequent tracks reveal a more nuanced approach that allows the proggier constructs to unfold. The tracks also feature some jamming segments such as "Beneath The Sun" which unleashes a cool bluesy guitar riff over a funky bass groove. In fact it the bass reminds me of that Ted Nugent song "Stranglehold" which didn't come out until 1975 although granted the tempo is sped up a bit.

A TOAST TO PANAMA RED is certainly the favorite album for those looking for the most progressive attributes. This is definitely a lot mellower overall than "Choice Cuts" as the folk aspects are extended and the rock parts often are dreamy and verging on space rock. The heavier rock is almost completely absent and when it does turn up the tempo a bit, it's more of a controlled burn rather than a ferocious attack which "Choice Cuts" allowed. Unfortunately this album didn't sell very well despite once again being praised by the critics. It seems the hideous album cover art scared a lot of potential customers away and admittedly it's not the most pleasing album cover to look at! In fact it seems totally unfitting for the music that's inside. Overall another great album from THE MASTERS APPRENTICES who once again steered their band sound into a different arena. Unfortunately this was the end of the road for a while.

Totally impressed with the superior recording studios and music scene in general, the band ended up staying in London and soaked in the sounds of everyone from King Crimson, Jimi Hendrix and Small Faces to the psychedelic folk sounds of Donovan and Free. With an arsenal of fresh tracks to work with, the band landed in Abbey Road studios and recorded, mixed and mastered the newest album in only a month and then CHOICE CUTS (released simply as "Masters Apprentices" in the UK) came out in 1971, just a year after the anachronistic predecessor "Masterpiece." Sounding primarily like a 70s boogie rock style of hard rock, the band still retained a whiff of their earlier psychedelic leanings as well as a mix of folk based songs such as the single "Because I Love You," which made use of the acoustic guitar in the style of Led Zeppelin. While the band was aiming to strike it big in the UK, the single only charted in its native Australia.

The album opens with the Latin flavored shuffle groove of "Rio de Camero" and then followed by the acoustic ballad "Michael" which showcases THE MASTERS APPRENTICES' continuation of a variety of styles that range from heavy to soft however this time around the tracks flow together smoothly and the album as a whole feels cohesive. "Easy To Lie" and "Catty" showcase the band's boogie shuffle abilities with heavy rockin' guitar riffs and nice leads. Jim Keays vocal style had improved remarkably since the last album and on this album sounded something like a mix of Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant and Free's Paul Rodgers. Likewise some of the grooves were right out of the Free playbook as well. In fact the band had crafted an interesting sum of influences that went into a style of their own making. Overall the tracks came out extremely melodic with the instrumental interplay lights years beyond the album of a mere year prior.

"Death Of A King" is a tribute to the great Martin Luther King Jr. and the track sounds like an usual mix of the Groundhogs and Zeppelin's acoustic side with perhaps a touch of Van Morrison. "Song For A Lost Gypsy" goes for a heavy blues rock and funk style with a contrasting falsetto vocal performance. "I'm Your Satisfier" is a fun little boogie number that rock the jew's harp and all! "Song For Joey - Part II," wait! Where was part one?!! It's nothing more than an acoustic outro that ends the album. Despite all the rave reviews from the critics the band really didn't make much of a splash with CHOICE CUTS most likely due to the glut of fresh prog and harder rock clogging the record stores in 1971 London. Whatever the case the album remained an obscurity until collectors rediscovered it in the 1980s and it became an underground favorite.

It's really hard to believe that this is the same band that released the outdated "Masterpiece" just one years prior. CHOICE CUTS may not have been the most original sounding album on the scene during 1971 but it did stand out in a few ways. First of all the percussion was more dynamic and varied than most hard rock album as it utilized Latin rhythm styles and likewise the diversity of guitar licks and leads made this a more varied album than the typical blues based hard rock band of the early 70s. While not exactly prog, the influences did creep in with tones and textures and the desire to make the chord progressions a bit more spiced up than usual. Basically a folk-tinged heavy psych album, CHOICE CUTS delivered the goods where previous endeavors had failed. Against all odds, THE MASTERS APPRENTICES had come of age but unfortunately that wasn't good enough for any kind of breakthrough success. The band would push on for one more album and then call it quits. This is probably their crowning achievement.

The band spent the majority of the time between albums was spent reorganizing the band and transforming it into a completely different creation. During the three year gap newbie Doug Ford and Keays stockpiled numerous songs and released a few singles and endured a heavy touring schedule but all this hard work and exposure paid off as this classic lineup is the same that would deliver the band's following pair of albums which would finally seeing them find their own unique sound based in progressive rock. At this stage though no prog to be found and all the tracks featured are steeped in bubblegum pop hooks with bluesy guitar licks and boogie shuffles. The band signed to EMI and had a larger budget for production but at this stage despite an entire album of all original material, THE MASTERS APPRENTICES sounded like this second album was supposed to come out when the first one did back in 1967.

Alternating between bluesy rockers and poppy folk, MASTERPIECE featured a rather cheesy orchestral backing that made it sound like it was trying to emulate The Moody Blues' classic "Days Of Future Passed" but far from the crowning achievement or cutting edge brilliance of that famous album. On this album the band wasn't very focused and as a result the tracks are all over the place as far as uniformity is concerned. The pop folk "A Dog, A Siren and Memories" emulates the great Simon and Garfunkel while the following track "Linda Linda" featured an old-timer music hall style possibly inspire by The New Vaudville Band's hit "Winchester Cathedral" form 1966. The piece even featured a kazoo! It was clear the band was trying to cop a bit of Paul McCartney's showtune style from The Beatles. "Isabella" adopts a Spanish guitar theme and features a chorus that just repeats the name "Isabella" several times!

Some tracks like "Piece Of Me" are pure generic bubblegum pop and not even good at that. The band at this stage was clearly aiming for the teenie bopper crowds and wanted to be the next Ohio Express or The Monkees or something! The music is really awkward at some points with the track "Titanic" standing out as pretty hilarious. Not only does they sing the title in a funny way but The Chiffons provide a very mediocre backing not to mention the track features real ship noise samples. It's about as cheesy as it gets really! It was also a sign that this band was a sinking ship and that if they didn't get their act together then they would be history.

Luckily the band got the memo and found a much needed break from touring and let their prog-tinged hard rock fantasies run wild for their next album "Choice Cuts" which found the band evolve leaps and bounds beyond this collection of head-scratching 60s leftovers. It's an ok album but extremely awkward and really not good enough to recommend unless you really love cheesy bubblegum pop from the late 60s but not good enough to find the ear worms haunting you for days after. It's an interesting glimpse into the band's missing years and how they would come back with a hodgepodge of material but as an album it's actually pretty weak and ill-conceived. It's hard to believe Columbia let this slip the quality control and it's often considered the band's worst offering. Despite the album's title being MASTERPIECE, this one is far from it.

The band's name refers to its allegiance to the masters of the blues such as Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Jimmy Reed, Elmore James and Robert Johnson and after engaging in a healthy live scene around Adelaide, the band become one of the city's most popular beat bands and slowly but surely captured a larger national audience which resulted in the band relocating to Melbourne where they recorded their debut self-titled release that emerged in late 1967. There were actually two self-titled releases. A four track EP emerged in 1967 with the songs "Undecided," "Hot Gully Wind," "Buried And Dead" and "She's My Girl" before the full-length album came out in October with 12 tracks.

THE MASTERS APPRENTICE became one of Australia's most innovative early progressive rock bands in the 1970s with popular albums like "Choice Cuts" but at this early stage the band was a fairly typical 60s sounding garage rock / freakbeat / mod act in the British tradition only a few years behind the curve as the actual British acts had evolved into the world of art rock by 1967. This debut adopted the usual approach of many 60s acts by only releasing a handful of original tracks and padding the rest with cover tunes which in this case included everything from Bo Diddley's "Dancing Girl" and The Beatles' "I Feel Fine" to Otis Redding's "My Girl," "Don't Fight It" by Wilson Pickett and Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode."

At this point it's virtually impossible to predict that MASTERS APPRENTICE would amount to anything as this is one of the most generic debuts possible which shows no signs of individuality or creativity whatsoever. Sounding something like The Rolling Stones as far as the loose rhythm and blues guitar licks and vocal style are concerned, the band found minor success with its singles "Undecided" and "Buried And Dead" on the self-titled EP which hit the Australian top 40 singles chart and the primary reason a full album's worth of material was rushed to cash in on the momentum. While cited as psychedelic rock, this album was behind the times and was pretty much in the same style of the British Invasion acts from 1964 and 1965.

This is a listenable album but not very compelling as its primarily a platform for the singles and a couple of extra originals with several mediocre covers. It's a fairly typical copycat album of the era with nothing really to offer other than experiencing the debut album of one of Australia's more famous bands that went on to better things in the 1970s. Personally i find this to be a decent dance hall type of band but not one that i would rush out and buy the album as the covers are far too faithful to the original and the band's very own songs are much not better in terms of quality or creativity. Pretty much relegated to the hardcore fans and even then it wouldn't be that much of a loss if you skipped this one altogether. It would take another full three years for the band's second release "Masterpiece" to hit the market which finally did add some psychedelic elements but once again was woefully behind the times.

The members were multi-ethnic and despite never really finding a major breakthrough with its three albums before lead singer Nansi Nevins was killed in a car accident even though they toured with virtually every major band of the era including Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, Cream, the Grateful Dead, Big Brother & The Holding Co. w/ Janis Joplin, C S N & Y, the Who, Frank Zappa, Jefferson Airplane, Chicago, Chuck Berry, Spirit, the Allman Bros., E.L.P., Joe Cocker, War, Linda Rondstadt, Santana, Joan Baez, Beach Boys, Steve Miller, Chambers Bros., and many others.

Add to that SWEETWATER had a major television presence and was featured on Red Skelton, Steve Allen, Playboy After Dark, Hollywood Palace, American Bandstand amongst others and of course got international exposure throughout the decades as a performer at Woodstock. This self-titled debut was released in 1968 and featured their best known track, the opening "Motherless Child" which is a traditional black spiritual song that dates back to the end of the slavery era and was the track they opened with at Woodstock.

SWEETWATER's debut is a warm collection of psychedelic pop songs that features a more sophisticated style than is usual for much of the so-called sunshine pop of the 1960s. The cello and and flute give the album a chamber folk flavor while the dead ringer for Grace Slick vocals make the album sound like Jefferson Airplane had they gone a completely different musical direction. The band was also unusual in that it completely avoided electric guitar with most of the electric string parts being played on the bass however acoustic guitars were deemed ok.

In many ways SWEETWATER sounded very much like a 60s psychedelic folk rock band but the band was just a bit more complex than the average pop band with compositions that took on darker tones and off-kilter breaks that deviated from the main melodic flow. Tracks such as "My Crystal Spider" showcase how the band would interrupt the pop melody flow in order to add little breaks of progressive deviations. Tracks like "Rondeau" showcased the band's connection to medieval folk styles which were brought to life by the warm flute lines. The tracks are well crafted with catchy pop hooks but offer a much larger band experience than the average guitar / bass / drum / keyboard limitations of most 60s folk rock bands.

SWEETWATER's debut is not to be missed by lovers of warm melodic chamber pop / folk from the 1960s. It contains all the best aspects of the 1960s without falling into the trap of sounding cliche and despite Nansi Nevins' similarity in style to Grace Slick, the music is quite different than Jefferson Airplane and i actually prefer the sound of SWEETWATER to the majority of Airplane's output. This album is chock full of beautiful melodies and the excess instrumentation gives it an orchestral feel that really allows a tapestry of woven melodic counterpoints to come to life. The tracks are diverse with a huge range of influences with more upbeat rockers as well as tender ballads.

I'm really shocked that SWEETWATER wasn't met with a larger success story given they had all the right opportunities and exposure. I guess the world wasn't quite ready for this brash and over-the-top sound and the band never really got rediscovered. Although Nansi Nevins died from a drunk driver crashing into her on December 1969, the band had enough material with her to release two more albums but called it quits in 1971. The surviving members reunited for Woodstock '94 but the band still remains a relative obscurity considering the significant exposure they received which is too bad because i really love this debut.

The band was enthusiastically supported by none other than DJ John Peel who was trying to woo them onto his Dandelion Records label however Cann was swayed by the self-producing aspects that RCA promised and the band released its first and only self-titled album in 1969 however RCA didn't really know what they got themselves into and didn't have the expertise to market a heavier band as the hard rock proto-metal sound hadn't become a commercial enterprise at this stage. The lack of promotion and label support ultimately caused Du Cann to accept an offer to join Atomic Rooster leaving ANDROMEDA a thing of the past.

A truly powerful and for the most part heavy album for 1969, ANDROMEDA prognosticated one of the major developments of the psychedelic rock scene in the late 60s and that was the increased heaviness of the rock paradigm. More hard rock than prog, the latter is showcased in the excellent three suite "Return To Sanity" which showcased Du Cann's more sophisticated songwriting aspects which would win him a slot in Atomic Rooster. The album begins with the heavy rocker "Too Old" which showcased what these days sounds like typical 70s hard rock but this was 1969 before these types of bands existed. ANDROMEDA somewhat served as one of those bridges between the heavy psych of bands like Cream and Blue Cheer and the whole slew of proggy hard rockers such as Captain Beyond, Stray, Groundhogs, T2 and beyond.

The album features plenty between blistering hard rockers with heavy fuzz laden riffing, beefed up bass grooves and a drumming technical prowess that was above the 60s norm. The opening "Too Old" introduces the brave new world of souped up heavy psych but the band also delivered a softer side as heard on the "And Now The Sun Shines" but these tracks are overshadowed by the power surge that amplifies the heavier moments that sound like Jimi Hendrix on methamphetamines. Another highlight is the closing three-part "When To Stop" which pulls out all the bluesy hard rock touches prog style. The album is actually pretty diverse in its approach even though it pretty much sticks to the blues rock paradigm and the exclusive instrumentation of the guitar, bass and drum.

While a flash in the pan as far as bands go, ANDROMEDA nevertheless has been recognized as one of those albums that provided the perfect transition between the heavy psych 60s and the hard rock 70s. Of course Atomic Rooster would take Du Cann even further into prog territory with the inclusion of a prominent keyboardist but ANDROMEDA was well underway into a complete metamorphosis into a prog butterfly. The original vinyl album LP fetches an insane price these days but luckily the album has been reissued many times including a newer remastered version with an extra disc of demos, bonus tracks and all kinds of goodies. All in all, ANDROMEDA delivered a hard rockin' album that was the perfect way to say goodbye to the psychedelic 60s.

Together they assembled the team that included cellist Eugene Rosov and bassist David Reiser and formed APPALOOSA in 1968 and developed their own style of chamber folk baroque that eventually won over Columbia Records producer Al Kooper who had played with Blood, Sweat & Tears prior to his gig as producer. Once in the studio, Kooper employed a few members of his former band along with a collection of session musicians which led to the band's sole self-titled release which came out in the summer of1969 on the Columbia label but despite the big label backing and generous studio production, the album failed to make a dent in the charts.

A collection of ten well crafted tracks that feature lush folk textures narrated by Compton's James Taylor-like vocal style, APPALOOSA's sole release featured a number of dreamy folk tracks with intricate string arrangements as well as well as a few upbeat moments such as the rockin' "Georgia Street." A slickly produced album, APPALOOSA sounded more 70s than 60s with its larger than life backing however the tracks remained soft and intimate and never lost their coffeehouse immediacy despite it all. The lush arrangements that featured a touch of jazz as well as medieval characteristics that spiced up the baroque folk performances. The occasional oboe and percussive drive added even more elements to the basically folky vibe.

The band son fell apart after Reiser and Rosov jumped shipped leaving Compton and Batteau to continue on as a duo. Batteaux would continue on with his own soft rock band of his name as well as Buskin & Batteau and the yacht rock Pierce Arrow. Compton would leave the folk scene altogether and by the time the 1980s hit had become a very successful writer of commercial jingles. APPALOOSA delivered a very subdued mellow style of baroque folk that would appeal to fans of Nick Drake, early Van Morrison, Nico and Bert Jansch but honestly is fairly typical of the mellow folk craze of the 60s without really excelling in any particular way. It's a pleasant listening experience but doesn't stand out as the best the era had to offer either.

By this time keyboardist Gary Wright had also taken control of the lead vocals and had developed quite the sophisticated range of singing styles. The band tightened up its quirky mix of psychedelic rock, blues, soul and even adding a tinge of gospel. The album features a more dynamic songwriting process and the use of the double keyboard attack with the heavy guitar heft accompanied by the psychedelic smooth soul vocal style of Wright was exactly the perfect tour de force for success. Once again the critics raved yet once again the album sales floundered despite a stellar production and engineering job by the combo powerhouse duo of Jimmy Miller and Andrew Johns. The album produced one of the band's better known singles "That Was Only Yesterday" however it failed to chart during its day. Gary Wright at this point was becoming more recognizable as the singer who crafted the huge 1975 hit "Dream Weaver."

The album deftly blends smooth softness with moments of heavier contrast. Compared to both Savoy Brown and the Yardbirds, SPOOKY TOOTH at this point started to become its own with even the Traffic connections dissipating and whereas the debut was clearly influenced by the 1967 album "Mr. Fantasy," SPOOKY TWO is a powerhouse that stands on its own with epic performances that evoke a true sense of accomplishment. In many ways SPOOKY TWO prognosticated bluesy rock bands such as Little Feat that would find increasing popularity in the 1970s. Considered a blues rock band that didn't behave like one, SPOOKY TOOTH found a unique intersection between blues guitar, psychedelic atmospheres, Baroque pop compositional styles and a touch of jazz rock influences.

On top of the excellent musicianship and the impeccable instrumental interplay, Wright crafted some of the catchiest pop hooks of the band's entire career with tracks like "Better By You, Better Than Me" and "Waitin' For The Wind" topping the ear worm charts. While considered by some in prog circles to have been a progenitor of the prog movement, in reality SPOOKY TOOTH wasn't particularly progressive and considering this album emerged the very same year as King Crimson's stunning debut as well as other bands like High Tide, SPOOKY TOOTH is actually pretty tame in that regard. The band wasn't about crafting overly complex tunes and on the contrary was about nurturing beautifully addictive melodies into a total band experience and in that regard they reached an apex on SPOOKY TWO.

Due to disappointing album sales the band began to splinter and although several members would stick it out and release a few more albums before the final break up in 1974, the original lineup ended here and the band would never regain the momentum that SPOOKY TWO had delivered so well. Luckily the album has been reevaluated over the ensuing decades and has become designated a classic of period psychedelic soul rock which found all the band's best qualities synergizing for this brief moment in time. This album is very much as good as any Traffic album and although SPOOKY TOOTH didn't stick it out as long or produce as many hits, the first two albums are quite pleasing to the ears with this second offering being the most accomplished.