Even More Reviews From RateYourMusic (#4)

Frank Zappa - Whiskey A Go Go 1968

This new release of a full length MOI concert from mid 1968 is one I eagerly awaited (very few full concert recordings exist from this period, and fewer still in acceptable quality), and I thoroughly enjoyed once it had dropped. There are a number of things that make this release kind of special:

One thing I noted quite quickly was that the three sets that make up this release have a surprisingly loose feeling compared to a lot of Frank Zappa's live recordings. I wouldn't go so far as to call it "casual" as the musicians are still playing their socks off throughout, but it doesn't feel as tightly controlled like a lot of his concert albums are. Perhaps that's why it ended up not releasing it in Zappa's lifetime. Honestly I like the different atmosphere, there's a bit of a jam band feel to it, especially in the longer improvised sections.

Another thing I found interesting was that it seems to have had a somewhat atypical setlist for the period, likely because it was being taped. There's the songs you'd expect like King Kong, but then there's one-offs as well like Brown Shoes Don't Make It (apparently the very first time it was performed live), Khaki Sacks and the '63 Penguins single Memories Of El Monte which Zappa co-wrote. The only flaw in the setlist is there's nothing from We're Only in It for the Money or Cruising With Ruben & The Jets, which is a little odd seeing as both had been recorded by this point. That isn't a demerit though, because what is here is excellent.

And of course, the presence of Ray Collins is nice to see, seeing as almost no live recordings exist from when he was in the group. He had a great voice on the MOI records he appeared on, and getting a decent look at how he performed with the group on stage is great.

Overall, I'm really happy this show has finally seen the light of day. I remember reading about it on a list of unreleased Zappa projects a long time ago and always wondered what it sounded like. It might be up there as one of the all time best ZFT Vault releases.

Silent Scream - 1981 Demo

"This is the 2nd 'Demo' recorded by Silent Scream..."

There are a lot of bands like Silent Scream. Groups that had a great sound and some great songs, but never got the chance to develop these on a proper studio album, relegating them to exclusively demo cassettes and self-released EP. This tape is no exception.

Details on Silent Scream (no relation to any of the OTHER bands with that name) are scarce, but comments from the group's drummer on YouTube have helped to piece together their story. Formed in 1980, they were an early-period Gothic Rock band from Newcastle in the UK, apparently with a big visual element in their live act. That same year they recorded their first demo, but it has never surfaced on the internet so whatever it sounds like is anyone's guess. It was their second demo from October 1981, however, which managed to find its way online in the early 2010s, capturing people's attention with the quality of the songs found within.

As this is a low budget demo recording (albiet recorded in a studio, specifically Guardian Studios in Durham, England), it is very no-frills, save for a bit of stereo panning on the vocals and guitar effects being present. There are three songs, all of them just over four minutes long, and they're surprisingly solid. The moody, brooding atmosphere you would associate with Gothic Rock is very much present and the instruments are all played solidly, with the guitar work being especially stellar. The track Drown is notable for its rather nihilistic lyrical themes, made more notable due to the lyricist supposedly committed suicide a few years after it was written.

You could very much see a professionally recorded album by this band being right at home alongside other acts from the same period such as Bauhaus. Sadly Silent Scream would end up remaining unsigned and would part ways not long after recording this demo. The band members supposedly remained active in music, but apparently nothing of much note after this.

Even after the demo resurfaced online, things didn't go to plan. According to the drummer on YouTube, two different attempts to rerelease the EP during the 2010s ended in disaster. Famed indie label Sacred Bones supposedly assisted in remastering the original reel-to-reel tape of the demo, but after the deal fell through they refused to give the tape back to the band. Then some time later a 10" vinyl release was planned on the small label Evil Has Landed, but they eventually ghosted the band and never returned the photos and archival material they had been sent.

Luckily, one saving grace is the tape eventually found its way onto Bandcamp, most likely derived from the aborted Sacred Bones remaster due to its improved sound over the YouTube uploads dubbed from the cassette, so anyone who would likely to can drop a few pounds and listen to what could have been.

Bull Of Heaven - 299: Self Traitor, I Do Bring The Spider Love

But does the spider love the self-traitor also?

In a recent interview, Neil Keener (half of Bull Of Heaven and its only surviving member) mentioned that 299: Self-Traitor, I Do Bring the Spider Love and a few other releases from the same timeframe were the result of several jam sessions between him and some musicians who frequented a coffee shop he worked at, taped on a consumer grade TASCAM recorder and then handed off to the late Clayton Counts to mess with, edit together, and turn into a full release.

With that in mind, 299 is a testement not just to the synergy of the musicians on the record, but also Counts' ability to take several days of apparently aimless jam sessions and turn them into a single flowing track with studio quality sound (albeit a very raw mix).

Some might say the human element is antithetical to the nature of Bull Of Heaven's highly experimental and (usually) drone influenced sound, but I believe it instead bolsters what they were truly going for: a creatively unconfined project that dabbles in whatever those involved felt like exploring. Whether it be Power Electronics, Drone, Doom Metal, or in this case, Space Rock.

And it's surely a great example of the latter, designed to emulate the spontaneity and groove of numerous '70s fusion records. Even in its 84 minute runtime (which is funnily enough one of the shorter tracks in their oeuvre), there's little to get bored about as it very rarely repeats itself, and it even introduces a few new elements over its duration. I'm not sure where they got the painting of what I believe is Concorde, but it compliments the sound well.

Highly recommended even for those who are not especially big fans of Bull Of Heaven.