Beau Brummels 66 - The Beau Brummels

Beau Brummels 66
The Beau Brummels
Warner Bros. Records W1644
1966

This is a mono pressing of the disastrous third album by the Beau Brummels.  The band had previously recorded two very fine albums for the independent San Francisco record label Autumn Records, "Introducing the Beau Brummels" and "The Beau Brummels, Volume 2," which had established them as one of the best new bands in America.  They were in the process of recording a third album for Autumn (which has appeared on archival releases by Sundazed) when Warner Bros. Records acquired the Autumn roster.  Based on those archival releases I think the third album might have been the Brummels' best and certainly would have solidified the band's artistic standing.  Warner Bros., exhibiting the typical taste and insight of corporate record companies, chose to shelve that album (supposedly over publishing conflicts.)  Instead they forced the Brummels to record this album of covers apparently attempting to turn them into Dino, Desi and Billy.  This might have destroyed a lesser band, but they were too talented to be denied and recovered to produce the excellent "Triangle" and "Bradley's Barn."  For a long time I resisted buying this product of record company greed, but I love the Brummels so much that eventually I succumbed to curiosity and a desire to hear Sal Valentino sing a song I had not heard before.  I was pleasantly surprised to find the album enjoyable for the most part although I still bitterly resent that it was ever recorded.  Given that the band's original sound was a mixture of British Invasion and folk-rock, it is no surprise that 8 of the 12 tracks fit into those two categories.  They do extremely well with the two Beatles covers.  "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" is right in their wheel house and they knock it out of the park.  Valentino's vocal is fabulous and I find the song exhilarating, almost as good as the original.  Valentino also provides a wonderful vocal for "Yesterday" which the band performs with an appealing mixture of folk-rock and chamber pop.  Paul McCartney's song for Peter and Gordon, "Woman," is given a subdued performance but Valentino's resonant vocal makes me prefer it to the sappiness of the original version.  The Rolling Stones' "Play with Fire" seems like a great fit and it sounds wonderful aside from Ron Meagher's vocal which is too weak and mannered.  I wish Valentino had sung it.  I assume that Valentino had too much dignity to go anywhere near Herman's Hermits' "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter" which Meagher sings with a fake British accent.  The band lethargically copies the original arrangement.  It is easily the worst track on the record.  The best folk-rock song is their version of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" which of course was a hit for the Byrds.  It is jangly like the Byrds version but a little less rocked up although it picks up energy as it rolls along.  It features a strong Valentino vocal and includes the verses the Byrds omitted from the song so it has value to me even though it does not approach the kinetic thrills and beauty of the Byrds' hit version.  The Brummels deliver a quiet and introspective version of the Mamas and the Papas' "Monday, Monday."  Valentino's vocal is very sincere and engaging.  I expected more from their cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "Homeward Bound" but it is largely uninspired.  The four commercial pop tracks that make up the rest of album are a mixed bag.  Their version of Sonny and Cher's vapid "Bang Bang" is the biggest surprise and one of the best tracks on the record.  The song is given a dramatic chamber pop arrangement and Valentino sings the song with genuine feeling.  I love it.  The album is worth picking up for this song alone.  The Brummels' cover of the McCoys' "Hang On Sloopy" is also solid with a robust vocal from Valentino, a compelling bass riff and a frenzied guitar solo.  Meagher sings lead on "Louie Louie" which suits his vocal limitations and the band delivers a perfunctory performance that reveals their lack of interest in the song.  I prefer the version they cut for Autumn which appeared on the Vault Records compilation "Vol. 44."  Meagher provides an amateurish vocal for Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made For Walking" which is unfortunate because I dig the band's rollicking backing track although it is a lot less distinctive than the arrangement on the hit version.  Even though I despise the crass record company motivations that led to this album's existence, I have to admit that with more sympathetic handling this could have been a pretty good album.  As a former bar band, these guys could play just about anything and Sal Valentino is one of my favorite singers, I'd listen to him sing anything he wants to sing.  The problem is that I doubt he wanted to sing most of these songs.  If this was a cover album of songs that he and the band liked, it would have more value.  As it is I enjoy about half of it and the remainder is mostly painless.  It was a mistake, but the Brummels were talented enough to still make it work.  Recommended to Beau Brummels completists and fans of mid-1960s top 40 radio looking for fresh takes on songs they've heard too many times.

The End of the Game - Peter Green

The End of the Game
Peter Green
Reprise 6346
1970 

I was very sorry to see that Peter Green had died.  He was one of my favorite guitarists in rock.  My admiration was entirely based on his work with the band he founded, Fleetwood Mac.  I have a few of his solo albums (mostly on CD) which are fine but uninspired for the most part.  This is my favorite of his solo records.  It was his first solo album and sounds little like his recordings with Fleetwood Mac.  I was extremely disappointed when I first bought it but I've since come to admire it.  I was expecting more of blues/hard rock sound like his previous work, but the album consists of a series of jazzy instrumental jams with a dash of funk.  It reminds me of late period Jimi Hendrix and I would not be surprised if that was an influence on Green's approach to the record.  The record gets off to a strong start with "Bottoms Up" which is my favorite track.  Supported by a heavy bass riff from Alex Dmochowski, Greens cuts loose with smoking hot guitar runs.  The jam lacks direction but it is full of energy and I find it extremely stimulating.  The track goes on for slightly over nine minutes but I still think it fades out too soon.  "Timeless Time" is far more subdued.  Green's solo is lovely although it sounds tentative.  Side one concludes with "Descending Scale" which sounds like jazz fusion.  The song opens with Dmochowski laying down staccato bass riffs while Zoot Money delivers bursts of kinetic piano riffs as Green unleashes a noisy almost discordant guitar frenzy, before the song slows down for an extended interlude of interwoven bass and guitar noodling reminiscent of the Grateful Dead that is moderately engaging to me if I am in the right mood.  The song picks up steam near the end as the piano rejoins the action before the jam is clumsily cut off to end the side.  Side two opens with "Burnt Foot" which starts promisingly with a compelling riff from Dmochowski which unfortunately evolves into a drum solo from Godfrey MacLean that I find as tedious as most drum solos.  The song comes back to life with the rest of the band rejoining for some heavy riffing that produces some of the most satisfying music on the album for rock fans.  "Hidden Depth" is a meandering return to jazz fusion with lyrical guitar runs from Green that display his characteristic grace and fluidity.  Side two concludes with the title track which offers up more jazz fusion.  It opens with the most frenetic and chaotic musical passages on the record with noisy, yet majestic guitar work from Green before settling into a languorous quiet jam that drifts aimlessly before being abruptly cut off to the conclude the album.  If I wanted to demonstrate to someone the brilliance of Peter Green, this would certainly not be the album to start with (I would pick the live recordings of Fleetwood Mac at the Boston Tea Party from 1970.)  However when I heard that Green had died, this was the album I reached for.  I am generally not a big fan of recorded rock jam sessions (aside from Jimi Hendrix), I think they are more appropriate for concerts.  However this one appeals to me for a variety of reasons.  Mostly I am drawn to it because Green's playing is so vibrant and dynamic, it is often a very exciting record despite the unstructured format.  Also as much as I love the early Fleetwood Mac, it is interesting to hear Green in a different context playing with more jazz oriented musicians.  Furthermore I find the record has an immediacy and intimacy that I don't find on his more commercial records.  Finally I think it represents the final flowering of Green's genius.  He recorded it on the verge of his descent into debilitating mental illness.  I have only heard a few of his post-illness albums but none of them even approach the inspired playing on this record.  It has a poignancy and wistfulness to it because it makes me wonder what he might have achieved if he had not been damaged by drugs and mental illness.  It was this poignancy that drew me to this record when I learned that he had died.  Like his contemporary Jimi Hendrix, Green's recorded output of essential recordings was rather small but they burn all the more brightly because of the intensity of the relatively brief period that their creators flourished.  Recommended to fans of Jeff Beck's "Blow By Blow."