One of the oddest San Francisco Bay Area bands of the late '60s, Berkeley-based Mad River cut two albums that are highly regarded by psychedelic collectors. After releasing a rare EP on a tiny local label in 1967, the band signed with Capitol and released their self-titled debut the following year. Perhaps the most ominous San Francisco band of the time, the group often sounded like an extremely dark version of Quicksilver Messenger Service with a bit of Country Joe & the Fish's minor-key melodies thrown in. Their material veered between drawn-out angst jams and frenetic numbers, spotlighting David Robinson's shimmering, blistering guitar leads and leader/songwriter Lawrence Hammond's mournful, quavering vocals. Unpredictably, their second and last LP (1969's Paradise Bar & Grill) found the band drifting into laid-back country-rock with less memorable results.
The band chills out considerably here, largely eschewing the creeps for lazing-by-the-country-stream picking. Laurence Hammond's vocals are still uniquely pained, and cuts like "Equinox" and "Academy Cemetery" show traces of their facility for haunting guitar lines, but it doesn't come close to the impact of their debut. Countercultural hero Richard Brautigan makes an appearance on "Love's No Way to Treat a Friend." AMG.
listen here
Monday, November 7, 2011
Mad River - Paradise Bar & Grill 1969
Popular Posts
-
WUN has been known as one of the most significant acid folk albums of the 70s. Although his continuous effort during his entire career throu... -
Hard/Blues Rock band formed in Memphis in 1968 by Baker, who'd fronted local faves The Blazers, the initial line-up evolved to include d... -
The debut album from the Atlanta-based funk aggregate spawned three singles and a host of soul numbers. The first single from the album was... -
Not too much info about this 1969 psychedelic blues boogie album from this Texas group originally released on the UNI label. Opening cut is... -
Types Of Neckwear: Neckties, Ascots, Bolo Ties And More Although the traditional necktie is the preferred neck wear for most men , it is... -
From Home to Home is quite similar to the albums this group had put out in the late '60s as the Kaleidoscope (the British Kaleidoscope... -
Tiny Tim 's 15 minutes of fame were starting to run out when Tiny Tim's Second Album was released in November 1968, and it sold onl... -
When you think of the Doors , "guitar" isn't the first thing that usually comes to mind ( Jim Morrison 's manic persona an... -
Manna/Mirage was the Muffins ' first album and remained their best work. It is a fantastic blend of Canterbury prog and Henry Cow -ish ... -
There's not a youth today that hasn't best for you to read kate moss picture , and if there is one such person, the Fashion of Kate ...
0 comments:
Post a Comment