I had read about this being one of the best rock LP's that came out of the Netherlands in the 70's but I still hadn't gotten around to listening to it when I found a copy in my neighborhood record store for a very reasonable €5. Of course the price might have something to do with the fact that the previous owners had written their names with big letters on the cover - "Julio" must have been the original owner but his name was stricken off and "George" wrote his name both on the front and back cover as well as both sides of the record labels. As for the vinyl itself, there were many signs of use but at least George hadn't carved his name on it, so I decided to give it a try and was justified: slight noise in the quiet part between songs but otherwise fine sound. Or at least as fine a sound as possible for a collection of songs that could have sprung out of The Rolling Stones' notoriously murky sounding Exile On Main Street. The sound of that album was attributed to the excess consumption of various substances during its recording, but there's no indication of something similar happening here. Here they seem to keep it deliberately raw and loose in order to emulate the rockier 70's Stones moments, making the most of Gus Pleines' Jagger-like vocals. Interestingly they take the opposite approach to The Stones' Exile... which had seen them decamping to a French mansion to record: The Bintangs traveled to the UK to record in the famous Rockfield Studios in Wales with Link Wray producer Steve Verroca, who also wrote some of the songs. The music is blues based rock, featuring some nice bottleneck guitar, rolling piano and occasional sax. Opening Southern rocker "Hobo Man" is one of the highlights, followed by raucous garage rocker "Insight Inside Out" and the bluesier "Agnes Grey" - the latter reminded me of The Animals with its House-of-the-rising-sun guitar intro. "Open and Busted" (which was also chosen for a 7' single release) is another slice of hard rock, while Side A closes with the swampy mid-tempo beat of "Biyou Woman" with vocals this time reminiscent of Dr. John or Captain Beefheart. "New Orleans, New Orleans" is a singalong R&B tune, a bit too loose and simple for my taste. "Handmade High-Heeled Fleshcoloured Boots" is another re-hash of the Stones' Exile... sound but garage/blues "Traveling Mood" offers more variation with its Jerry Lee-like piano and Troggs-style vocal. "Do John" sports a Bo Diddley beat, nice harp and fast guitar solos that reminded me of Ten Years After's Alvin Lee. Incidentally, around the same time Lee was a potential candidate for Mick Taylor's position in The Rolling Stones. He was rejected, some say because Jagger didn't want any guitarists who could sing - I know that Richards does sing sometimes, but don't tell me he can sing, have you heard him? The closer, and one of the LP's most popular tunes, "Cold War Generation Kids" combines the swagger of The Stones' "It's Only Rock'n'Roll" with the glam-punk energy of The New York Dolls. All in all a great blues rock record. Had the Rolling Stones followed Exile In Main Street with something like this, few would complain - other than Mick Jagger that is, who was bent on bringing the group back to more commercial paths. For some reason Genuine Bull didn't succeed to break The Bintangs internationally, and they only retain the status of local heroes (as well as of the longest-running Dutch rock band, soon to celebrate their 60th[!] anniversary). If you already haven't, it's time you discovered them, too!
**** for Hobo Man, Insight Inside Out, Agnes Grey, Open and Busted, Biyou Woman, Traveling Mood, Do John, Cold War Generation Kids
*** for Handmade High-Heeled Fleshcoloured Boots
** for New Orleans New Orleans
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