Black Pearl's only studio album is a nice psychedelic piece from the late 60's. The music here is west coast styled psychedelia with some psychedelic soul influences here and there. Anyway, I don't consider this as anything special and the biggest weakness is the lack of serious highlights. So there is 9 songs here and none of them really stands out. Still the record offers pleasant moments for my ears, like some fine guitarwork and the raunchy vocals. So I can say this is better than mediocre, even though just slightly. Three stars shall be my rating for this one.
Originally released on the Atlantic records label in early 1969,first pressings of this, along with first pressings of Led Zep's debut, were among the very last to be issued with Atlantic's old 60's style purple and tan label. Though apparently formed in Colorado, the band originally built a solid following in the Detroit area, before band leader and vocalist Bernie Fieldings grew displeased with his band, and walked off stage, mid-performance. Relocating to the west coast, he rebuilt another band, and another solid reputation, as a soul based rock outfit. Their one and only studio recording, released as a self-titled affair, expounded on this reputation. I can agree with almost everyone I know of that has heard it, including at least one reviewer here, that at first listening, this is not a particularly memorable album. Indeed, it languished in my collection for years, relatively untouched, until I happened across the single version of, arguably, the album's best cut, "Mr. Soul Satisfaction". As is so often the case, the mono single version, though with apparently no difference in mix from the stereo LP version, just hit me in a way the album failed to in my initial listening. Going back to re investigate, I discovered it to be better than I had remembered, and it continues to grow on me to this day. I will describe the music as semi-hard, west coast influenced rock, with a distinctive soul flavor, due mostly to Fieldings' unique vocal style and some semi-funky beats here and there. That afore-mentioned "unique" vocal style can be an acquired taste, even annoying over the course of an entire LP. But individual tracks are certainly tolerable, and the whole album is worthy of investigation. Also, check out the live album, released after this, but recorded the year prior to this album.
Tracks:
01. Crazy Chicken - 2:59
02. Thinkin' 'Bout The Good Times - 4:10
03. White Devil - 4:57
04. Mr. Soul Satisfaction - 3:34
05. Forget It - 3:42
06. Climbing Up The Walls - 3:53
07. Bent Over - 2:51
08. Endless Journey - 3:49
09. Reach Up - 4:04
Personnel:
- Bernie Fieldings - lead vocals
- Jeff Mackay Morris - lead guitar
- Tommy Mulcahy - 2nd lead guitar
- Bruce Benson - guitar, bass
- Jerry Causi - drums
- Oak O'Connor - drums
Produced by: Les Kiefer, Richard Moore
No comments:
Post a Comment