Human Instinct "Burning Up Years" 1969**

Human Instinct are mostly famous for the guitar heroics of Billy Te Kahika (aka Billy TK, supposedly the Maori Hendrix) in their second album "Stoned Guitar". But the one I found on sale at the Utrecht Record Fair was their debut "Burning Up Years". The CD cost just €2 -less than a cup of coffee- so I thought I'd give it a try. As the booklet explains, in 1969 singer/drummer and band leader Maurice Greer was fresh from a UK tour with an older band line-up. He was probably impressed by the progressive hard rock sounds he heard there, so he gathered like-minded musicians to create a power trio a la Jimi Hendrix Experience. The album apparently doesn't contain any originals, but that's not evident as three tracks were hitherto unreleased compositions by fellow Kiwi rocker Jesse Harper, who soon after quit the scene to become a monk in India. The first of these "Blues News" is a great blues rocker with funky wah-wah guitar, more reminiscent of Taste than Hendrix. Billy TK is on fire on this one! "Fall Down" is more folk rock and "Ashes and Matches" is bluesier. Nice guitar on both, but nothing special really. "Maiden Voyage" is an Ashton Gardner & Dyke cover. 

Greer admits that he had only heard half of this one and of the title track in a cassette he had, so he had to improvise the rest. He did a great job, starting it off as melodic psychedelia and turning it into a guitar freakout. Lead single "I Think I'll Go Back Home" is actually Neil Young's "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere". Quite well-known song, but Greer claims that he didn't know how the original was called or by whom it was written, so he decided to give it a random title and attribute it to himself. For this reissue it has reverted to its real name and correctly credited. Nice country-ish version, would have been even better with the lead vocals more upfront and backing vocals less prominent. The other cover "You Really Got Me" is almost unrecognizable, and not in a good way! The worst cover of this song I've ever heard, and that includes some by pretty incompetent garage bands! I mean this song has such a rousing riff, all you need to do is play it loud! And what do they do? they slow it down and relegate the riff to the bass! What's the other great feature of the song? Well, the guitar solo of course! Billy TK could have easily nailed it, but his fuzzy guitarwork and Hendrix-like solo belong to a different song altogether. What makes this track really atrocious, though, is the vocal: not sung but spoken in a silly voice, as if in parody. Finally, "Burning Up Years" is a cover of an obscure 7' B side by a band called Hard Meat. I haven't heard the original, but the composition reminded me of Edgar Broughton Band. Human Instinct turn it into a 15-minute jam that might have sounded great in concert but becomes a bit tiresome on CD. Nevertheless, this was 1969 and long freak-out jams was the flavor of the day. The album closes with an unnecessary "single version" of "You Really Got Me", almost identical to the previous one albeit louder. I'm not saying this CD is a total waste of plastic, there are some good elements here but it sounds a bit uncooked. On the bright side, the sound quality of the reissue is pretty decent, and the booklet includes rare photos and detailed liner notes by Greer.  

**** for Maiden Voyage

*** for Blues News, I Think I'll Go Back Home AKA Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Burning Up Years

** for Fall Down, Ashes and Matches, You Really Got Me, You Really Got Me (Single Version)