Tonight's Friday the 13th as well as the weekend of the carnival (at least in Greece). So, the Fuzztones, true Halloween freaks that they are, fit right in with the night's theme. "Salt for Zombies" (Why salt? Anyone got any idea?) came 13 whole years after the previous one, "Monster A-Go-Go", a Halloween record of strictly horror-themed garage rock. Not that they've been away, but Rudi Protrudi kept changing his home base and went through a zillion different band line-ups, before deciding to return to the recording studio. Deb O' Nair, organist of the original band, makes her appearance here, next to the ghoulish Batlord on guitar and the Hammond/Kusten rhythm section. I must admit that my initial reaction at the time (being a huge Fuzztones fan) was one of mild disappointment: This album sees them making a slight shift towards psychedelic hard rock rather than their usual Sonics/Count V garage. Listening to it again now, I can't make a single complaint. So what if it took them 13 years to progress musically from 1966 to 1967-68? Their choice of covers is, as always, inspired and their own interpretation often surpasses the originals (dare I suggest their cover of "Strychnine" is superior even to the Sonics' primal original? No I dare not, lest the garage gods strike me down. I'll leave it to your judgement). Opener "My Brother The Man" is one of those perfect covers with its "Bolero" organ solo and fervid delivery. "Get Naked" is another outlet for Rudi's overactive libido and features the late great Sky Saxon in the role of the mad hippy prophet, chanting "Nude...let's all be nude...let's get out on the streets of love". Snippets from what seem to be 50's horror/si-fi movies intercept the flow of the album, introducing the groovy "Face of Time" and then the ominous heavy psych (think Monster Magnet) "Be Forewarned". "Johnson In A Headlock" features cheesy organ, lusty vocals, a funky middle section and ridiculously catchy backing vocals. It has since rightly gained a place in the pantheon of garage classics. "This Sinister Urge" is a horror-psych ballad and "Black Lightning Light" another 60's cover, sounding like The Doors jamming with Jimi Hendrix (Only better: I've heard a bootleg of Jim Morrison jamming with Hendrix and it was goddamn awful! Jim was completely wasted...). "Idol Chatter" and "A Wristwatch Band" are rather more atmospheric psychedelia and "Hallucination Generation" is a pro-drugs original featuring The Electric Prunes' James Lowe. "Group grope" by 60's hippie revolutionaries The Fugs seems to fit well with Protrudi's beliefs "You ask me about my philosophy, baby, yeah/Dope, peace, magic gods in the tree trunks/and a group grope baby/Backseat boogie for high school kids/Students fuck the teacher and the daughter fuck the preacher". "Don't Blow Your Mind" is a cover of a monster garage single by a pre-Alice Cooper band called The Spiders and "What Ever Happened To Baby Jesus?" is an overlong psychedelic horror song with lots of feedback, which they used to end their concerts with at the time: "Beware!Beware!Baby Jesus is coming your way..." - now that's scary! Not to mention blasphemous; I can't help but picture Baby Jesus like Chucky the evil doll from "Child's Play". Now, what could be more appropriate for Friday the 13th? I'll give it 5* 'cause I wouldn't want to risk Baby Jesus' anger by downgrading His favorite band. Plus, did I mention I'm a huge Fuzztones fan? Last seen in Berlin in 2011, The Fuzztones make surprise appearances from time to time, led as always by the last guru of garage grunge, Rudi Protrudi. Don't miss them, or you will be sadly missed...
***** for My Brother The Man, Johnson In A Headlock
**** for Get Naked, Face Of Time, Be Forewarned, This Sinister Urge, Black Lightning Light, Hallucination Generation
*** for Idol Chatter, A Wristwatch Band, Group Grope, Don't Blow Your Mind
** for What Ever Happened To Baby Jesus?
No comments:
Post a Comment