The Mandrake Memorial -"The Mandrake Memorial" Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo, 1968 (Poppy)

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. 

The Doors - "The Doors" Vinyl, LP, Album, Mono, 1967 (Elektra)

I first saw The Doors at the Whiskey sometime in late 1966.  They opened up for Van Morrison's era Them.  I went there with my dad to see Them because I couldn't get enough of "Gloria," or "Mystic Eyes."  I must have been eleven years old at the time.   The Doors made a huge impression on me, due to the songs, but also the unusual instrumentation of the band.  No bass player!  I found it psychologically disturbing at the time.  Guitar, Electric Organ/Piano, drums, and voice.  Morrison was the voice. A great voice by the way.  What I remember from that set was Morrison wearing the iconic leather pants, but not moving a muscle while singing.  He held the mike close to his mouth and was hypnotizing me and the audience.   I bought their album when it came out, or perhaps my dad did.  I played that album to death and beyond.  I actually loved every Doors albums except "L.A. Woman."  At that point, I got tired of the band, and I felt the band itself was exhausted as well.  

Pretty much throughout my late teens and adulthood, I pretty much ignored listening to The Doors, even on the AM Radio.   I was turned off on the whole "Lizard King" motif, as well as his official poetry, which was not as good as his lyric writing.   I found other bands to feed my urgency for sound and words, for instance, David Bowie, The Kinks, and the whole Punk explosion of the 1970s. 

Recently I found a Mono version of the first Doors album at Mono Records (no pun intended) and bought it.  I was curious what my adult ears will hear compared to my childhood's listening experience.  In ways, the album holds up.  The songs are still terrific and the performances are faultless.  What is missing is the essence of the band, the mystery.  When I first saw them and purchased their albums when they were originally released, it was still a mysterious process.  Once they hit the huge mainstream and became iconic, I feel the mystery was diluted into the pop world and culture.  In no fashion or way can they match up with The Velvet Underground, who to this day captures the essence of poetry/horror/beauty.    They never date, but The Doors do have an expiration date - at least for my ears and sensibility. 

Still, this is a ROCK classic.  A great album.  But it's an album that has no real importance for me anymore.