Birtha "Birtha" 1972****

I recently received this LP as a present from a very good friend. Reading the sticker on the album sleeve (well, thankfully not the sleeve itself but the plastic shrink wrap), this band sounded very much like something up my alley. So why didn't I know about them until now? I'm talking to you, MOJO magazine! I've hardly missed any issues in the last 25 years, and not a word about Birtha? Shame! What is your Buried Treasure column for?

So this is one of very few all-female classic rock bands - actually, apart from them only Fanny and The Runaways come to mind. Heart were led by the Wilson sisters, but they were a mixed gender band. Their roots can be traced back to the mid 60's and L.A. teeners The Daisy Chain who released a flower power-inspired LP in 1967. The next year, bassist Rosemary Butler and lead guitarist "Shele" Pinizzotto paired with keyboardist Sherry Hagler and drummer Olivia "Liver" Favela to create Birtha, a band that sounded nothing like its predecessor. This is earthy, blues-inspired hard rock. Vocal duties are shared among the group, but it's Favela's Joplinesque blues growl that impresses the most, especially on the funky hard rocker "Too Much Woman (For a Hen Pecked Man)", an Ike & Tina Turner cover featuring a cool fuzz guitar solo and piercing shrieks. The second (and last) cover "Judgement Day" (original by Redbone) has another, more restrained, soulful vocal, but it's the organ and drum solos that steal the show here! The rest of the album is all band originals, spearheaded by lead single "Free Spirit" - another Favela-sung hard rocker with wild guitar solos. "Fine Talking Man" builds up from a subterranean bass riff to a soul belter. The singer (Rosemary?) does her best Joplin impression; even though she's a few whiskey-and-cigarette cases short from sounding like Janis, she deserves an A for effort. On the soulful "Feeling Lonely", she gives a more convincing blues/soul performance. Side 1 closes with an introspective ballad, sung by Shele. Nothing special on its own, it nevertheless provides a much needed respite from all the previous shrieking. Side 2 opens with "Work On A Dream", a literally workmanlike rocker. I like the groovy organ here, but I find the insistent harmony vocals somewhat tiresome. The album closes with the gospel-like "Forgotten Soul". Midway through the song the band switch gears, falling into a heavy groove, while Olivia's voice changes from evoking Aretha to doing Steve Marriott. Most reviewers immediately make comparisons between Birtha and Fanny, which is somewhat fair I guess. Apart from both being all-female bands from L.A. operating around the same period, soundwise there are also similarities. I'd say Birtha is the heavier of the two, going deeper into funk and hard rock territory, which I love - even though the strained vocals suggest they may be trying too hard at times. They constantly stunned audiences who didn't expect such an aggressive sound from a "chick band", which was also the selling point their marketing team tried to make - even promoting them with the "Birtha Has Balls" slogan. Attention-grabbing as it was, it may not have done the girls any favors, as it suggested they were copying male rockers rather than doing their own thing. They worked hard, relentlessly touring all over the US, Canada, and Europe, and also recording a second (allegedly inferior) album, but to no avail; so they called it quits in '75. Apart from a CD compiling both albums that surfaced some 25 years ago, nothing has been heard from them since. A controversial reissue label from Australia rectified that in 2023 by releasing this nice gatefold reissue of their debut. Whether properly licensed or not, it's nice that Birtha's music is back in circulation. Hopefully they'll get the attention they deserve this time!

**** for Free Spirit, Fine Talking Man, Feeling Lonely, Too Much Woman (For A Hen Pecked Man), Judgement Day

*** for Tuesday, She Was Good To Me, Work On A Dream, Forgotten Soul