Rare Earth "Ma" 1973***

Some time ago, I presented Power Of Zeus, a Detroit-based hard rock band whose sole LP was released by Motown subsidiary Rare Earth. They weren't successful. Indeed, none of the bands Motown signed on their "white" sublabel were successful, save for Rare Earth themselves. These local Detroit boys had been around since '66, but had failed to make any waves, until hitherto (almost) exclusively black label Motown signed them in 1969. Right away, they hit on the right recipe by abandoning the idea of writing their own songs (Get Ready [1969] features only one original composition) and focusing on the band's playing. Although they tried to deviate from it, by the time they recorded their 6th studio LP Ma, they had reverted to recipe of Get Ready: One epic side-long jam, and four shorter songs on Side B, all covers - in this case, written by Motown's in-house writers Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. Motown, and Whitfield, had an annoying habit: they'd record the same song with different bands (usually Temptations, Undisputed Truth, and Rare Earth) and release competing versions in the market. This might hurt each individual band's chances to rise in the charts, but produced more income for the label as each band had a slightly different audience, resulting in bigger combined sales. "Ma" was originally written for The Temptations as a sequel to their classic hit "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" - itself originally recorded by Undisputed Truth, but more successful in the Temptations' version. Rare Earth stretched "Ma" to 17+ minutes, making it the centerpiece of their LP. It's an excellent mid-tempo jam with soulful vocals by singing drummer Peter Hoorelbeke, and great solos especially by Ray Monette (guitar) and Gil Bridges (flute/sax). 

Side Two opens with a more upbeat funk number "Big John Is My Name", also featuring another dynamite funk rocker in "Hum Along and Dance". Another song previously released by Temptations, here it benefits from an exciting organ intro and psychedelic electric guitar solos. "Smiling Faces Sometimes", on the other hand, is more subdued than previous versions by Temptations and Undisputed Truth, but also jazzier with nice piano and flute solos. Closer "Come With Me" is a slow instrumental jam featuring likewise great playing, but almost ruined by the inclusion of "sensual" female moans. It would be more appropriate for a porn soundtrack - which isn't meant as a derogatory comment; 70's porn movies often had amazing soundtracks, indeed the music may well have been their best feature. Unsurprisingly, this is the only track here never to be recorded by The Temptations, The Undisputed Truth, or both. The album cover was also quite striking; usually Motown covers consisted of rather unimaginative photos of the artist(s), but this one was a sketch of a naked obese old lady riding a small rocking horse. If this was meant as a humorist rendition of the "ma" character in the same-named song, it wasn't very respectful or faithful to the lyrics. Ma remains a great showcase of Rare Earth's musicianship and a critics favorite, but didn't sell particularly well, prompting another round of personnel changes. At the time the band were a six-piece, consisting of the aforementioned players plus Mark Olson (keyboards), Mike Urso (bass) and Edward Guzman (percussion). Hoorelbeke, Urso and Olson left, to be replaced by others, including Frosty whom we met in last week's post. As of now, 30-something musicians have come and gone in the band, the only constant and last original member being Gil Bridges, until his death from COVID-19 in 2021. Despite the countless lineup changes, a version of Rare Earth is still keeping these songs alive, as they have always done during the last half century. Thankfully, I might add. No reason to let death or old age ruin a good run.

**** for Ma, Smiling Faces Sometimes, Hum Along and Dance

*** for Big John Is My Name, Come With Me

Lee Michaels "Lee Michaels" 1969****

Would you believe me if I told you that a guitarless duo (Lee Michaels on vocals and keyboard and a guy called Frosty on drums) can sound like Led Zeppelin? Not influenced by them, as they were slightly ahead of them timewise, but sound as powerful, soulful and (well, almost as) heavy as them? It's crazy that Lee Michaels is so little known - I had heard of him, but wasn't really familiar with his music when I spotted this used LP in the bargains section of my local record shop; the cover was a bit worse for wear visually, and the low-res photo didn't help, but it's what's in the grooves that matters. Lee was a young guy from LA who had passed through a few local groups, and even played with Hendrix for a while, but found out he'd rather play solo or with the help of a single drummer, eventually settling on Frosty. The two of them entered the recording studio at 5 p.m., June 2, 1969. They apparently came out before the midnight of the same day, having recorded -more or less live- a whole album. The result of having only two instruments is that both of them are very much upfront, and really loud. If you like the sound of the Hammond B3 (as I do) you'll love how huge it sounds here. Apart from being a great organist, Lee was also one of the great blue-eyed soul vocalists - think Stevie Winwood, Steve Marriott, Joe Cocker etc. The drummer is also fantastic, reminding me a lot of Zeppelin's John Bonham. Side One is a continuous medley; the focus here is on the playing, not the songs. "Tell Me How Do You Feel" and "Don't Want No Woman" have some powerful singing and drumming, as well as very loud amplified organ; "My Friends" (reprised from Lee's debut LP) is more soulful. These three short songs (less than 6'00'' total) segue into each other, and may be viewed as one track. This is followed by an 8-minute drumming tour de force. I think very few people actually enjoy these long solos, irrespectively of the drummer's skill; I, for one, enjoyed Frosty's playing more when he was banging along with the previous songs than during his solo. I was kind of relieved when the organ and vocals came back for "Think I'll Go Back" a more melodic blues soul number. Side Two features four "regular" size tracks, opening with a great cover of T Bone Walker's classic blues "Stormy Monday". The last three are markedly lighter than what preceded them, with the heavy, churchy, Hammond sound mostly replaced by jazzy piano. "Who Could Want More" sounds like late period Traffic, "Want My Baby" is a sort-of-ballad, and "Heighty Hi" a feelgood country-tinged tune with a catchy singalong chorus and pro-drug lyrics. It was released as a single, and narrowly missed the Top-100 - the LP did a bit better rising up to #53. It may sound a bit outdated today, but I'd certainly recommend it to fans of blues and classic rock. I was certainly impressed by the duo's playing as well as the sound quality: each of the two instruments sounds clear as a bell. Lee Michaels had a few more minor hits in the years that followed, never becoming a household name. To compete with rock guitarists, he was into the habit of amplifying the organ sound to the max, which is probably what cost him his hearing. He retired from music early, entering a completely different field: he's the founder of the very successful Killer Shrimp restaurants chain in California. After reviewing his LP, I hope to taste and review his food - If everything goes well, I'll be in his neighborhood in April 2024.

**** for Tell Me How Do You Feel/Don't Want No Woman/My Friends, Stormy Monday, Who Could Want More, Heighty Hi 

*** for Frosty's, Think I'll Go Back, Want My Baby

Locomondo "20" 2004-2023(rec) 2023(comp)****

About a month ago, I attended Locomondo's 20 year celebration concert in Athens. It was really more like a huge party - I've followed this band since early in their career (the first time was at a small Exarcheia bar on New Years Day in 2005) and always had a great time at their concert. This time, I had my young nieces with me; it was really nice to be together for their first rock concert, and they could hardly have had a better initiation.

This Limited Edition vinyl compilation was sold during the concert at a stand in Gazi, the former factory and current "cultural space" in the center of Athens where it all took place. It's called "20" (guess why), but for some reason contains 21 songs covering the whole length of their career. For someone like me, who already had most of their CDs, it was a great opportunity to not only own some of their best songs on vinyl, but also to get some of their popular hits that, for some reason, were never available in physical form before. I'll start my review with exactly these tracks, previously available only on streaming platforms: "80's" (rec.2017) is a tribute to this decade which is certain to appeal to those who, like me, lived through it as kids and teenagers. Singer Markos Koumaris speed-sings/raps about almost everything that constituted the 80's experience for us: music, TV shows, fashion, snacks, important sports events etc. There's some era-appropriate disco influence here, while "Goal" (2010), another nostalgic look at childhood, is typical fast-paced ska, and the latest single included here ("Filtragram", 2023) is closer to dancehall reggae. Of the other two tracks getting their first physical issue here, "Se Eida" (2014) has a reggae beat, while "La Mulatta" (feat. Tonino Carotone, 2017) is a Latin dance piece (sung in Spanish) augmented with a Greek demotic break and rembetiko-inspired baglama solo. For those not familiar with these terms, demotic is traditional Greek village music, while rembetiko is an urban style with oriental influences that appeared in the late 19th/early 20th Century. The Greek baglama is a sort of miniature bouzouki; it became popular when rembetiko was outlawed in the 30's, because the rembetes were able to smuggle it under their coats on the way to their clubs. Locomondo are one of few Greek rockers infusing their songs with traditional influences; it started with their reggae cover of classic rembetiko "Fragkosyriani" (2005) and became a permanent fixture of their program. Similar songs here include "Karapiperim" (2008) and island demotic "Το Plataniotiko Nero", here from their 2009 Live! album. This is reflected in the instrumentation which contains unusual instruments for a rock/reggae band, like the violin and the accordion. Another style they sometimes employ is that of a folk-ish ballad, which can be heard on "O Glaros" (2005), "Gelas Pio Dynata"(2007) and "Heria San Ki Auta" (Live, 2009). The rest of the songs here are in the band's signature style, a mix of ska, latin, and reggae, featuring mostly -but not exclusively- Greek lyrics. They're all fine, but I'll mention specifically the only song from their debut here "Trendy Litsa" (2004) and their first big hit, the everpopular "Den Kanei Kryo Stin Ellada (It's Never Cold In Greece)" (2005), as well as underground hit "Pro". The latter started off as a rough studio demo which slipped out on the internet and became viral in no time; it's written in first person about a guy who spends all his time smoking dope and playing Pro (-evolution soccer) on Playstation. The band, who have a conservative streak in them, didn't dare put it in any of their records, but it was their most-requested song, and became a staple of their live shows. Here we get a live version from 2009's Live! CD. It's done the way they play it in every show, starting off with a snippet of an 80's Greek pop hit meant to coax the audience into participation, and ending with the disclaimer "this is a description, not an incitement". In between, there's a hilarious rant about the joys of slacking and smoking marijuana, set to an infectious reggae beat. Now I know that the Greek language doesn't easily lend itself to this kind of music, and that by not understanding the words you miss a portion of the fun, but you should try Locomondo nevertheless; their music is perfect to put you in a good mood. It goes without saying you should go see them if they come your way; you're guaranteed to have a great time. And, of course, get your hands on this record if you can - not only it's the best primer for your introduction to this band; it's going to disappear from the market and become a collectors' item pretty soon.

***** for Den Kanei Kryo Stin Ellada (It's Never Cold In Greece, 2005), Fragkosyriani (2005), Odysseia (Odyssey, 2013), Ta Koritsia Ksenyhtane/ Pro (Girls Stay Up All Night/Pro, Live! 2009), 80's (2017)

**** for Magiko Hali (Magic Carpet, Live! 2009), Goal (2010), Den Prolavaino (I Can't Make It On Time, Live 2011?), Gamilio Party (Wedding Party, 2008), Sister Shine (Live! 2009), Trendy Litsa (2004), O Glaros (The Seagull, 2005), Me Wanna Dance (2007), Karapiperim (2008), La Mulatta (feat. Tonino Carotone, 2017)

*** for Se Eida (I Saw You, 2014), Star (2019), Filtragram (2023), Gelas Pio Dynata (You Laugh Louder, 2007), Heria San Ki Auta (Hands Like These, 2009), Το Plataniotiko Nero (Water Of The Sycamore, Live! 2009)