An old stuff, from the golden age, Australia 1971. Gully Smith, Russell Smith and the band were released this fantastic LP Product of Broken Reality:

Great find Svetonio! - A magnificent schizophrenic range of moods and feels, from blues-pop to heavy metal to progressive jazz-rock!

During its all too brief career and through constantly changing line-ups, the group established itself as the cult band par excellence, & one which was renowned for their extraordinary and adventurous music. Although the group was short-lived, they lasted long enough to make one of the best records of the period, their extraordinary 1971 album 'A Product Of A Broken Reality'. This was the product of the band's "classic" lineup -- Gullifer (vocals), Russell Smith (acoustic and electric guitars, vocals), Jerry Noone (acoustic and electric saxophone, piano, Hammond organ, celeste), Ian Mawson (Fender piano, hammond organ) , Arthur Eizenberg (bass) and John "Ernie" McInerney (drums, conga).

'Dr Chop' is one of the rarest and most collectible of all Australian recordings. According to musician Keith Glass, Pepperell's Lamington label was teetering on the verge of collapse when the record was made -- hence the half-live, half-studio configuration. The band (unwillingly) had to compromise on this format because Lamington simply couldn't afford more studio time. According to Keith, only about 300 copies were ever pressed before the label folded, thus accounting for its rarity.

"In a period with its fair share of greats, the legendary Company Caine stands out as one of the most remarkable bands to emerge from the fertile early-70s Melbourne scene. During its all too brief career and through constantly changing line-ups, the group established itself as the cult band par excellence, renowned for their extraordinary and adventurous music, and for the magnetic stage presence and cosmic-comic lyrics of singer Gulliver (Gullifer) Smith. Although the group was short-lived, they lasted long enough to make one of the best records of the period, their extraordinary 1971 album A Product Of A Broken Reality.

Many Australians will be familiar with Gulliver's work thanks to his lyrics for the John Farnham hit "A Touch Of Paradise", (co-written with Ross Wilson), but Company Caine remains one of the most shamefully neglected and overlooked bands in Australian music History. Incredibly, they rated only a four-line mention in Noel McGrath's 1978 Australian Encyclopaedia of Rock, although this was rectified by a sizeable entry in Ian McFarlane's 1999 Encyclopedia of Australian Rock & Pop.

Gulliver (whose given name is Kevin) got his start in the mid-60s on Melbourne's booming dance/disco circuit; his first major group was the popular soul band Little Gulliver and the Children. They scored a local Top 40 hit in Melbourne with a reworking of Larry William's "Short Fat Fannie" which went to #29 locally in September 1965. They released a couple of singles and one self-titled EP on the W&G label in 1966.

In 1967 Gulliver moved to Sydney and formed Dr Kandy's Third Eye (1967-8). Reputed to be one of Australia's first psychedelic bands, they used films, slides and other psychedelic lighting effects during their performances. Besides Gulliver, the lineups of Dr Kandy during this period featured some very interesting names - two other future Co. Caine alumni, Mal Capewell (reeds) and Arthur Eizenburg (bass), famed vocalist http://www.milesago.com/artists/maccallum.htm" rel="nofollow - - Nutwood Rug , http://www.milesago.com/artists/jeannie.htm" rel="nofollow - - Levi Smiths Clefs , http://www.milesago.com/artists/plj.htm" rel="nofollow - A Love Supreme, a jazz-oriented outfit, which included future http://www.milesago.com/artists/circus.htm" rel="nofollow - Ripped Family Rocket Machine Men in early 1970.

Note: Who's Who of Australian Rock lists Gulliver as being involved with http://www.milesago.com/artists/tully.htm" rel="nofollow - - Lipp Arthur , http://www.milesago.com/artists/vegetal.htm" rel="nofollow - - Cam-Pact (Ray Arnott, Clif Edwards, Russell Smith and Greg Blissett) and the band was renamed Company Caine. Acccording to Clif Edwards, "Eli Klamm", whose name appears in listings of the band at this period, was a pseudonym for Jerry Noone.

Over the next 12 months the group's reputation grew, but there were more lineup changes, beginning with Ray Arnott. He left in July to join Matt Taylor's http://www.milesago.com/artists/genesis.htm" rel="nofollow - - Spectrum . Arnott was replaced by Eric Cairns (ex- http://www.milesago.com/artists/morris.htm" rel="nofollow - - Heart'n'Soul ) who left around Sept. 1970 and was eventually replaced by John "Ernie" McInerny, from http://www.milesago.com/artists/foreday-riders.htm" rel="nofollow -

By mid-1971, the band had gelled into the "classic" lineup -- Gullifer, Russell Smith, Jerry Noone, Ian Mawson, Arthur Eizenberg and John "Ernie" McInerney. Original member Clif Edwards also returned at this time, but apparently only for the studio recordings. They went into Melbourne's TCS Studios in Richmond in July to record their legendary LP A Product of a Broken Reality. It was produced by Gus McNeil and engineered by John French, and released on the 'Generation' label. McNeil was already something of a legend himself -- once dubbed "The Wild Man of Sydney Rock", he had had gained a considerable reputation as vocalist with seminal Sydney band http://www.milesago.com/artists/nomads.htm" rel="nofollow - - Pirana .)

In 1978 rock historian Noel McGrath described the LP rather dismissively as having been "...described in some circles as brilliant." He evidently didn't belong to those circles but I believe it's no exaggeration to say that Product is a landmark of Australian music. There is really nothing else quite like it, and it's was easily as good as -- if not better -- than anything that was coming out of the US or the UK at the time, especially considering the pressure under which it was recorded, and it still stands up brilliantly today in all respects.

The LP was packaged in one of the all-time great Australian record covers -- a bizarre, futurist construction by renowned Melbourne artist http://www.milesago.com/industry/mccausland-ian.htm" rel="nofollow - - Go-Set contributor, art director of http://www.milesago.com/press/planet.htm" rel="nofollow - - Carson , http://www.milesago.com/artists/spectrum.htm" rel="nofollow - - Chain , http://www.milesago.com/artists/daddy_cool.htm" rel="nofollow - - Blackfeather , http://www.milesago.com/artists/dingoes.htm" rel="nofollow -

The material is diverse, yet the album has a genuine identity and cohesion. Musically Product careens across a schizophrenic range of moods and feels, from blues-pop to heavy metal to progressive jazz-rock, yet it all hangs together perfectly. Tying in with the cover art, Side One opens with the strange, mechanised voice of a computer in a future century, informing us that we are about to listen to rock'n'roll music ca.1971; then we're plunged straight into the powerdrive intro of "Symptoms". The song kicks off with a killer keyboard riff, which must be one of the first uses on an Australian record of the Hohner Clavinet (the harpsichord-like keyboard which features so memorably on The Band's "Up On Cripple Creek" and Stevie Wonder's "Superstition"). Russell Smith picks up the riff on guitar before delivering some stinging lead breaks; then abruptly we are launched into a spacey jazz realm, with Jerry Noone's superb bebop saxophone, followed by Gulliver's surrealist soul vocal, and then we are thrown back into a reprise of the frantic opening riff and more powerful guitar work by Smith.

The Cell is a transcendent progressive rock fantasia; its ethereal backing track blending organ, celeste, clarinet and electric guitar, is built around intricate chord changes, and the coda, "Theme for Vishdungarius", trails off with a dreamlike interplay of guitar and celeste. The album's focal point is, of course the druggy paranoia classic "The Day Superman Got Busted". The track is aptly described by Ian McFarlane as

"... freaked out, mind-blowing spazz-rock anarchy that exists in an unhinged vacuum purely of its own design!"

It's certainly comparable to anything King Crimson was producing at the time -- but a lot funnier! "What star sign are you -- flexible?"

Some of the other tracks are pure fun: the boogie-woogie craziness of "Trixie Stonewall's Wayward Home for Young Women" -- surely one of the nuttiest songs ever to be released as a single in Australia -- and the bouncy (and maddeningly catchy) "Simple Song of Spring", which gleefully namechecks Australian columnist/journalist David D. McNicoll and rhymes him with "pickle"; it also features some of Gullifer's renowned vocal stylings - his scat singing and one of his trademark stream-of-consciousness 'raves' (in this case about aliens from 'the planet Ballboys').

The more musically adventurous tracks are balanced by three powerful and memorable ballads: "Woman With Reason" (with thrilling vocal backing by Danny Robinson ( http://www.milesago.com/artists/wildcherries.htm" rel="nofollow - - The Virgil Brothers ) who also sings on "Trixie" and "Symptoms"). The soulful "It's Up To You" (graced by some beautiful, mellifluous guitar work by Russell Smith) and "Go See The Gypsy". The closing track "The Last Scene" is an impassioned plea to someone about to commit suicide. As the record closes we again hear the mocking tones of the computer, ending with the sound of manic laughter. Intriguingly, three of the tracks -- "The Cell", "Theme for Vishdungarius" and "The Last Scene" -- are noted on the inside cover as being "From the forthcoming Opera "What The F**k Is Happening On Planet Earth?". Interestingly, on the back of the 1975 re-release, the word "forthcoming" has been crossed out and the word "Never!" scrawled underneath it.

There are so many features that make Product such a special album. Gulliver's lyrics range from Goon-style humour to nightmare visions, and his bluesy, declamatory singing style is as much a trademark as his famous black beret. In Russell Smith they posessed one of the ablest and most inventive guitarists on the scene; Jeremy Noone was equally crucial to their sound, broadening the group's tonal palette in much the same way that Ian Underwood did for Frank Zappa. The group as a whole really cooks, as tracks like "Symptoms" will show, and particular mention has to be made of the sterling rhythm section of Mawson, Eizenberg and McInerny. The album is now extremely rare, and the fact that this incredible record has not been available since 1975 is tragic -- although we still hope that this will soon be rectified (see http://www.milesago.com/artists/co_caine.htm#Discography" rel="nofollow -

There were lineup changes during late 1971 -- Jeremy Noone had left the band in August, briefly joining http://www.milesago.com/artists/king-harvest.htm" rel="nofollow - - Daddy Cool . His replacement at the end of 1971 was reed player Mal Capewell, whose credits included work with British bands Dada (which featured dual vocalists Elkie Brooks and Robert Palmer) and Graham Bond's Holy Magick. At the start of 1972 the band moved to Sydney and shortened the name to Co. Caine (presumably for those who hadn't already got the joke) and brought in another ex-Dr Kandy player, Dave Kain (or Kane) as rhythm guitarist. Sometime during this period, legendary Australian jazzer Bernie McGann also worked with the band.

Co. Caine broke up in October 1972. Russell joined the touring version of the band http://www.milesago.com/artists/duck.htm" rel="nofollow - - G. Wayne Thomas ) and then rejoined Gulliver and began work on forming a new project with Ross Wilson and Ross Hannaford, who had recently broken up Daddy Cool. Gulliver went his own way soon after, and launched his solo career.

He signed to the Australian division of the Warner empire http://www.milesago.com/industry/warner.htm" rel="nofollow - - Lizard ). Bobby Gebert and Dave Conners. Musically, it was a continuation of Company Caine's eclectic musical approach. Two Singles were lifted from the album: Such A Shame/Platonic Love, Woman Pie and Lazy Shoe/Almost Freedom (written by Greg Quill). Such A Shame included two b-sides not on the LP. Russell Smith featured throughout the album, but stayed on with Wilson and Hannaford to become the lead guitarist in what eventually became their new group http://www.milesago.com/artists/mightykong.htm" rel="nofollow - - David "Dr Pepper" Pepperell who had been one of the chief instigators of the reformation. Comprising a mixture of live and studio tracks, it's especially valuable for the inclusion of the full-length versions of two songs from the Product era -- "Dear Carolyn and Now I'm Together. the 1971 single tracks (produced by Gus McNeil) which were only released in shortened form at the time.

Dr Chop is one of the rarest and most collectible of all Australian recordings. According to musician Keith Glass, Pepperell's Lamington label was teetering on the verge of collapse when the record was made -- hence the half-live, half-studio configuration. The band (unwillingly) had to compromise on this format because Lamington simply couldn't afford more studio time. According to Keith, only about 300 copies were ever pressed before the label folded, thus accounting for its rarity.

When the label folded, so did Co. Caine Mk II. In 1976 Gulliver put together a new band, the R&B-based Gulliver's Travels. It lasted until 1977 and was quite a super-group -- the roll-call included old pals Mal Capewell, Ian Mawson and Russell Smith, plus John Mills (Spectrum, Ariel), Wayne Duncan (Daddy Cool), "Sleepy" Greg Lawrie ( http://www.milesago.com/artists/creatures.htm" rel="nofollow - - Doug Parkinson In Focus , Genesis, Aesop's Fables, the http://www.milesago.com/stage/hair.htm" rel="nofollow - - Country Radio .

Gulliver moved to England in 1977 and lived and worked there for many years. He returned to Australia in the late 80's and reformed Gulliver's Travels in 1989. He continues to write and perform under the slightly changed moniker of "Gullifer Smith". In 1996 he and his partner and collaborator Stephanie Hopkins released the excellent Deux Poetes album, which includes songs co-written with Arthur Eizenberg. Gulliver is now based in Sydney and continues to perform occasionally. In June 1999 he appeared at the Empire Hotel in Annandale, Sydney, and performed a great set of blues and R&B standards, spiced up with the very welcome additions of the Company Caine classics "It's Up To You" and "Now I'm Together", plus some fine tracks from Deux Poetes.

Arthur Eizenberg lives in Sydney and continues to collaborate with Gullifer and Stephanie. Russell Smith now lives in Perth and is a member of the all-star band The Embers, who back the great http://www.milesago.com/artists/jeffstjohn.htm" rel="nofollow -

Company Caine has always been highly regarded by other musicians. Admirers over the years who have recorded their songs include the following Aussie greats:

- Steve Kilbey (The Church) covered "Woman With Reason" on his album The Slow Crack

- Jeannie Lewis covered "It's Up To You" on her LP Free Fall Through Featherless Flight

- The Sports covered "Now I'm Together" and "Don't Hold Back That Feeling".