JOURNEY

The third and last (to my knowledge since I never had seen the Lost Ears of 76) album of AB's KC is maybe the most definitive (and defining) album of Arthur Brown's silly adventures. Please note that this album comes also in the TRC label with a vastly different sleeve depicting a rose in front of a cloudy sky! But the historical artwork is the one above.

Some of the members of the band having left , Brown hired an American on KB (apparently organ-less but with other keys to his savoir-faire) and chose to replace the drummer by himself plus a machine. Probably one of the earliest drum machine ever recorded (this is 73 after all) , the machine is well used enough that what could be a big flaw appears to be annulled by correct programming (most 80's band using those "things"will not even come close to this one here) , so it is not bothersome for the proghead.

Songwise , there are some real gems on this album with some "so-evident melodies" that you could wonder how the Beatles did not come up with those, but do not get me wrong , those tracks are too crazy for the Fab Four and the AB'sKC sound has nothing to do with them either. Times Captives , the multi-part Superficial roadblocks , Gypsy and Spirit Of Joy are pure delight and Brown's vocals and sheer lunacy are real happiness.

I suspect that the average proghead wanting to investigate AB's KC should start with this one before moving on to the Zopo Dossier (very mad album) and the eponymous album last (very average album). Not far away from clinching another halfstar , this album could qualify as a 70's lost gem if it was just a bit more forgotten!