PIRANA

Talking about obscure records.....

But thankfully, this album has been re-released together with their second/final album as a two for one package on CD. It is reasonable available. I only bought it because I thought it was the metal band of the same name. I then binned it until I spotted this prog rock band being included in PA. So the albums was dusted off again.

On their debut album, Pirana is not particular progressive. Take the worst of the pop music from the early 1970s and you get the idea. There are a lot of The Eagles, even Bay City Rollers and some other pretty dire pop music here. This in addition to some very good hammond driven rock in the vein of Santana and some space rock bands. The best stuff on this album is very, very good and can best be described as a mix of Krautrock, space rock and latin jazz. Santana in other words. Stan White's hammond organ sound is generally excellent. When he is let loose here, this album takes of into an infectious swinging album. The pop stuff on the other hand.......

It seems like this band tried to please everyone on this album. It is an album of it's time. The sound is good. The vocals is good and the musicians is good. The pop stuff is a two star. Stan White's hammond driven rock and space rock songs is a four stars effort. There is no outstanding songs here so I am therefore landing on a barely three stars album. I also quite like this album too. The two for one package is well worth pursuing for those into this type of sound.

3 stars (barely)

Pirana's first album mixes some cheesey turn-of-the-decade pop with some more credible extended numbers on the lighter side of prog. They are now remembered primarily as antipodean Santana copyists, but this album shows a more diverse influence. The Santana influence is most audible in the appropriately titled opening track "Elation", in the short middle section of "Sermonette", and in the long lively jam during "Stand Back". These are generally the most prog-friendly tracks, particularly "Sermonette" which packs several changes of mood and style into it's relatively short running time. I don't mind all the pop stuff - I like sunny major seventh chords as much as anyone - and "The Time Is Now" does the sunny seventh chords pretty well, with a nice modulation in the chorus - and then a Wurm-like change of pace at the end to appease the prog fans. "The River" is very reminiscent of the Beatles "Don't Let Me Down" - maybe a little too much. "Find Yourself A New Girl" is probably a bit too sunny, OTOH; and then "Easy Ride" with it's soldier lyrics takes the cheese quotient a bit too far.

Part of the surprisingly awesome Australasian scene, Pirana were an energetic Sydney-based quartet who first appeared in 1971, issuing two albums on the Harvest imprint before the usual lack of success truncated their all-too- brief career. For the interested, both of their albums are easily attainable on CD, yet, rather annoyingly, original vinyl copies of each are now worth a small fortune - around $400.00 as of 2016 - and they don't pop up very often.

Despite it's proximity to the rest of the world, Australia, and latterly New Zealand, did manage to cultivate a small scene of psychedelic and progressive groups, mainly gathered around the clubs and bars of Sydney, Auckland and Melbourne. The likes of Spectrum, Rainbow Theatre, Bakery, Ticket, Mantis, Sebastian Hardie, Band of Light, Ayers Rock, Tamam Shud and Tully showcased a vibrant selection of styles, whether it be acid-licked blues-rock or jazz- influenced symphonic rock, and much like Pirana, original vinyl copies of most of the above are now worth ridiculous sums of money(as of writing, their is a single copy of Memento's 1972 effort 'Bakery' for sale on Discogs for just under $2,000).

With a sound influenced by latin rock outfits Santana and Chango, Jimi Hendrix, British prog and late-sixties garage- rock, Pirana's debut is all heavy guitar-and-organ interplay and colourful instrumental flourishes, though multiple listens also reveal a debt to such non-prog luminaries as Chicago and even early Blood, Sweat & Tears.

Featuring a line-up comprising Tony Hamilton(guitar, vocals), Stan White(keyboards, vocals), Graeme Thomson(bass) and Jim Yonge(drums), the first album is arguably the stronger of the two, yet truth be told the difference is minimal. The same line-up would begin work on 'Pirana II' in 1972, but just a few days into recording keyboardist Stan White was replaced by Keith Greig, which goes some way to explaining the second album's guitar-heavy sound.

Unfortunately, despite backing from EMI, neither of Pirana's albums made much of a mark on the Australian charts, or anywhere else for that matter, and following the lukewarm reception of 'Pirana II' and the constant struggle to find gigs and make a resonable living, the band split in early 1973.

The Australian scene may have been small, and very far away, yet it produced a remarkable number of excellent albums in a very short space of time. Pirana, with their spicy organ runs, busy guitars and energetic jamming make for an excellent entry point for those wanting to take the plunge, and both their albums are highly recommended.

STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2016