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"...Big Bird..."
Reading the liner notes on
the rear cover to "The Flock" - you knew your were in good hands -
they'd been penned by the much-admired and musically trusted British Bluesman
John Mayall. He talked of their July 1969 "Whiskey A Go Go" live
debut in the famous Los Angeles musical bolt hole - and how only two months
later with the US September 1969 release of their self-titled debut album on
Columbia Records - it was time for both the British Press and Public to wake up
to their Chicago based Fusion-Rock headed by the Vocals and Guitar of Fred
Glickstein and the wild bow magic of Violinist Jerry Goodman.
The Bluesbreaker mainman
was of course right. Sporting a seven-man line-up - The Flock joined with the
likes of Chicago and Blood, Sweat and Tears in that initial flowering of
Fusion-Based Rock coming out of America in 1969 - a sound that encompassed a little
bit of Blues, complicated and challenging Rock, Jazz, Psychedelic and even
Gospel. In fact along with the Latin Fusion of Santana – Columbia Records was
the big-label home of innovation and this kind of music at the time. And how
good is it to see The Flock's small but memorable legacy of Art Rock be treated so well
by England's champions of all things complex and well 'Flocky' - Esoteric
Recordings. Let's get to those high-flying big birds...
UK released Friday, 29
September 2017 - "Truth: The Columbia Recordings 1969-1970" by THE
FLOCK on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 22606 (Barcode 5013929470644) is a 2CD
anthology which offers both of their studio albums - "The Flock" from
1969 and "Dinosaur Swamps" from 1970 – six outtakes first issued in
1993 (two from the debut and four from an abandoned third album) and six US and
European single sides/edits (Previously Unreleased on CD). This new twofer
plays out as follows...
Disc 1 (65:30 minutes):
1. Introduction [Side 1]
2. Clown
3. I Am The Tall Tree
4. Tired Of Waiting
5. Store Bought - Store
Thought [Side 2]
6. Truth
Tracks 1 to 6 are their
debut album "The Flock" - released September 1969 in the USA on
Columbia Records CS 9911 (Stereo) and April 1970 in the UK on CBS Records S
63733 (Stereo). Produced by JOHN McCLURE - it peaked at No. 48 in the US LP
charts and No. 59 in the UK.
7. What Would You Do If The
Sun Died?
8. Lollipops And Rainbows
Tracks 7 and 8 first
appeared on the April 1993 CD compilation of Remasters - "Flock Rock: The
Best Of The Flock" (Columbia CK 53440 – Barcode 74645344027). Both were
unreleased outtakes from the debut album sessions recorded 6 June 1969.
9. Tired Of Waiting (Single
Version, 2:40 minutes)
10. Store Bought - Store
Brought (Single Version, 2:41 minutes)
Tracks 9 and 10 are edits
(for both sides) released as a US 45 on Columbia 4-45021 in October 1969 and in
the UK in April 1970 on CBS Records 4932 (Previously Unreleased on CD)
11. Clown (Part One)
12. Clown (Part Two)
Tracks 11 and 12 released as
two-part 7” single in France only (with a picture sleeve) on CBS France 4965
(Previously Unreleased on CD)
Disc 2 (65:19 minutes):
1. Green Slice [Side 1]
2. Big Bird
3. Hornschmeyer's Island
4. Lighthouse
5. Crabfoot [Side 2]
6. Mermaid
7. Uranian Sircus
Tracks 1 to 7 are their
second and last studio album "Dinosaur Swamps" – released October
1970 in the USA on Columbia Records C 30007 (Stereo) and in the UK on CBS
Records S 64055 (Stereo) – both in Gatefold Sleeves. Produced by JOHN McCLURE –
it peaked at No. 96 in the US charts but didn’t chart in the UK.
8. Chanja
9. Atlantians Truckin’ Home
10. Afrika
11. Just Do It
Tracks 8 to 11 first
appeared on the May 1993 US CD compilation of Vic Anesini Remasters -
"Flock Rock – The Best Of The Flock" (Columbia/Legacy CK 53440 –
Barcode 074645344027). They were outtakes to their unreleased third album
recorded 16 December 1970.
12. Mermaid (Single Edit,
2:43 minutes)
13. Crabfoot (Single Edit,
2:48 minutes)
Tracks 12 and 13 issued a US
45 7” single in January 1971 on Columbia 4-45295 (Previously Unreleased on CD)
The 16-page booklet has new
liner notes from noted writer MALCOLM DOME featuring photos of the band, the
outer and inner gatefold sleeve to "Dinosaur Swamps" and of course
that famous photo of Jerry giving it some wired violin. MARK POWELL of Esoteric
did the compilation and archiving whilst long-standing Audio Engineer BEN
WISEMAN handled the superb Remasters. Last time Columbia/Legacy handled the
Flock was 25 years ago on the "Flock Rock...Best Of..." CD
compilation from May 1993 – which featured Vic Anesini Remasters of 15 tracks –
here we get comparable Audio – beautifully clear and powerful.
THE FLOCK was:
FRED GLICKSTEIN - Lead
Guitar and Vocals
JERRY GOODMAN - Violin and
Vocals
RICK CANOFF - Tenor Sax
TOM WEBB - Tenor Sax
FRANK POSA - Trumpet
JERRY SMITH - Bass
RON KARPMAN - Drums
JERRY GERBER on Saxophones,
Flute, Banjo and Vocals replaced Tom Webb for "Dinosaur Swamps"
Most British fan's
introduction to The Flock came not through the belatedly released debut album
in April 1970 - but through a 6 March 1970 double-album sampler designed to
promote CBS UK's roster of artists - the David Howell compiled "Fill Your
Head With Rock - The Sound Of The Seventies". CBS Records SPR 39/40 was
the third release from the British side of Columbia Records capitalising on the
June 1969 chart-placing of their first two budget LP samplers - the fondly
remembered "Rock Machine I Love You" and "The Rock Machine Turns
You On". I mention all this because on the front cover of the 6 March 1970
2LP sampler "Fill Your Head With Rock" was Jerry Goodman of The Flock
giving it some full-colour bare-chested Rock-God Prog-Jazz-Fusion
Violin-Virtuoso (yeah baby). The image had graced the back cover of the debut
album "The Flock" - but in black and white. Here he looked amazing -
the 2LP set contained the album-cut of their Ray Davies and The Kinks cover
"Tired Of Waiting". Although the double wasn't issued Stateside - it
was a hit across loads of European and Asian/Australian markets. The Flock
played Rotterdam 26 June 1970 on the back of it - only to stand naked and tall
two days later at the Bath Festival in the UK where a certain Led Zeppelin made
a pivotal impression. On that bill were other Prog acts like Pink Floyd, Colosseum
and The Nice as well as Rock acts like Rory Gallagher's Taste, Ten Years After
and their British pal/champion - John Mayall.
I must admit it’s been
decades since I played their debut and I’m struck by how damn good most of it
sounds after all these hairline-receding years. Opening sweetly with Acoustic
strums - "Introduction" – the first of five original band
compositions - soon succumbs to Jerry's ever-present Violin - sounding not
unlike Fiddler On The Roof on acid. For sure the overly long "Clown"
has some very dated vocal passages before the music takes over and romps to its
8:49 ending - but Glickstein proves himself a rocking guitar player – battling
it out with Jerry Smith’s Bass lines (they released the wildly
un-radio-friendly "Clown" as a two-parter single in France with a
picture sleeve – wow – them was the days!). "I Am The Tall Tree"
features some toe-curling lyrics vying for space with soulful playing - while
it’s not surprising that Columbia and CBS both tried the band’s cover of The
Kinks 1965 hit "Tired Of Waiting For You" (shortened to "Tired
Of Waiting") as a 45 to plug the album – it’s probably the most (dare we
say it) commercial cut on the record. Unrecognisable here – The Flock do the
tune proud with some suitably grungy guitar work that ups the garage feel of
the Kink Size original (the single edit is particularly impressive). Side 2 has
only two tracks – the guitar-laden "Store Bought – Store Thought"
which features wicked guitar and brass passages – and the seriously challenging
but brilliant fifteen and half minutes of this compilations namesake -
"Truth". Part Blues, part Prog, part Jazz Rock – it’s an amazing
tour-de-force of Violin vs. Guitar vs. Brass - even if by the end the Bluesy
jam – the song threatens to overstay its welcome. Having said that - if I were
asked to point a singular finger at an example of this American band’s
brilliance – it would be at this musicianship-showcase track "Truth".
By the time the band reached
mid 1970 – a chemically enhanced visit to Boston became the basis for their ELP
vs. The Mahavishnu Orchestra second album – the ambitious and occasionally
brilliant "Dinosaur Swamps". With a doomy fade in - "Big
Bird" then suddenly and unexpectedly becomes the Fiddle of Area Code 615
meets the Brass section of Blood, Sweat & Tears. By the time the voices
arrive – it may have lost its way a tad – but structurally its impressive stuff
nonetheless (and the Audio is fab). The near nine minutes of
"Hornschmeyer’s Island" offers more of the same – our seven-piece
heroes floating jazzily upstream in a musical canoe. The bopping
"Crabfoot" is almost a single similar to Chicago’s "25 or 6 to
4" and the mad "Uranian Sircus" ends the album on loony laughter
and dense rhythms that sound like they’re too stoned for their own creative
good. Of the four jams that were to make up the unreleased third album
supposedly to be entitled "Flock Rock" – the short "Chanja"
offers up wild Zappa-like guitar – while the trumpet-soloing of "Just Do
It" shows how far they’d veered towards Jazz and away from Rock.
For sure THE FLOCK won't be
everyone's idea of a fun night in with a bottle of Chardonnay and a scented
Michael Buble candle. But if your like your Prog Rock and Fusion with a dash of
Jazz 'Brasso' and some 'Vim' Violin as a chaser – then this wicked reminder of
headier days is the "Fill Your Head With Rock" bare-chested brat for
you...
