A SPIRITUAL GREETING

The period of 1972-1975 was a really weird time for American popular culture, and of course that included music. Progressive music, such as we had managed to generate on this side of the pond, was largely in decline in favor of Southern boogie bands, dance music and the dulcet, silky smooth tones of the likes of Barry Manilow, Hall & Oates, the Carpenters and whatever Steve Miller had turned into.

Fundamentalist Christians were hard at work saving their children from certain destruction and a fast- track to hell by salaciously burning every ‘heathen rock’ album or 8-track they could lay their hands on. I personally witnessed everything from Black Sabbath to Rod Stewart go up in smoke in the parking lot of my parents’ church during Sunday evening ‘sin roasts’. Collectors today can probably thank those lunatics for single-handedly helping ensure the scarcity of a lot of original vinyl from those days.

Out of the deep South (and especially Florida), Southern boogie was thriving on the heels of the megalithic Lynyrd Skynyrd juggernaut. Spin-off and clone bands like .38 Special, Molly Hatchet, Rossington-Collins, the Outlaws and Blackfoot were filling stadiums and the airwaves with varying degrees of success. On the other side of the musical spectrum acts like KISS, Alice Cooper, the Stooges and Suzi Quatro were mixing stage antics with simple, heavy rhythms to popularize an American version of glam rock. Disco and punk were yet to invade the landscape in any appreciable way (although those days weren’t far away).

In the religious vein the Jesus Freak movement had pretty much died along with the flower-power era, with groups like Water Into Wine Band, Children of the Day and Silmaril giving way to the more contemporary and commercial sounds of Andraé Crouch, Amy Grant and Petra. There were still a few Christian-leaning groups like Kansas and Ambrosia who managed straddle the line between progressive and religious music, but for the most part it was really a time to choose sides for American bands who wanted to attract one audience without alienating the other. Into this environment strode White Witch toward the middle part of the decade.

White Witch were either ahead of their time, incredibly naïve, or maybe a little of both as they launched their career from suburban Tampa Florida, quickly signing with Georgia-based Capricorn Records, flagship of hard-core Southern rock acts like the Allman Brothers and Elvin Bishop. The band’s ostensibly glam persona made them practically un-promotable by the label, and frustration with the label’s handling (particularly with some of the wholly unrelated acts they were co-billed with on tour), as well as the poor terms of their contract led to numerous lineup changes over the course of the band’s brief existence. They would disband shortly after this, their second album, was released in 1974.

I was introduced to the band’s music by the same guy who turned me on to David Bowie and T. Rex, and they seemed to mostly fit into the same general glam-rock category. Their music doesn’t fit into any clear category though, and their attempt to ride the musical mainstream while at the same time flying the Christian flag surely alienated a lot of religious parents anyway, and probably limited them as far as career options as well.

The most well-known and memorable track on this album (and probably in the band’s career) is the reality-challenged “Class of 2000”, a Bowie-esque rambling tale of kids growing up on the Moon getting high off sound waves, school deans with “mind whips” and class lessons recorded on “Saturn history tapes”. Despite the cheesy lyrics the tune features some decent guitar work and what actually sounds like a suspiciously Allman-like instrumental break toward the end. “Slick Witch” is another track that wanders well into boogie blues territory despite the glam trappings (Alice Cooper was guilty of that pleasure at times himself).

The rest of the album shifts around musically. “Showdown” is an organ heavy anthem-like rocker, while “Crystallize and Realize” manages to come across as a sort of psych-inspired pop tune in the vein of Klaatu or maybe something Jeff Lynne might have penned. “Auntie Christy, Harlow” leans straight into heavy prog with a wicked bass line and plenty of percussion backing vocalist Ron Goedert’s rather preachy lyrics about worshiping “the Beast” and hell and damnation, etc., etc.

My personal favorite is the uncharacteristically laid-back “Walk On” with its simple beat, bluesy guitar breaks and harmonized vocals. Not progressive, boogie or really even rock, but a catchy tune nonetheless.

White Witch unfortunately didn’t have a chance in the time they existed considering the social climate and temperament of the religious class they claimed kinship with but failed to embrace theologically. Too bad, as they did exhibit a decidedly experimental and broad stylistic bent. This is the better of their two studio albums but still doesn’t merit much more than a ‘decent’ rating; so three stars out of five it is and a mild recommendation to fans of glam rock and American heavy rock from the mid- seventies.

peace