New Jersey native Dave Wyndorf was already a rock & roll veteran by the time he formed Monster Magnet in 1989, having cut his teeth with little-known punk band Shrapnel (also featuring future punk producer Daniel Rey on guitars) in the late '70s before retiring from music altogether. But after teaching himself guitar, Wyndorf began assembling Monster Magnet with a handful of fellow New Jersey natives, vocalist Tim Cronin, guitarist John McBain, bassist Joe Calandra, and drummer Jon Kleiman. Fusing their metal, punk, space rock, and psychedelic influences, the band developed a sludgy, feedback-heavy hard rock sound that helped them stand out from the era's burgeoning retro-rock movement -also counting The Black Crowes, White Zombie, and many others.
This is Monster Magnet's very first release only available on cassette, that they released on their own label, Cool Beans, in 1989. Essentially it is a collection of 4 track demos, with several of the songs being re-recorded for later albums. For these recordings, Monster Magnet was a three piece consisting of Dave Wyndorf, John McBain, and Tim Cronin. Their debut owes a huge debt to Hawkwind, psychedelia and drugs. They even cover Hawkwind here ("Brainstorm"). It is a noisy stew of abrasive trippy rock. Some of the vocals are questionable but, altogether, this is quite a journey for psych lovers of all stripes. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]
Label:
Cool Beans – none
Format:
Cassette, Limited Edition
Country:
US
Released:
1989
Style:
Space Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Stoner Rock, Jam Band, Punk Rock, Noise Rock
Tracklist:
A1 Lizard Johnny 6:44
A2 Black Wawa 3:14
A3 Eight Ball 5:23
A4 Brainstorm 5:24
A5 Freak Shop USA 4:30
B1 Tab 22:05
Notes:
This is the track listing and cover art for the second release of the tape, which includes "Freak Shop USA".
This was not on the original edition as it was recorded later for release on a Circuit 7" single.
This second collaboration between Roy Montgomery and Bardo Pond unveiled a series of colossal jams, ranging from the simmering drone-raga "Präludium und Fuge. D-Moll" (that coils and hisses like a gigantic serpent), to the toxic nebulae of "Labiomancy", the thick magma of "Sources in Cleveland", the eastern psychedelic carousel "Hymenoptera in Amber Crybaby", and above all the "fried" 17-minute cosmic-psychedelia of "Atropine" (whose second half gives way to a surprisingly tender melody). Make no mistake, the relentless heavy tripping of 'Under Glass' is not for the faint of heart, it may just as easily thrill you as it may exhaust you. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]
Label:
Drunken Fish Records – DFR 44, Drunken Fish Records – DFR44
Format:
CD, Album
Country:
US
Released:
1999
Style:
Space Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Experimental, Ambient, Drone, Jam Band
One of the freakiest and most difficult to find Bevis Frond albums, this is a limited-edition collaboration with legendary British psychedelia figure Twink (aka, John Alder, ex-Tomorrow, Pretty Things, Pink Fairies, etc.), a drummer whose previous collaborators ranged from Syd Barrett to Hawkwind. Clearly he was a like-minded soul, and unlike most other Bevis Frond "collaborations," which end up being completely dominated by Nick Saloman's singular vision, 'Magic Eye' is definitely the work of both men. Opening with a completely over-the-top spoken introduction from Twink, the album is possibly the most purely psychedelic album Saloman has ever been involved with. The nine lengthy songs bristle with backwards effects, trippy guitar and keyboard textures, and the sort of lyrics one would expect to find in such settings. ("Flying Igloos," anyone?) Honestly, the whole thing sounds like it could have been recorded in 1969. A good-humored but not silly album, this is a most enjoyable set well worth tracking down. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Label:
Woronzow – WOO 13
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Album
Country:
UK
Released:
1990
Genre:
Rock
Style:
Psychedelic Rock, Prog Rock, Neo-Psychedelia, Jam Band
As most Krautrock enthusiasts are aware of, Achim Reichel was one of Germany’s biggest pop stars in the 60s before he dived headfirst into the burgeoning psychedelic scene that turned progressive as the 70s hit, however on his debut album with A.R. & MACHINES, 'Die Grüne Raise', the songs still had a lot of pop compositional style wrapped up in extended psychedelic tripped out effects and more lingering passages that qualified them as progressive. On 'Echo', the band dropped a lot of the pop influences and instead opted for longer sonic journeys into blissful psychedelic jams that found subtle instrumental interactions slowly parade into infinity. On 'AR3', Reichel attempted to bring back more conventional song structures, perhaps missing the instant gratification of pop stardom but fell short as the band had lost their hit making mojo and watered down the Kraut aspects a wee bit too much.
On 'A.R. IV', Reichel and his Kraut crew once again revert back to the long sonic journeys that delve into long psychedelic meandering jams that carry a somewhat funky groove as the backbone. While the album was broken down into four tracks, the first three constitute the “Vita” suite that allowed a strong bass groove and overabundance of percussive drive to meander on for over twenty minutes with a series of ethereal flute and jazzy sax to give it a multidimensional feel. The electric piano and keyboard effects kept it grounded into the progressive world of psychedelia as the tracks, while technically separate actually run together seamlessly and generate an instrumental journey into total blissful escapism. While vocals are scarce, there are segments where Reichel belts out some lyrics but thankfully these passages end quickly as i find them to be the weakest link of the band’s unique musical journey.
The finale is saved for the super long twenty-three minute suite “Aqua” which consists solely of the track “Every Raindrop Longs For The Sea” that finds an extended groovy psychedelic jam sallying forth like there is no end to time. The formula is the same as side one with an energetic bass and percussion section accompanied by the driving rhythmic force with healthy doses of electric keyboard runs, blues funk guitar and the airy flutes and a constant background sound of ocean sounds including seagulls lurking in the distance. The sax also returns for the extra jazzy touch. There is a very carefree vibe to 'A.R. IV' with little or no attention paid to any sort of compositional style whatsoever. It is simply the sort of heady improvisational psychedelic jam that was common for the days. 'A.R. IV' is a massive improvement over 'AR3' as it captures the mood of the experimental sound journey that was intended. This is one that is a nice free floating escapist’s journey into the clouds.
This is the type of music that isn’t made to blow you away. This is very much an introspective journey that builds through a solid rhythmic flow that allows an atmospheric backdrop to shape shift much like clouds slowly changing shape as they roll by in the sky. 'A.R. IV' was basically a group of ten musicians getting together (granted not all at the SAME time) and trading off licks around a solid groove. While this album doesn’t have the same compositional prowess as other prog outfits of the day, there’s something very soothing about it that makes feel one with the universe. At this time Reichel was heavily into spirituality and yoga practice and that’s exactly what emanates from this long drifting odyssey in musical form. 'A.R. IV' would also find the band A.R. & MACHINES winding down as Reichel would continue as a solo artist, releasing one more psychedelic Kraut album before drifting into traditional German folk music. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]
Label:
Zebra – 2949 008
Format:
Vinyl, LP
Country:
Germany
Released:
1973
Style:
Krautrock, Jazz-Rock, Prog Rock, Space Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Jam Band
