For the past month or so, I have been reading the publication "Flashback" which comes out of the UK, and it's a magazine totally devoted to bands that fell through the cracks in the years 1968 through 1975. Total music nerd material, and in one of the issues there is a 30-page article on a group called The Mandrake Memorial. Failure has always been an attraction to me, especially when it comes to artists/bands that almost make it, yet fail. I found a copy of their first album "The Mandrake Memorial" online and purchased it. A gem of an album.
The music reminds me of Jack Bruce's work in Cream, with the vocals, but with the added touch of The Doors here and there. A sitar comes in once in awhile in the mix, and of course, the album yells out 'it's 1968.' One of the unique sounds that come out of The Mandrake Memorial is their keyboards. Ofen a harpsichord, but their keyboardist, Michael Kac, was in electronics, and re-wired the instruments, in a manner of Brian Eno. Their harpsichord sound is loud and aggressive, not played in a 'baroque' manner at all.
The album is co-produced by Tony Bongiovi, and I gather this is his first production on an album. He later produced Talking Heads and The Ramones. The composition of all ten songs are by the band, and they have a dreamy approach, but the lyrics are very much of that era. Still, I really like this record.
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