Wednesday, June 27, 2007

by request: PETE BROWN & HIS BATTERED ORNAMENTS - A Meal You Can ....


Album Title - A Meal You Can Shake Hands With In The Dark


Pete Brown's debut album may not have been as accessible as those of Cream (for whom he often helped write material) or even the early Jack Bruce (for whom he continued to collaborate as a songwriter). There are similarities, however, though more to Bruce's solo work than to Cream. For one thing, there are those lyrics, which are of a far higher standard than heard on most rock songs, ranging from ominous impressionism to take-out-the-piss political satire. Then there's Brown's voice, which rather resembles a gruff Jack Bruce, and is effective though certainly not as smoothly melodic as Bruce's vocals. And then there's the music, which grew out of the same jazz-blues-rock community that gave birth to the Graham Bond Organisation, Cream, and Colosseum. In fact, two other alumni of that scene, Bond (on organ) and Dick Heckstall-Smith (on saxophone), are among the supporting players, as is a young Chris Spedding. There are also unusual psychedelic and Middle Eastern accents here and there in the arrangements, though tasteful and subdued. Because there aren't the pop hooks of the songs Brown had a hand with in Cream, and because Brown's voice is not that of your average rock frontman, it's not something that ever got a wide audience. But it has its rewards for those looking for something a little more avant-garde and intellectual than much late-'60s psychedelic-prog rock, including the fairly grooving "Dark Lady" (which musically resembles Graham Bond's work), "Station Song" (where the likeness to some of Jack Bruce's more mysterious tracks is highest), and the beguiling downward-spiral melody of "Rainy Taxi Girl." Some of the bluesy tunes are more functional, but the 12-minute "The Politician" — not the same as the Cream classic "Politician" penned by Brown and Bruce, though there are similarities — is a highlight, as a very witty and scathing anti-establishment spoken word poem segueing into an off-kilter blues-rocker that exposes the "politician" for the lecherously hypocritical geezer he is.

Tracks
1 Dark Lady 5:21
2 Old Man 5:26
3 Station Song 3:22
4 The Politician 12:14
5 Rainy Taxi Girl 4:46
6 Morning Call 2:48
7 Sand Castle 9:22
8 Travelling Blues 12:07
9 High Sorrow 3:24
10 Raining Pins and Needles 3:35

LINK:
h!!p://www.megaupload.com/?d=W037URF4

Please leave a comment

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Many, many thanks.

Misongod said...

Hi.do you have a canadian band called AQUARELLE?I am looking for this one long time.Nice blog,great music.Thanks.
Dom from Portugal

. said...

No but I found it at slsk and am cueing now. They have released 1 album in 1978 and live in 1979. If I mannage to download it it will be posted so stay tuned :-)
RockAnthology

Anonymous said...

Many thanks for this album

Misongod said...

Yes,I know they have 2 records.I have self title on k7.Many,many,many thanks man.I am wait...
Cheers
Dom

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the post. I liked many of the Harvest label releases in the beginning of the 70'. I now many of them resurfaces for me, and I understand why I liked them. They usually still holds the quality. Many thanks for the post!!

Anonymous said...

looks good

can't wait to hear it
thanks

Anonymous said...

love the old harvest stuff!

Richard Bunky Bell said...

it comes up as unavailable at megaupload. Any chance for a re-posting of the Pete Brown?
Thanks
Bunky