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"...Spaced..."
There aren't many bands or artists who 'don't'
make the Record Collector Rare Records Price Guide when they issued albums as
far back as 1970, 1971 and 1972 - but the eccentric and frankly noodlesome
output of PAUL BEAVER and BERNARD KRAUSE are among that select few.
When I worked as a Rock and Rarities Vinyl
Buyer at Reckless Records (a stretch of 20 years penal servitude) - Beaver
& Krause albums were like Bach on a Moog or Sitar for your Grannies Bunions
- curios that sold for a few quid, usually bought by hipster DJs looking for
samples, quirky bits of noise they could use in between spins on the Technics
1200s. And in some respect, not a lot has changed for this dynamic duo of alternate
soundscapes.
What you're getting here is three full albums
the keyboard bending boys did for Warner Brothers in the early Seventies (they
did their first in 1968 "The Nonesuch Guide To Electronic Music" and
a second on Limelight Records in 1969 called "Ragnorök (Electronic Funk)") –
the third having slowly moved away from Ambient Electronics to embrace proper
songs (even if they are a bit weepy and let the side down somewhat). Short on
playing time but impactful nonetheless, the first and third of these forgotten
albums were only released in the USA ("In A Wild Sanctuary" in 1970
and "All Good Men" in 1972) - whilst the more commercially accessible
"Gandharva" LP saw both America and Blighty outings and remains the
one album most British Rock heads have ever seen by them.
Insider support was impressive too. The first
two albums drew in some world class players prepared to bolster up experimental
outings - Bud Shank on Flute and Saxophone, Dave Grusin on Keyboards, Gerry
Mulligan on Saxophone with Milt Holland on all manner of Percussion. The
Electronic Rock of the "Gandharva" album even has the guitar work of
Mike Bloomfield and Ronnie Montrose on it with genuine Soulful bonuses being
supplied by that trio of classy backing vocalists - Vanetta Fields, Clydie King
and Patrice Holloway – Clydie lending "Walkin'" an almost ethereal
Rotary Connection feel before the three launch into a full-on see-me-in-church Gospel
romp on the very next song (and that's a Nirvana for me I can tell you). Ace
Conductor Jimmie Haskell arranged the third platter where the duo did most of
the playing – tackling Scott Joplin amongst other things - all forgotten now in
a sea of existential bum fluff.
But (and as they say in a Donald Trump shower
situation, here comes the big but) - there's much to be getting on with here
- goodies due reappraisal - music that is actually moving and even beautiful at
times - tunes that have passed many discerning ears by. Beaver & Krause
even championed environmental and ecological issues in 1970 on their big label
debut "In A Wild Sanctuary" with the full permission of Warner Bros
executives - back in the days when hopeful men ran the music business and not
disinterested suits. I mean how can you not love a band that has song titles
like "Aurora Hominis" and "Walking Green Algae Blues". For sure the third platter lets the side down somewhat...
Anyways, some reissue crowd called 'Righteous'
seem determined that we pay attention with this 2019 digital twofer and start
yanking on those bare wires again. So as the plugged-in boys said in their
original liner notes - let's get to our 'environmental expressions recorded
with Moog synthesiser' (I will if you will baby)...
UK released Friday, 29 March 2019 (5 April 2019
in the USA) - "In A Wild Sanctuary/Gandharva/All Good Men" by BEAVER
and KRAUSE on Righteous PSALM23:93D (Barcode 5013929989320) offers 3 albums
from 1970, 1971 and 1972 (originally on Warner Brother Records) Remastered onto
2CDs and plays out as follows:
Disc 1 (46:30 minutes):
1. Another Part Of Time [Side 1]
2. And There Was Morning
3. Spaced
4. So Long As The Waters Flow
5. Aurora Hominis [Side 2]
6. Salute To The Vanishing Bald Eagle
7. People's Park
8. Walking Green Algae Blues
9. Sanctuary
Tracks 1 to 9 are their third studio album
"In A Wild Sanctuary" - released June 1970 in the USA on Warner Brothers
WS 1850 (no UK release).
10. Soft White [Side 1]
11. Saga Of The Blue Beaver
12. Nine Moons In Alaska
13. Walkin'
14. Walkin' By The River
Tracks 10 to 14 are Side 1 of their fourth
studio album "Gandharva" - released May 1971 in the USA on Warner
Brothers WS 1909 and in the UK on Warner Brothers K 46130.
Disc 2 (55:49 minutes):
1. Gandharva [Side 2]
2. By Your Grace
3. Good Places
4. Short Film For David
5. Bright Shadows
Tracks 1 to 5 are Side 2 of their fourth studio
album "Gandharva" - released May 1971 in the USA on Warner Brothers
WS 1909 and in the UK on Warner Brothers K 46130.
6. A Real Slow Drag [Side 1]
7. Legend Days Are Over
8. Love Of Col. Evol
9. Sweet William
10. Bluebird Canyon Stomp
11. Looking Back Now
12. Prelude
13. Child Of The Morning Sun
14. Between The Sun And The Rain
15. All Good Men
16. Waltz Me Around Again Willie/Real Slow Drag
Tracks 6 to 16 are their fifth and final studio
album "All Good Men" - released September 1972 in the USA on Warner
Brothers BS 2624 (no UK release).
The liner notes by DAVE HENDERSON are witty and
suitably eclectic (given the two involved) – but there is precious little by
way of actual album credits (the guest musicians I've mentioned above) and he
barely touches the actual music. For instance the third LP has songwriter
Adrienne Anderson giving it some love you soulful vocals on Side 1's "Sweet
William" and US Folky Cris Williamson getting all Jimmy Webb on "Looking
Back Now" – ballads that are more Dionne Warwick than Karlheinz
Stockhausen. There’s an Native Indian voice attributed to Elizabeth Watson in
the LP credits on the repeated spoken lyrics in "Legend Days Are Over"
– but again no background as to who or why – when it would have been cool to
know after all these decades.
ALAN WILSON has done the mastering - the 8-page
booklet peppered with snaps of those WB master tapes. "Gandharva" was
done digitally in 1994 with Lee Herschberg on the Warner Archives Series while
two ok Collector’s Choice CDs came out in 2006 for "In A Wild Sanctuary"
and "All Good Men" and I suspect that all three of these have been
used (licensed from WEA). The audio is good – at times great – but at other times
just a tad low and wanting. Overall I'd say four out of five stars. To the
sounds...
Patters of a Tabla Drum are quickly joined by
cool synth notes and a hip organ melody on "Another Part Of Time" – the
first LP's opener. It's a tune that acts like its Ramsey Lewis on Cadet Records
in 1968 instead of 1970. The instrumental "And There Was Morning" has
huge dawn-of-man notes and apes an ELP moment. The quiet "Spaced" has
surprisingly little hiss as the synth notes trickle like water dripping on a
sidewalk – while "So Long As The Water Flows" forgoes dribbles in
space and gives us the full storm – crashes and bangs and static sounding like
lashing rain – synth notes rising above- all majestic for five minutes. There
is even an "Obscured By Clouds" Pink Floyd feel to "Salute To
The Vanishing Bald Eagle" – the whole flowery album plea ending with one
and half minutes of the peaceful "Sanctuary".
While the first LP is undoubtedly interesting,
things pick up steam considerably with "Gandharva". The Bluesy Guitar
picking of Mike Bloomfield follows a huge synth swish at the beginning of "Saga
Of The Blue Beaver" – an instrumental that thereafter chugs along in a
Funky fashion to a point where you feel you've stumbled on a Shuggie Otis LP
over on Epic Records. That’s followed by a droning synth instrumental called "Nine
Moons In Alaska" that sounds not unlike "Electro Lux Imbroglio"
on Steve Miller's "Book Of Dreams" album in 1977. But this is only a
prelude to my fave – Clydie King scatting echoed vocals on the fabulous "Walkin'"
– a trippy Soulful moment that acts as a lead in to the full-on Gospel of "Walkin'
By The River". Perhaps even better is Gerry Mulligan playing on his own "By
Your Grace" over on Side 2 followed strongly by another pretty floating
Sax moment in "Good Places".
Minus the big names and with almost every
instrument played by the duo only – unfortunately the third album is a very
mixed bag (worst of the three) coming across at times like some bad Paul
Williams schlock and not the wired experimentalism of the groovy first and second
platters. Beaver unwisely sings with his twee voice of a child running in
meadows and the sun shining and la-la-laing his way through saccharine flutes. The
intro synth drone of "Between The Sun And The Rain" quickly gives way
to bopping Salsa rhythms that is frankly way too close to some bad lounge band
taking the Michael. The Scott Joplin covers just feel out of place too. There
are other better moments on "All Good Men", but they’re not the Side
2 Flute and Sax instrumentals of "Gandharva'".
So musically it's a bit of mishmash then, the
first two offering genuinely surprising moments of grandeur and vibe whilst
number three loses its way without those big name helps.
Still, a timely reminder and a cool little
reissue into the Moogy bargain...
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