FORD THEATRE

A Boston-based psychedelic band opens their brief sojourn into the world of recorded music with this interesting rock opera novelty.

1. "Theme for the Masses" (2:52) a very nice, well-composed intro/overture with a pretty perfect blend of Hammond- dominated rock musicians and string quartet. (9.25/10)

2. "Harrison Street / Excerpt (from the Theme)" (10:29) now we're definitely in the territory of theatre soundtrack music, but then singer Joey Scott enters. The musicianship is very good though the composition is a bit stilted by conformity to stereotypic structures of Broadway rock operas and the ABCs of rock music construction; everything feels as if by-the-numbers--tight and constricted. Even the extended organ solo in the third and fourth minutes seems restrained and held in check. Arthur Webster's lead guitar solo follows and it's either filled with intentional mistakes or made horrible by beginner-like inexperience. The second guitar that joins in a little later at least has some knowledge of chords and jazz structures--and still it keeps going! This is one song that I know that I could have better composed and performed! (16/20)

3. "Back to Philadelphia / The Race" (4:39) turning to Philly's R&B sound, the band settles back into the smoky darkness of a late-night lounge on the shady side of town. It's better than the previous song but it's so cautiously conservative: again, by the numbers. It is, however, good music for Joey's rather nice, nuanced vocal performance. (8.75/10)

4. "The Race / From a Back Door Window (The Search) / Theme for the Masses" (17:18) blending together several motifs of very familiar DOORS-like pop music over which Joey Scott tries to deliver Eric Burden/Jim Morrison-type vocal performances. The musicians in the rhythm section show some proficiency at their instruments--at least until the two guitarists try to impress again, then it becomes near disaster. I find myself cringing with embarrassment (cuz I've been there)! (29.33333/35)

5. "Postlude: Looking Back" (2:10) the country-rock finale is another bookend of nicely rendered pop music. (8.875/10)

Total Time 37:28

An odd novelty topic serves as a vehicle for some fairly amateur musicians to serve up a rather mundane collection of standardized musical styles for a wannabe Jim Morrison-like rock star. An album that perhaps should not be included in my list of significant 1968 contributors to the Birth of Progressive Rock if not for the ambitious rock opera conceptual theme. Too bad the producers and band failed to incorporate the string quartet from the opening song throughout the entire album.

C+/three stars; a good but not very valuable contribution to the development of early progressive rock music. And if you're thinking, after reading my review, that the band might have potential that will be better realized on its successive albums, you'd be wrong: this is the peak of their sound and development; the next one just gets more kischy Off-Broadway-like.

The kitschy cheap Off -Broadway-sounding follow up to the Boston band's ambitious debut from the year before, Trilogy for the Masses. I'd say this one is for completionists only as the kitsch and schlock are just too overwhelmingly nauseating; one would have to be either quite the masochist or quite the Off-Broadway completionist to want to suffer through the full album listening experience. Perhaps it's all intended to be in fun--as sarcasm or a parody--as the humorous group photo on the album cover might suggest--but regardless, the music and its performances are so poor and inconsistently produced that it actually hurts. I want this hour back from my life!

In many ways FORD THEATRE was a typical psychedelic rock band from the late 60s that co-existed with an infinite number of similar bands. The band was active between 1966 and 1971 and was formed from the ashes of another band called The Continentals where Jimmy Altieri (bass), John Mazzarelli (keyboards), Robert Tamagni (drums), and Butch Webster (lead guitar) played and after they recruited Harry Palmer (guitar) and lead vocalist Joey Scott, changed their name to FORD THEATRE. The band released only two albums in their short career and TRILOGY FOR THE MASSES was the debut.

Although heavily steeped in what was called the Boston sound, the band always eschewed the comparisons and rightly so because FORD THEATRE was a little more forward thinking than the average psych band of the era. FORD THEATRE engaged in a far more Gothic and classically influenced style than the more pop oriented acts of the day. The band found enough popularity to be signed to ABC Records but failed to catch on to a larger audience and was dropped after the second album "Time Changes."

The name alone explains a lot. FORD THEATRE was the venue where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated and they chose their name because it correlates to the music they wanted to create which represented a 1968 USAmerica in total chaos and entropy. The album is steeped in detachment, disillusionment and uncertainty and offers one of the most genuine and fearless musical expressions of the era.

By creating a dark and gloomy atmosphere based on a West Coast style of jangly acid guitar and a heavily drenched organ prominence, FORD THEATRE sounds like they were spawned from the period they did with obvious influences that range from The Kingsmen, The Beatles, The Byrds and even at times in the more sophisticated parts The Doors (particularly on the lengthy and ferocious keyboard attacks on the 18 minute "The Race" which has gained the band a clear foothold in the proto-prog camp.)

While FORD THEATRE would be relegated to the footnotes of history, they definitely deserve to be heard even in a modern day context for aficionados of psychedelic rock of the 60s. There are many unique aspects of this album. For example, the lyrics are in the second person and addressed to the listener. If you like the idea of a jangly band like The Byrds playing with a more symphonic version of The Doors with some West Coast Jefferson Airplane along for the ride, then FORD THEATRE is definitely a band you should investigate and for proggers who are interested in all the prerequisites to the genre, then this is a must.