Earth Quake
Beserkley JBZ-0045
1975
"Rocking the world?" Rocking California is more accurate. This is a live album drawn from shows this Bay Area band played in California. They played my high school back in the mid-1970s. I did not go largely because I had never heard of them, but judging from this album I missed a good show. The record consists mostly of covers which is probably part of why they never became popular outside of their home turf. Their three original songs are weak in comparison. "Power Glide Slide" is the best of the trio. It features a lumbering heavy riff laid over a straight ahead boogie that helps disguise that the song is otherwise so undistinguished. It glides into a frenetic rave up that is straight out of the Yardbirds' playbook and must have been exhilarating to see live. The similarly riff-driven "Mr. Security" is a generic rocker that is entertaining but forgettable. I find "(Sitting In the Middle of) Madness" to be tedious but the crowd seems to dig it, maybe you had to be there. They may not have very good songwriters, but the group did have excellent taste in cover songs. The record kicks off with a high voltage interpretation of Bobby Troup's "Route 66" which is one of the best versions of this much covered song that I have ever heard. They load up the song with guitar noise and a relentless driving beat that gets me bopping. Their version of the Easybeats' "Friday On My Mind" suffers from weak vocals. John Doukas' lead vocal is labored and screechy and the band's background vocal is feeble. Musically they transform the song from power pop to an energetic boogie which was probably fun to see live but I don't really approve of the changes. The band sticks pretty close to the original arrangement of the Small Faces" "Tin Soldier." Vocalist Gary Phillips can't match Steve Marriott's performance, but he gives it a solid effort. The song is too similar to the original to be interesting, but I adore the original so I'm not complaining. The band kicks out the jams on the Velvet Underground's "Head Held High." It is really exciting and must have been thrilling to see live. I consider it the highlight of the album. The final cover is the Electric Light Orchestra's "Ma Ma Ma Belle." Bassist Stan Miller takes the lead vocal but he isn't up to the challenge and often sounds strained. I like the band's raucous work out on the tune though, it is much more lively than the original. It gives the album a dynamic finish. I enjoy this album but I don't play it very often. It is basically the 1970s equivalent to a garage band album. Nonetheless I admire the band's commitment to full-throttle rocking out which was an all too rare commodity back then unless heavy metal counts. Recommended to fans of the J. Geils Band and Faces.
