SUPERSISTER

Between unique atmospherical sounds, canterbury scene and Camel, there is a band called Supersister, and the most beautiful work, To The Highest Bidder. This album is catchy as hell. And the songwriting ways... It's just impressive so many masterpieces fit together. I need to talk about this album.

I wasn't wondering something really awesome when I first pick up for the first time To the Highest Bidder. Never heard of them (Supersister) before, but I did not need any review to notice what a brilliant album I was listening to. The first track, A Girl Named You, starts the album, and it got me from the very first few seconds. The soft and expert sound accompanied by flutes are amazing. When the calm vocals begins, a soft but grinding keyboard riffage strikes together. Flawless, the song follows until a caunterbury breakdown around 6:00'' and returns slowly, beautiful and lyrical around 8:00''. And hell, what a full-speed song ending. No Tree Will Grow starts creating a mood to the singing time. Great and catchy melody. You will find some laughter soundbanks at the ending.

Energy's opening cames with a drum leading (at the very beggining) dark fantastic mood, and the flutejob is hard here, heh. Around 3:40'' the song changes and it makes the listener happy. From the middle of this track, caunterbury evoked again, in the keys tune. The ending is a musical trip. Awesome track, really. And we reach Higher, the final and smooth track, that makes me dream... higher. I used to listen to this album when I could not sleep, cause it's soft and good. Even when I did not sleep while listening to, it was great.

While many assume this is the final SUPERSISTER album it was actually released under the name SWEET OKAY SUPERSISTER and is really a Sacha Van Geest solo album with SUPERSISTER members. So I guess it's close enough to be considered part of their catalogue ? Well on the official SUPERSISTER web-site you won't find this album but personally I don't have a problem with this being listed under SUPERSISTER.

After the lack of success with their previous album "Iskander" Charlie Mariano left, eventually going back to Germany where he would play with Eberhard Weber. It is a shame that "Iskander" didn't do better because it was so good. The band asked Elton Dean to take Charlie's place and Elton accepted only to see the band eventually implode. On the official SUPERSISTER web-site Elton Dean is still listed as a former member. Man i'd loved to have heard an album with him on board in the same style as "Iskander". But again I have to say that Charlie was fantastic on "Iskander". Anyway "Spiral Staircase" sees the band continuing where "Pudding En Gisteren" left off but even more sillier. In fact Frank Zappa and GONG are good examples of what we get here. Hey with Sacha back you know that humour would be back too.

"Retroschizve" opens with the sound of traffic before the piano and more takes over. Spoken words from Sacha after a minute with pleasing music. Some chipmunk vocals join in too. Get used to it (haha). It blends into "Jelly Bean Hop" where it turns fuller right away. Great sound. It settles with spoken words. The tempo keeps changing and we get more chipmunk vocals. "Dangling Dingdongs" is such a good song. Sparse intricate sounds before it picks up with bass 1 1/2 minutes in. Drums join in too. Killer stuff, especially the drumming. Vocal melodies help out. Samples late of horses walking and whistling. Then we hear someone walking away before it ends with chaotic sounds and breaking glass. "Sylver Song ( Graon, Stamp, Shock, Hoot)" opens with whispered words then some silly singing in the GONG style. Music before 2 minutes as it kicks in to a full sound. Chunky bass too. Back to silliness after 2 1/2 minutes to end it.

"Cookies, Teacups, Buttercups" opens with mandolin and water sounds. Bag pipes eventually lead with marching styled drums and vocals. Catchy. "Gi, Ga, Go (Gollumble Jafers)" opens with piano and multi-vocals. An Island vibe comes in and a singer who sounds like Kevin Ayers. Horns replace the vocals but not for long. Chipmunk vocals and laughter end it. Too funny. "It Had To Be" is piano and reserved vocals. Backing vocals and vibes too. "Nosey Parkers" is piano, drums and vocals with silly background vocals. I like the drumming and sound 1 1/2 minutes in with those GONG-like vocal expressions. "We Steel So Frange (Eplogue)" is a catchy mid-paced tune with vocals. We do get an instrumental break later.

A must for fans of GONG and Zappa.

Major changes for this album as original members Sacha (flute) and Marco (drums) have left the band. Enter a jazzy drummer and also Charlie Mariano who is fresh off playing on EMBRYO's "We Keep On" album. Charlie will play sax, flute and clarinet on this record. His stint with SUPERSISTER will be just this one album then he'll go back to Germany and play with Eberhard Weber ( "Yellow Fields" & "Silent Feet" ). This is a concept album about the life of Alexander The Great and the band seemed to take the approach here to make a serious jazz record with avant leanings much like SOFT MACHINE. I think when Sacha left he took the band's humour with him.

"Introduction" is a mournful, almost dissonant clarinet solo. "Dareios The Emperor" is a top three for me. There's this cool rhythm with electric piano and horns. Love the deep bass lines as the sound turns fuller. An uptempo lighter section is contrasted with this then the vocals come in after 2 minutes as it settles. It kicks back in. Intense after 3 minutes as the sax blasts over top. A calm a minute later to end it. "Alexander" opens with light keyboard sounds as a rhythm then dissonant horns take over. I like it ! Piano only after 2 minutes then the organ and sax joins in. This is fairly dark and still laid back. Passionate sax 3 1/2 minutes in and then silence before 4 1/2 minutes. Electric piano comes in followed by bass, drums and sax that kick in after 5 minutes. Some crazy sax late. "Confrontation Of The Armies" opens with flute then the piano joins in. It kicks into an uptempo soundscape before a minute. Vocals follow. Lots of fun !

"The Battle" is a top three. It opens with drums rolling then the clarinet and floating organ takes over in a melancholic manner. A beat 2 1/2 minutes in then it picks up after 3 minutes. The drumming is fantastic ! Horns too. Silence before 5 minutes then it slowly builds with bass, organ and more. It kicks back in at 6 minutes. Great sound ! The sax is blasting a minute later. "Bagoas" is excellent. I just love this one. It becomes uptempo with vocals and chunky bass. "Roxane" is led by flute and piano throughout and there's more passion late. "Babylon" is my final top three. Electric piano as chunky bass as crisp drums join in. Vocals too and this sounds amazing ! Sax a minute in as the vocals stop. Drums only after 3 1/2 minutes as the bass joins in. Sax follows and it's dissonant. Electric piano joins in too. It's speeding up after 6 minutes. The dissonant sax sure bring SOFT MACHINE (Elton Dean) to mind. Some killer drum work during the final minute. "Looking Back" is a mellow and dreamy track with reserved vocals.

An easy 4 stars and one that might be closer to 4.5 stars. Just a killer record that should be rated much higher than it is. A classic that SOFT MACHINE fans should check out.

One of the most brillant and daring albums of Dutch progressive rock and the major work of Supersister. For their last album they have assembled a great line up, consisting of master mind and band genius Robert-Jan Stips on keyboards, bass player Ron van Eck, drummer Herman van Boeijen & jazz-ace Charley Mariano on saxes and similar stuff. Iskander is, as the name well implies, a concept album about the life and times of Alexander the Great. The music on the album isn't easily accessible and it misses the familiar sense of humor, so well known from their previous albums. I think, that just because that absence of this often too adolescent "humor" the "Iskander" sounds far more mature than the other albums. The playing is impeccable and the compositions and arrangements are perfect. The music on "Iskander" ranges from complete Crimsonian chaos in "The Battle" to soft and gentle songs like "Roxane" & "Looking Back" with some fine flute parts to enjoy.The flute part in "Looking Back" is still played by the band's previous flute player Sacha van Geest. The album even contains a track that was released as a single "Bagoas", but that one didn't really reach the charts, although the band could be seen playing it in several rock shows. The band is classified as Canterbury, but I think they sound different. I can advise anyone who wants to discover the Dutch masters of progressive rock and who isn't affraid of a solid dose of jazz added, to try out this great album. Erik de Beer.

This is one of the records that mark the beginning of the continental progressive rock. Supersister -while not being located in the Canterbury area- falls under the Canterbury scene because of the comparable soundscapes. This record sounds much like the early Soft Machine releases and is also influenced by the Mothers of Invention.

The typical Supersister sound is characterized by short melodies followed by rhythmic key/organ chords in interesting timescales and within a jazzy and slightly psychedelic and optimistic feel. The mastermind is the key player and vocalist Robert Jan Stips. His vocals are a bit in line of Robert Wyatt, but somewhat less professional. His naughty impressions work out for the good or bad, but have something in common with the Mothers of Inventions way of impression. The instrumentation is the typical Canterbury key and organs, bass, drums and flute. This is about similar to the Soft Machine and Caravan.

Some of the passages are up-temp and some are minimalistic and jazzy. In some of the songs there is a fun-factor which enhances the overall entertainment of this record. The songs don't have the highly intellectual progression as in The Highest Bidder, but are still really interesting. In fact, this is a really good debut without any obvious weak points. They proof here to be an essential Canterbury band. The first three records are highly recommended for fans of the genre, although The Highest Bidder is the only real masterpiece.

IT'S TIME TO GIT DOWN WIT SUPASISTA! LAYIN' DOWN DA WAX.

Supersister. Yes, I'm one of those who heard of the band, saw the jacket of Present From Nancy, and said "no". It wasn't the name itself because I'm all for some funkified Pam Grier worship, but with those long haired dudes on the cover I knew I wasn't going to get any of that. The photo itself is interesting as well, since it appears that this physical stance the members display on the cover seems to be a necessary pose to find any semblance of comfort while suffering from an unusually severe case of jock itch. Thus I did feel pity for these boys with the oddly titled band name, but not enough to buy the actual album. Morbid curiosity did eventually win though. I had a particularly rough day at work and then, after getting splashed by a passing vehicle on the way home, I knew that I needed Supersister in my life.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but whatever it was, I didn't foresee these guys playing with such virtuosity. By the time the third track "Memories are new" kicks in with its wonky time signatures I was already floored. This is some tight jazz rock, baby. When singing does occur, the vocals favor that pleasant mellow Canterbury delivery combined with lyrics that have little interest in changing the world or getting some fine young woman into bed (unless she's nuts). Supersister also possesses a fulltime flute player as opposed to a guitarist. Yep, they're another of these early prog bands that eschewed guitars in general, and as far as I can tell basically dissolved after awhile with not much of a glorious legacy. I swear, having a guitar in your band is a key point in rock. A few (very few) rockish bands can live long and prosper without one, but most can't, and despite this album really not needing one, it's to no surprise that I knew so little about these guys despite a longtime interest in prog rock.

SUPASISTA DON'T TAKE NO JIBBA JABBA FROM NOONE, but Present From Nancy is a bit uneven at times. It starts off great with some high energy tempos and musicianship, but a bit of a lull settles in around the middle portion of the album until "Mexico" brings back the goodness. As an aside, it's always nice to hear a song named after a country while not plundering its native musical culture, although a breakdown into a Mariachi hat dance would've been hilarious. "Mexico" combines their two styles quite well: the difficult and entrancing jazz patterns and the fun rollicking soft rock & slightly psychedelic attitude to create a nice little mini-epic. Another song I should mention is "Dona Nobis Pacem". Mostly it's a moody sluggish keyboard piece before morphing into carnival music and ending with a loud gong. It's one of those long numbers that really try my patience at times, and every time I give it a chance I wind up yearning for that gong because it's an exciting noise and it signifies the tune's end.

So yeah, I can kinda dig the Supersister. They seem to know what time it is, and definitely do on their next slab of vinyl which improved their capabilities as songwriters. Present From Nancy has some real highpoints and a few borderline miserable lowpoints, but that's the way of a lot of debuts by bands arriving at such a tricky era as the end of the 60s and dawn of the seventies. Early Canterbury from nowhere near Canterbury. If you dig that scene, check it out.

Another strong effort from Supersister sees them distinguishing their sound a bit further from Soft Machine. By this point in their career, the Softs had firmly distanced themselves from their more whimsical past and showed little sense of humour; it's clear from this album (which captures, at one point at the end of No Tree Will Grow, the band cracking up in laughter) that Supersister weren't going to take that direction.

Instead, they keep pushing ahead in their early Canterbury sound - a blend of the Softs, a bit of Caravan, and some Hot Rats-period Frank Zappa - though this time there seem to be a few more nods here and there to classical music in the mix, further distinguishing the band's approach from their influences. Just as good as their debut, I think this one does a slightly better job of doing something new and original within the Canterbury framework, but I'd be hard-pressed to choose between the two.

A more than competent mingling of influences ranging from late-period Mothers of Invention to Volume Two era Soft Machine, with a big hit of Caravan mellowness here and there, Supersister's first album is not an absolute masterpiece, but it's more than deserving to sit in the company of its influences. No mere imitators, the band prove willing to experiment a little and surprise the listener (such as when they throw in a super-brief partial cover of the Byrds' Eight Miles High at one point), and match their heroes in technical expertise to boot; Stips and Vroljik on vibes and percussion in particular are a joy to hear. Four stars.

Supersister - Iskander (1973)

Supersister is a major progressive rock act from the Netherlands during the progessive haydays of the early seventies. Their style was hugely influenced by Frank Zappa (mainly the rhytmical proto-Canterbury approach) and by the Soft Machine (the distorted organ based rock sound with repetative rhythms and psychedelic vocals). With a keyboards, bass, flute and drums the band had an orginal line-up with very talented musicians, with Robert Jan Stips being one of the best keyboardplayers in Dutch rock/pop history. On the first three albums Supersister impressed fans and critics with their fast jazzy approach on progressive music with some space for great flute melodies and solo's and nice hippi vocals of Stips. On the fourth album the band had to cope with line-up changes and a change of style in general.

Robert Jan Stips still plays his fast keyboards and organs and the bass is still played by Ron van Eck. Flute player Sacha van Geest only appears on one track, the paino-flute duet called Roxane. The drums are taken over by Herman van Boeyen wit some assistence of Pierre Moerlen on percussion. The new solist is Charlie Mariano on saxophone. His style is that of a fusion musician who seems to be influenced by the style of Alton Dean of the Soft Machine.

The fact that supersister suddenly has another solo-instruments makes a huge difference on Iskander. The style of Mariano pushes the band toward that of a progressive fusion group of it's days with slight avant-garde influences. The organs of Stips are less on the foreground and the scarce vocals of Stips are almost lost in the mix. One can also find some world-music influences, for this is a concept album about Alexander the Great (named Iskander in Greece). The world-music influences remind me a bit of those of Palepoli by Osanna (from the RPI division). The drums of Boeyen are very good, but I must admit I preferred the unstoppable repetative/psychedelic jazz drums of Marco Vrolijk. Somehow Supersister lost it's vibe without the continuity of the high pace he laid down for the band.

With all these changes in line-up, sound and style I can conclude that this is not an album that is representative for the Supersister brand, but that doesn't make it a bad album. The wind-section of Mariano is very strong and most of his solo's are really great. The composition is fine, though a big more aggresion would not have hurt. My only real complaint is the bad mixing of the vocals, one can't almost hear what Stips is singing. The duet of Stips and Van Geest on 'Roxane' is a great reminder of the former Supersiter sound, it also reminds me a bit of the great atmosphere of Pudding & Gisteren's ending section. The concept is bit lost because of the low volume vocals, but when reading the inner sleeves a lot of the the band's thoughts on the subject are revealed.

Conclusion. This will perhaps never be my favorite Supersister album, but it's still recommended to fans of Canterbury, classic fusion and rare progressive rock. The album does have a strong atmosphere, though a bit sophisticated at times (unlike the happy, bombastic & crazy vibe of the first three albums). Perhaps it'll take me some more spins to nail it down completely. Three and a halve stars, but I'm a bit unsure wether it's going to be rounded up or down.

I finally got a chance to listen to a Supersister album and I was very impressed. Although Dutch, these guys can out-Canterbury some of the original Canterbury bands! This is their third album and you could describe this as a mix of Soft Machine and Caravan. They definately have the instrumental prowess of the former and the humour of the latter. The lyrics are in English but delivered in a heavy Dutch accent, which I actually quite enjoy. The instrumentation includes bass, drums, flute, organ and Rhodes piano. Not much guitar here, but the fuzzed up bass and organ can sometimes equal a rockin' guitar.

The majority of "Radio" is in a poppy, Latin jazzy kind of vibe. Some a capella vocals then it switches to a more intense Canterbury sound with some operatic "la la la" harmony vocals. Some exotic string instrument can be heard. "Psychopath" is some kind of baroque-pop. Funny lyrics. Some nice harpsichord here. You can listen to "Judy Goes On Holiday" here on PA. This begins with a modified organ imitating a racing car. Then it goes into some great jazz-rock with an awesome flute melody, sometimes doubled on organ. The bassline in this part is good too. Changes to different sections with great drumming throughout. Eventually the opening jazz-rock section gets reprised. All of a sudden goes into a drumless section with Rhodes and flute before some bass notes from the organ. Some crunching sounds and a little bit of vocals.

Later some great Rhodes start to play, being joined by flute. Then some guitar comes in after awhile, followed by some vibraphone. The music stops and then some jazzy drumming before the first jazz-rock part gets reprised yet again. Music stops again and then it goes into a Zappaesque doo-wop parody. I like this but I can understand how some would think it's just stupid. If that song wasn't amazing enough, we get the 21-minute title track. A great Canterbury epic. First few minutes sounds like a cross between Canterbury and Zappa. Later some start/stop playing before it gets more jazzy.

Around 3 1/2 minutes is a great drumbeat and some hummed vocals that mimic the Rhodes. Then the flute plays the Rhodes melody before an organ solo. Goes through some more changing sections. In the middle gets polka sounding while the tempo keeps increasing until it changes to a jazzier section. Goes back to the polka part briefly before changing to a new section yet again. Later on some lovely flute gets joined by spacey and avant sounding piano and organ. The music stops briefly then a great part with cool bass and wah-organ. Later it switches to fuzz-organ and some start/stop playing. Around 17 minutes what sounds like a synthesizer starts to solo. Some crazy drumming at one point.

The last few minutes is just piano and flute. I was in for a suprise the first time I listened to this part of the epic. I had a total "WTF?" moment. I heard some piano chords that I instantly recognized. After a minute of thinking about it, it hit me: "Ohhh, the Rabbit In The Headlights song!" In 1998 Radiohead singer Thom Yorke made a song with electronic duo UNKLE. The song was called "Rabbit In Your Headlights" are was entirely based on a sample of the ending piano chords of "Pudding En Gisteren". How cool. It never ceases to amaze me how some seemingly obscure prog groups get sampled by modern artists. I really enjoyed this album, especially the last two tracks. I want to hear their other albums now. This is highly recommended to fans of Canterbury. 4 stars.