PAMPERED MENIAL

Pampered Menial was an album that I had to hear as soon as I saw its iconic album art. I never considered it as a Prog release but rather as a classic rock album, and a very American one at that. Two reasons why I would normally expect to dislike it but this one took me by surprise and is certainly good enough to exceed the limitations of its style.

There are sure reasons enough to dislike it. David Surkamp has an extremely high-pitched voice that I would swear to be female but it isn't. He puts a lot of passion and conviction in them though and he's the main reason why I believe the album stands out amongst its peers. In fact, he's so essential to the sound that the one instrumental track on the album is by far the most forgettable one. I suspect Coheed and Cambria are huge fans of this album.

Then there's the music, which is hardly exceptional in the orchestrated rock section also visited by Lou Reed, John Cale and David Bowie in the years preceding this album. When Pavlov's Dog rock out a bit harder they also bring Blue Oyster Cult to mind. But despite the furious craze of the vocals I'd never call this hard rock, or compare it to the 70s hard rock icons. It's way too mainstream and romantic for that.

Again, despite of all omens pointing in the wrong direction, this music still gets to me. Quite an achievement and I can easily see why many have this one listed as a masterpiece. I'd rate it excellent if it had been just a bit longer or if there had been a more interesting instrumental track on it.