Oriphiel

Hey everyone! Sorry for staying away from The Garage for so long, but I've been busy doing some construction work. I still plug and post around the Forums when I get the chance, however I just haven't really had the drive to write up anything massive (which is a tradition for my entries). Thanks for the two thousand and plus views! To commemorate the occasion, I went out to a record store and grabbed a random album to review, to help me get back into the beat of things! I knew absolutely nothing about it or who made it, and I picked it solely because it was in the Psychedelic/Folk part of the Oldies section, and it had some groovy artwork on it. I really hope it's crazy Psychedelic Rock! Well, without further ado...

Four Sides of Melanie



I looked up the album, and it's apparently a compilation of the early work of Melanie Safka, someone that I've never heard of before. I'm hesitant to look up more about her, because I don't want to ruin the surprise of what kind of music she plays, but she grew up in New York City, and got her start by playing in coffee shops and small venues in the counter-culture mecca of Greenwhich Village. She started singing and playing guitar professionally in her teens, and when she hit her twenties in the mid to late sixties, she had a local following and a record contract (with the hip Buddah Records no less, the same label that pressed this very album in 1971). With a background like that, it's no surprise that she quickly fell in with the "Hippy" movement, and even performed at the infamous and borderline generation-defining Woodstock Festival. Now that we've established a context, let's get to the music!

1. "Somebody Loves Me" - Well, this isn't Psychedelic Rock. It's more like Dylan/Baez-esque Folk, with the stripped down sound of someone simply singing and playing a guitar. However, right from the start, Melanie's voice definitely sets her apart from other Folk singers. It's kind of an odd voice, being both worn and smooth at the same time, and she has kind of a strong accent. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I have to admit that it makes an impression, which whether for better or worse is always better than not making any impression at all. This is kind of a melancholy song, with a very simple tone and set of lyrics, and it gives off both a tired and hopeful feeling.

2. "Beautiful People" - This one has a similar tone to the last song, but it's a bit more quick and upbeat. It's more embellished, with drums and a string section backing her up. Though she lets her vocals have a bit more power and volume this time, altogether the song actually sounds a little less powerful than the stark and honestly rough opening track.

3. "In the Hour" - This track at times has more of a traditional European Folk feeling to it. It's kept fairly simple, with her vocals and guitar strumming taking the forefront, while there's some light string and accordion action going on in the background. I can't decide if her rough vocals are either the perfect match for this song, or the opposite, but like I said earlier, she definitely leaves an impression on you!

4. "I Really Loved Harold" - Keeping a bit of the traditional feeling of the last song, this one cuts out most of the background instruments (save for a few horns during the chorus, and some fantastic Oboe work). It's the darkest song so far on the album, both lyrically and tonally, but it still has a kind of Blues-style triumphant weariness throughout it. This is my favorite track so far!



5. "Johnny Boy" - The guitar work is great, as well as the instruments in the background, but Melanie's vocals follow an odd and herky-jerky beat that makes the song sound kind of strange and intriguing. I don't think the lyrics were very strong, but they're a good match for this kind of song.

6. "Any Guy" - A bit more light and upbeat than the last few songs, especially with the strong strings and horns backing her up. It follows that kind of Waltz-style beat, which only adds to the overall lighthearted feeling. Still, despite the happiness of it, the lyrics kind of go in the opposite direction, being fairly cynical.

7. "I'm Back in Town" - Even more lighthearted and happy than the last song, complete with the bouncy backing instruments. Again, the lyrics are kind of an odd match for the upbeat tone, being about either a girl who comes home to find that her man is cheating on her, or someone who goes back to their hometown and decides to break into the house of their ex.

8. "What Have They Done to My Song Ma" - Another upbeat song with dark and cynical lyrics, this is probably the strongest of the last few tracks. Again, Melanie's vocals are rough and unusual, but I really couldn't imagine anyone else singing this song.


Groovy, man...

9. "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" - At almost eight minutes, this is the longest song of the album. It's got that late sixties/early seventies heavy Gospel feeling to it. Melanie's vocals are very clear and strong on this track, while the drummer, pianist and backing vocalists do their thing in style. This isn't my favorite track so far, but it's definitely one of the stronger ones.

10. "Peace Will Come (According to Plan)" - With the organ in the background of the intro, this song starts off with a bit of a Gospel feeling similar to the last track, and it also has the string section and upbeat feeling of the earlier tracks, as well as having the focus on the guitar work and rough vocals of the opening songs of the album. It's a good mix of every tone she's experimented with so far, and I kind of like it better than the last track!

11. "Good Book" - Similar to the mixed tones/styles of the last song, this one has more of a Gospel feeling to it due to the backing vocalists.

12. "Nickel Song" - This number has a kind of Western Folk feeling. Needless to say, it's got her unusual kind of upbeat weariness to it, which is starting to grow on me! The lyrics and tone are clear and strong, with a definite charm to them.



13. "Babe Rainbow" - At just about a minute, this is the shortest song of the album. It's kind of quiet and subdued, but it's fun while it lasts.

14. "Mr. Tambourine Man" - A cover of the classic Folk tune, Melanie's rough vocals work really well alongside her stark guitar playing. The strings and flute work are great additions, despite staying fairly subtle. For some reason, this song makes me want to curl under my covers and read a book while eating ice cream. Listen to it, you'll see what I mean!

15. "Carolina on my Mind" - Another strong cover, with a Western Folk tone. It's kept fairly subdued, but the guitar work is solid and very fitting.

16. "Ruby Tuesday" - Heh, I didn't expect a Rolling Stones cover! This is very similar to Melanie's cover of Mr. Tambourine Man, with the same sound and tone. Her vocals are pretty strong, especially during the chorus, and she really makes the song her own!



17. "Sign in the Window" - Another cover, this one features some very clear and solid vocals, as well as some fun banjo work! It's got a fun Western Folk feeling to it, especially during the chorus, and the light organ playing is a nice touch.

18. "Lay Lady Lay" - Here's one more cover for the album! It's just as strong and fun as the others, with Melanie adding her own twist to it. The vocals are fitting, but I especially like the guitar work throughout the song.

19. "Christopher Robin" - Sort of a lullaby, written about the protagonist of the classic Winny the Pooh books. It's kind of goofy and super lighthearted, but also very sweet.

20. "Animal Crackers" - Heh, I love it! This is a live track about the deliciousness of animals crackers, while also having a bit of a social commentary in the background. This is charming as hell, with Melanie constantly laughing and talking with the audience. Definitely one of my favorites so far! I wanted to include a video of this at the end, but I couldn't find any uploads of the version off of this album (which I highly recommend tracking down, if you can).



21. "I Don't Eat Animals" - Another super charming live track. Honestly, I think she sounds way better live than in the studio! This song is about being a vegetarian, but I think it's the kind of song that even a carnivore could like and appreciate.

22. "Psychotherapy" - Another humorous song with a dash of social commentary, this live track pokes fun at psychiatrists (particularly Freud), and takes a jab at both people who repress their urges as well as those who give in to them too freely. Also, it's got a fantastic chorus ("Glory, glory psychotherapy! Glory, glory sexuality! Glory, glory now we can be free, as the Id goes marching on!").

23. "Leftover Wine" - Ending the album is a very solid live track, featuring fantastic vocals and guitar work. I think this might be the strongest song of the album, and it calls back to the simple and dark tone of the opening tracks.



I'm not the biggest fan of Folk music (although I do like a few artists, like Dylan and Baez), and I was really expecting some fun Psychedelic Rock which is more in my element, however I actually really loved this album! Melanie's voice is a bit jarring at the beginning, but you kind of fall in love with it by the time that the album is over. This is a very solid compilation, with a good mix of both subtle and striking songs, however it really starts to shine when you reach the live tracks at the end. I definitely recommend it to anyone who likes Folk music, and I'd even recommend that someone who hates Folk give it a shot.

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Oriphiel

To commemorate getting past the two thousand views mark, I went out a few days ago and did some more vinyl hunting, picking up a few obscure gems! To everyone who reads my journal, thank you, and I hope that you like what I found!

The Cans - I Fought the Law/It's Gonna Be Alright - I found this single from 1970 as a white label promo cut, and i'm not sure if it was ever pressed past that stage. It's a terrific take on The Crickets' classic tale of fighting a losing battle against authority, and though it's fairly straightforward it has a good Garage Rock feeling to it! The B-Side is a slow song that goes for the Northern Soul feeling.



The Silvertones - Waitin' for my Girl/Seven-Piece Bathing Suit - I'm not sure when this was released (which usually means it's from 1966), but it's a really fun and wild Psychedelic Surfing track! It's about a guy who checks out the women on the beach while waiting for his girlfriend, and she kind of gets revenge on him by showing up in a "topless bathing suit" and dancing in front of all the guys! The B-Side is an edited version of the same song, where the line "topless bathing suit" is replaced by "seven-piece bathing suit".



Five by Five - Good Connection/Never - Another single released in early 1970, and also as a white label promo, this one did in fact eventually make it past the promo stage. It's two of the more obscure songs from the band, who managed to pick up a cult following after covering Jimi Hendrix's song Fire. The first side is a strong and heavy Hard Rock number with a considerable splash of the Progressive sound added to the mix, and the chorus is pretty catchy! The B-Side is slower and easier, being a kind of Soul influenced ballad.



That's all for today, and I hope you guys and gals got a kick out of the music! I'm probably going to be busy for the next few days, but I'll see if I can't write up a proper entry when I get the chance.

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Oriphiel

I decided to do something different for a change, and look at a movie rather than an album. Of course, being a fan of weird music, it's no surprise that i'm also a fan of weird flicks! Specifically, I've always had an affinity for the genres of horror, science fiction, and comedy, with some of my favorite movies having a mix of all three. I'll start off with a movie that truly is the perfect incarnation of the phrase "Love it or hate it"...





From the introduction to the very last scene, Hellraiser is an incredibly odd and at times non-traditional horror movie. Rather than focus on the standard battle between "good" and "evil", where young twenty-somethings with a deus ex machina defeat some ancient and wicked force, Hellraiser is at it's heart a story about the role of pleasure and pain in the human psyche. Of course, while one of the characters is eventually pegged as the "hero" whom the audience is supposed to root for, the movie actually spends most of it's run time examining the relationship between the two characters who become "the villains". In fact, you get the feeling that Clive Barker (the director, and author of the novel from which the movie was based) was constantly pressured by the studio and producers to make the film more simple and clear-cut then he wanted it to be. Everything from the scenes (which were edited to appease the MPAA) to the title of the movie became issues. Originally named "The Hellbound Heart" (after the novel), the studio asked for a change, citing that it was too "romantic" sounding. They asked for new ideas; Clive jokingly came up with the overly-literal "Sadomasochists From Beyond the Grave", and an elderly woman in the film crew apparently offered the joke suggestion "What a Woman Will Do For a Good ****". Needless to say, the studio rejected the titles, and eventually everyone settled on "Hellraiser".


Hellraiser is mostly the story of these two characters: a middle-aged woman who no longer loves her husband, and the living corpse of her husband's brother (who, in life, had an affair with her)

The difficulties of the movie didn't end with the road-bumps during it's creation. After it was released, viewers and critics alike had no idea what to make of what they had just seen. It isn't hard to see why people were confused and in disdain; the movie constantly tries to accomplish too many things in it's run-time, and this creates odd inconsistencies. For example, the first half of the movie relies mostly on suspense (and the dialogue between the characters) to affect the audience, however the second half features many cheap jump scares and the "cat and mouse" cliche that audiences were fairly tired of. The movie was at times a very tasteful and suspenseful work of horror, which many people thought didn't mesh well with the heavy scenes of (what they claimed was "tasteless") gore. Also, most of the movie centers around the idea that humans are always driven to do what brings them pleasure, forming morality after the fact to try and justify their inclinations, while also examining our odd fascination with danger and pain, trying to find the blurry (or maybe non-existent) line where the sensation of pleasure becomes pain. The first two thirds of the movie shy away from the labels of "good" and "evil", portraying the humans and demons without clearly defining any heroes or villains (making it hard to truly hate any character, since they're all mostly given motives for their actions). However, the final part of the movie throws the moral neutrality out the window, and becomes a generic battle between a human and demons. These odd dualities left a bad impression on audiences, causing half of the audience to absolutely hate the movie, and the other half to love it to the point of making it a cult classic. The critics were just as divided: while some praised the movie for it's merits, others were not at all impressed. As Roger Ebert himself put it: "This is a movie without wit, style or reason, and the true horror is that actors were made to portray, and technicians to realize, its bankruptcy of imagination."


The Cenobites, demons who care only for exploring the limits of pleasure and pain.

The plot of Hellraiser isn't quite clear when it first begins, opening with a scene of intense gore that goes unexplained until later in the movie. It begins with a man purchasing a strange cube from a mysterious merchant, and later tinkering with the cube in an empty room. As he later explains, his goal was to experience everything the world had to offer, to come to an understanding of pleasure and pain. Normal pleasures (including having an affair with his brother's wife) had grown to bore him ("It's not enough. It's never enough"), and so he sought down an artifact that would supposedly grant him otherworldly experiences. He opens the cube, and it brings forth a cadre of demons that torture him until he is literally in shambles (). Of course, their powers prevent him from actually dying, and they eventually bring him back to their home dimension. He becomes their slave, presumably for all eternity, or so the demons thought. His brother and sister in law move into his old home (which was left by the brothers' parents as inheritance to the both of them), and he uses the common blood between him and his living brother to anchor him back into reality. However, he comes back without any definite form, being a jumble of bones and tissue, and the only way for him to completely regain a body is to drain the essence of other living beings (or possibly just rip off their muscles/skin/etc. to use as his own, the movie never quite reveals which it is). After using a puddle of blood to give himself a basic form (in a fantastically eerie display of practical effects), his brother's wife finds him in the attic, and reluctantly agrees to help him.


The daughter, who eventually becomes the hero of the movie, tries to protect her father while evading his brother and the demons that are chasing him.

What impressed me most as the movie played out was, surprisingly enough (in a cult horror movie), the acting. Julia, played by Clare Higgins, does a fantastic job of conveying exactly what the character is thinking without ever having to say more than a few words at a time. There's a specific scene where she's saying goodnight to various guests at a dinner party, and when she reaches her husband, you can instantly see that she simultaneously loves him (deep down, anyway) and hates him. Andrew Robinson plays the part of the aloof and somewhat benign husband, and he plays it very convincingly and while his acting can seem a bit odd here and there, it actually fits his character pretty well. Later on, (serious spoilers from this point on) he plays the role of his reanimated sibling, after his brother kills him and steals his skin/face. As the "villain" of the end of the movie, Robinson does an incredible job, especially with his parting lines of the movie (which I'll probably address later on). The daughter, Kirsty, is played by Ashley Laurence, who does a good job of conveying a sense of shock at what the character is witnessing. However, I found some of her lines to be written and delivered a bit awkwardly, being too stiff, and it unfairly sets her character up to deliver some of the worst and most cheesy/overracted lines of the movie. Lastly, there's the resurrected brother, Frank, played predominantly by Oliver Smith (Sean Chapman plays him during flashbacks, when he still has his original body). In the flashbacks, he really doesn't pop up that much, making it hard to really critique Chapman's performance (I thought he did alright, though). Smith's time as Frank, however, when the character is a skinless body of exposed muscles and bone, is very memorable. Beyond these characters (who, to be fair, all have the occasional moment of cheesiness), everyone else was pretty forgettable. The movie introduces a love interest for the daughter (*groan*), but luckily for us he basically shows up only three or four times. I'm also glad that they didn't have him fulfill the cliche of popping up at the last second to rescue the girl, and in fact she's the one who ends up doing everything and saving the day (while he just stays in the background, trying not to get killed). Another thing that the film does right is that, quite frankly, the physical effects are stunning. However, Barker and the film crew ran out of money near the end of filming, which resulted in some very crude and dated effects as well. Below are two examples:


Here, you can see that they put a lot of effort into the designs of the demons.


And here is a goofy blob of rubber that never fails to make audiences laugh uncontrollably.

The movie also has some interesting scenes, as well as metaphors and symbolism, that add depth to the characters in a way that you might miss during the first viewing. Kirsty gets most of the weird symbolism that never gets explained. The baby crying in the distance during her nightmare, the sound of pigeons flapping their wings that she continually hears throughout the movie and the homeless man that usually appears not long after or before the sound (who stares at her with strangely clear and young eyes). Although later, the homeless man turns into a demon and saves the cube from being destroyed, but that doesn't quite make sense when looked at literally; at that point, the portal between worlds had closed, and all of the demons had disappeared. Not only that, but he had first appeared before the cube had even been opened by Kirsty. It seems more logical that he (and the pigeons) are a symbol, something about the alluring and yet disgusting nature of the strange and mysterious, and his saving the cube is a way of saying that humanity can never be free from our curiosity; someone will always come along, eventually, to give in to their curiosity and "open the box". In terms of the other characters, they also have their symbols and telling moments. The most obvious (yet also strangely easy to miss) is when Julia kisses Larry so that he doesn't notice skinless Frank lurking about. Larry takes that as an invitation to have sex with her, and Julia goes along with it, until Frank enters the room with a knife. Julia starts shouting "No! Please don't!", and she yells it quite a few times, and yet Larry (who has no reason to believe that she's not yelling at him) keeps on as if nothing's wrong. She pretty much has to toss him off, and he gets offended, asking "What's the matter with you?". At first, this just seems like lazy writing; Larry obviously had to have heard her, so it's idiotic to think that he waited for so long before stopping. But then you think about it, about his delay and response, and if it was actually intentional. The movie hints that the two are having marriage problems, and that Julia is "unsatisfied" with him as opposed to Frank, despite her husband trying to please her, and Larry's reaction to her screaming makes it seem like it's something normal for them (especially considering that the movie makes Larry out to be too sheepish to take advantage of anyone). Either way, the movie just implied that either Larry was approaching the point of rape without giving a care (which would give quite a dark side to his otherwise happy and goofy persona), or that doing so was something that Julia normally expected him to do. It's freaky, no matter how you look at it, because it makes the relationship between them that much darker. And then there's the matter of the scene preceding the ending. It's become somewhat of an iconic moment, popping up in many "Best Last Words" compilations and lists, and is completely open to interpretation. If you've never seen it before, here it is...



"Jesus Wept". Not exactly what you'd expect a murderer to say before being torn to pieces by dimension-traveling demons. At the time, critics brushed it off as being just a meaningless bible quote, added purely to sound interesting. In a way, they're right; when the scene was being filmed, the original line was supposed to be "**** you", but Robinson (the actor in the scene) asked Barker to change it to something more meaningful, memorable and mysterious. Specifically, he asked for that quote from the bible, and Barker immediately saw the potential in it, and reworked the scene. It's actually an ingenious line, when you look at the context of the phrase: In the bible, Jesus (depending on interpretations) is either crying for his friend Lazarus, or he's crying because of the faithlessness of Lazarus' family. In the first interpretation, it would mean that Frank is admitting that his actions were in vain (as Jesus wept for a dead man, despite know that he can bring him back to life with little effort, which he does, making the tears pointless). In this case, it seems like Frank is saying that there was no point trying to fight the demons, as he was always destined (because of his curiosity and passions) to be their slave. In the second interpretation, where Jesus cries because Lazarus' family is upset despite knowing that he can and will bring Lazarus back, Frank would be making more of a commentary on humanity, and how we're ruled by fear and doubt. We'll always be repelled by (and attracted to) the unknown, to death and pain, and ruled by fear. Jesus weeping, in this case, is almost as if he's sad because of this flawed and unchanging nature of humanity, and it gives Frank's words a kind of edge (as if he's saying "**** it, we're all screwed no matter what we do."). Another way to look at his words is by taking "Jesus Wept" as it is used as a phrase. People say it as a way of expressing frustration and mounting troubles (i.e. someone steals your car, and then you find out that your spouse is leaving you). In this case, Frank might simply be saying that he knows everything is about to go to hell (literally). There are many interpretations of just what Robinson had in mind when he chose that specific line, and when you take his strangely genuine smile into account, the possibilities only grow. This is the most highly discussed part of the movie, and everyone has their own idea of what was going through Frank's head. Was he giving up, smiling in despair? Was he actually enjoying the moment, knowing that his pain was simply the price of the curiosity he loved so much? You decide.


Even demons need to chill every now and then.

I consider Hellraiser to be a great and ambitious movie, definitely one of the classics of the horror genre, but also one that has far too many flaws and inconsistencies to be a true masterpiece. However, despite it's problems, you can really see that Clive Barker tried as hard as he could to bring his novel to life, and his hard work really shows in all of the movie's successes and strong points. There's a legitimate sense of intrigue and charm that seperates this movie from it's peers, and it actually makes you feel somewhat sympathetic for the "villains". With Frank, you can feel his sense of urgency and fear as he knows that the demons are coming for him, even as he takes monstrous actions to try and reclaim a physical body and escape from them. With Julia, you can see her sense of boredom with her husband (and life in general), almost feeling bad for her despite her infidelity and the actions she takes on behalf of Frank. There's also Larry, who legitimately tries to be a good husband and father, trusting his wife until the very end. And of course, you can't help but feel bad for Kirsty, who gets dragged into everything because of the actions of others, and is simply trying to keep her family together. When the acting works, it works very well, and the same can be said of the (now somewhat dated) effects. There are layers to the action (albeit not as much as in more intellectual films) which may serve as good food for thought. All in all, I'd definitely recommend Hellraiser, even though I already know that half of you will hate it. It seems like this movie will always be destined to walk the line between being great and horrible in the eyes of the viewers; which will it end up as for you?

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Oriphiel

I have a confession to make; since my last entry, I've fallen for Curved Air. And I mean fallen hard. There's just something really interesting about their take on the Progressive sound, and how they seamlessly mixed Hard Rock/Early Metal with Folk and Classical overtones. While they produced some great studio tracks, their live performances are when the band really shined; they have an amazing energy to them, especially when vocalist Sonja Kristina starts doing her thing. Not only that, but their electric violinist Darryl Way is very skilled, and he often messes around with distortion and feedback during live performances to give his violin a super-fuzzy tone that would feel right at home even on a modern Metal album, or sampled in a Drone song. But even without the distortion, he's very good at capturing a clean and Classical sound as well. So, without further ado, let's take a look at Curved Air and their debut album!

Airconditioning



Curved Air was originally formed due to a simple act of chance. Francis Monkman, an aspiring musician from the University of London's prestigious Royal Academy of Music, was shopping in a musical equipment outlet when he heard someone playing an electric violin. He investigated the intriguing sound, and ran into violinist Darryl Way. After their introductions, the two became fast friends, and decided to start a band together. They, along with classical pianist Nick Simon, formed the band Sisyphus, and were joined by musicians Florian Pilkington-Miksa and Rob Martin. While they quickly set about writing many Prog Rock songs, which would end up on Curved Air's debut, Sisyphus became known mostly for producing solid Classical and instrumental music, and they landed a gig providing the music for a play that was being performed. In the audience was Mark Hanau, who was impressed with Sisyphus, and he offered to become their manager. However, Sisyphus weren't the only musicians that Mark Hanau had taken a liking to; he also thought that vocalist Sonja Kristina, who he had heard performing music for a play as well, was a promising talent. He introduced Sonja to Sisyphus, and they formed the band that would come to be known as "Curved Air" (after the renowned song "A Rainbow in Curved Air"), after the departure of Nick Simon (who left after having several disagreements with Darryl over the band's direction).

1969 and 1970 were the formative years of the band, when they focused on practicing and playing live shows. Eventually, they managed to build up a good reputation and a decent following, particularly after they landed a tour supporting other Progressive/Early Metal bands like Black Sabbath. In 1970, they released their debut, "Airconditioning", which was received well among fans of Progressive Rock. After that, they managed to get mainstream attention after their single "Back Street Luv" became a top ten hit in the UK, and their second album (aptly titled "Second Album") climbed fairly high in the charts as well. From this point on, there was always a place in the public's heart for Curved Air, as their intriguing albums, catchy singles, and wild live performances managed to entrance a wide variety of fans. Even after multiple break-ups, reunions, and side project off-shoot bands, they still have a dedicated fanbase (particularly in the UK), and as of now are still touring (although the only original members in the current line-up are Sonja and Florian, after Darryl left in 2010). Now, let's get to the music!


Curved Air!

1. "It Happened Today" - Kicking off the album is a fantastic Hard Rock number with smooth yet strong vocals and a strong backbeat as provided by the drums, piano, and bass. The guitar work has a sharp Proggy feeling to it, and the occasional violin riffs are a nice touch (especially in the second half of the song, when the violin comes to the forefront for a nice break). I like this version of the song, and the various live versions are all just as good as they each add something new to the mix.

2. "Stretch" - Following a groovy Blues style riff played on the electric violin and the guitar, and the two instruments work surprisingly well together. It's got a steady beat to it, and it's a bit heavier than the opening track. The smooth vocals remain, with Sonja and one of her male bandmates singing together throughout the song. This track has a certain amount of emphasis on the main riff, with the violin laying down the core while the guitar provides various flourishes, but there are two great solos where the two instruments really get a chance to shine.

3. "Screw" - Mixing things up a bit, this song has more of a Folk feeling to it than the last few tracks (especially with the vocals). Still, it has a fair amount of the Progressive sound to it with the electric organs flaring up here and there, and the guitar occasionally gets really fuzzy and heavy for some nice Psychedelic moments! As always, the violin work adds a nice Classical feeling to the atmosphere.



4. "Blind Man" - This track goes for a sort of Baroque Pop sound, having a light tone and soft vocals. At times, it's a bit reminiscent of the Folksy and slightly Psychedelic artists of the 1960s, like Donovan and The Byrds, and it's a good change of pace.

5. "Vivaldi" - The violin work here is absolutely fantastic, going from clean and Classical to heavily distorted and downright metallic over the course of the song, and the rest of the band provides a solid Rock backdrop that mixes well with it while also allowing it to stand out. Over seven minutes in length, this is one of the longer songs of the album, but I think it's justified; the song just has a way of grabbing your attention, and I think most people will find themselves listening to the very end. Roughly four minutes in, Darryl starts playing around with feedback and distortion, giving his violin and the song in general a weird and almost Drone-like sound. At about five and a half minutes in, he replicates the sound of a car zooming down a highway, which is just awesome! But my favorite part is from six minutes and twenty seconds onward, when the band re-plays the opening section of the song with extra speed and energy. Whether it's the studio version or one of the more heavy, experimental and improvised live performances, I highly recommend that you seek out one of the cuts of this song!

6. "Hide and Seek" - Returning to the Heavy Prog sound with a solid backbeat and fuzzy guitar work, this song opens with the piano taking the forefront. However, the song quickly shifts into a heavy and groovy guitar solo, before the tone of the song suddenly changes (in true Prog fashion) and Sonja jumps into the fray with strong and haunting vocals. This is a great song that kind of has a loose and "jamming" feeling to it, as the band goes through different tones and riffs throughout.

7. "Propositions" - This track kicks off with a kind of Punk feeling to it, with fast and hard drumming mixed with a dirty and simple guitar riff. The vocals are as smooth as ever, but I think it would have sounded better if Sonja sang this one without the male backing vocalist. Anyway, the song shifts into some Psychedelic-tinged guitar jamming, before returning to the original riff and finishing things off in this relatively short song. It's a fun track, but I really prefer the harder-edged live version, as it leans more heavily towards an intriguing Hard Rock/Early Metal sound, and Sonja's vocals are much more rough and raw (with a fantastic scream at the end of the chorus).



8. "Rob One" - The piano and violin work that open up this track are excellent, and this would basically be a Classical song through and through if it wasn't for the loud drumming and bass work in the background! From the start to the finish, this is a beautiful song.

9. "Situations" - Another of the album's longer tracks, this one begins as a haunting and subtle song, kept very subdued at first (save for the drum breaks when the song speeds up a bit, and the vocals have a little more power to them). The song shifts tones and becomes faster and less dark as it goes on, culminating in a fantastic Psychedelic guitar solo! The vocals are an excellent match for the song, fitting the general feeling very well. Every now and then, there are some fun electronic songs in the background (which I think are either made using the electric violin, or a synthesizer). It's solid and a bit Avant Garde, but really the whole album is kind of in a similar vein!

10. "Vivaldi With Cannons" - The shortest song of the album, we're played out with a return to the main section of "Vivaldi" (and, just as promised, there are cannons in the background). The violin has a good amount of distortion to it, and there are some synthesizer effects here and there.



So, whaddya think? Progressive bands definitely had the right idea when they combined Rock with elements of other genres, as it creates a very fun and intriguing sound, and Curved Air were one of the masters of mixing Progressive Rock with Classical music. Like I said earlier, I've really taken a liking to them, and this album is a great example of the range that they had (being rough yet also mellow, as well as classy and clean yet also occasionally stripped down and raw). Not only that, but Curved Air had a pretty good amount of influence on their peers, and many bands that came after them borrowed a bit of their thunder (I mean, watch a video of them playing live back in the day, and then listen to Heart for awhile. The Wilson sisters were obviously fans of Sonja's look and sound). I recommend this album very highly, especially if you're a fan of the Progressive Rock sound, and even if you aren't, I still recommend giving this album a shot sometime!



Information about the band: Curved Air, http://www.progarchives.com/artist.a...s_monkman.html, Curved Air - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, http://www.discogs.com/artist/356873-Curved-Air

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Oriphiel

I've been in the mood to write lately, so I thought it would be cool if I wrote a bunch of horror stories for you guys, each one inspired by a different member, and then posted the stories in the days leading up to Halloween. But in the end I doubted that anyone would really give all that much of a shit about them, so I just kinda scrapped the idea. Before I did, though, I wrote a few, and the one below is my favorite of the sordid bunch. So here, have a horror story, and have fun trying to guess which member it was inspired by (there's one line in particular that I think really gives it away):


He shot her twice in the chest. Stumbling backwards, she fell against the wall, her weeping back adding to the splatter of blood behind her as she slid down to the floor. Her face contorted in pain, she opened her mouth as if to scream, yet made no sound. Looking up at the man, she tried to stand. He shot her once more, and she fell back to the floor. Looking into her eyes, the man said “It’s done.”

The woman let out a bloody gasp that sounded somewhat like a laugh, and somewhat like a cough. “It’s never done,” she replied in a weak voice, through a mouthful of blood.

The man slid his gun into the holster under his left armpit. “I know all about you. I know what you are. And I came prepared.”

As he looked into the woman’s eyes, in his mind the man saw the death gaze of his brother. In life, he had been a proud man, a warrior, passionate and assertive. He remembered walking into an ambush with him. Two men step in front, with shotguns. A car skids to a stop nearby. The windows roll down, and two more men, armed with dull black submachine guns, open fire. His brother laughs, and takes out his pistol. No caution, no cover. And yet, thirty seconds later, they walk from the scene, without a scratch on either of them. His brother smiles. To see him in that warehouse, most of him unrecognizable, and much of him simply gone, had been almost too much to bear. Images flashed through his mind, as rapid, silent, and glowing fragments. Joining the family. Drinks and laughter. Summer days on the boardwalk. The heat of life, frantic and biting. His wedding. Unexpected. His funeral. Inevitable.

The woman closed her eyes. Her face briefly twisted in pain once more, before settling into a calm and tired expression. “I’m sorry,” she said, opening her eyes and looking up at the man. The setting sun cast a rich, orange light on the both of them. The man looked away from her. Though he had finally claimed that which he had sought for so long, standing over the bloody and broken body of a twenty year old woman, he could take little joy in his revenge. His brother’s eyes returned, a hazy mental imprint that hung over his vision. He suspected they would seldom leave. Taking a deep breath, he turned around, and began to walk away.

After taking a few steps, however, the man stopped. Partially looking over his shoulder, so that he could address the woman without truly looking at her, he asked “What’s your name?” He didn’t know why he had felt the need to ask such a question. Perhaps, he thought, it would give him an odd sort of closure. It had been two years since his hunt had begun, and yet never in all that time had he learned her real name, only her false identities. Or perhaps he simply wanted to show a little kindness to his quarry. After all, somewhere inside of her, there was still a human.

The woman breathed in through her nose, taking in as deep of a breath as she could muster, and slowly replied “Sophia. And you?” Her voice was quite weak now, so that it was barely above a whisper.

The man glanced back at her. “Daniel.”

Sophia looked closely at his face, and gave him a weak smile. “I remember you,” she said. “You were following me. Lots of people follow me, but I remember you. In San Fran. Tried to shoot me. Missed. Guess your aim has gotten better since then.”

Daniel smiled weakly and nodded. “That’s right. Wasn’t my fault, though. Would have hit you, if some bystander hadn’t pushed my gun out of the way, trying to save you. He didn’t know what you are.”

Sophia gave him as much of a shrug as she could bear to make. “How could he?”

Daniel smiled and nodded, as if conceding the point to Sophia. After looking down and thinking for a moment, he turned to face her completely. “When did it happen?” he asked, once again unsure of why he felt the need to converse with her, but nevertheless feeling practically obligated to.

Sophia looked to the side in thought. She saw the woods at night, the moon rich and swollen alongside a full regalia of glittering stars. Completely alone, and free from the constraining binds of company. A sound in the distance. A silhouette, massive and yet lean. Stepping closer, fascinated. An outstretched hand. A whirlwind of force. An explosion of the senses. A burning pain in her right shoulder and arm as the claws and the teeth sink in. Falling down, the autumn leaves catching her as she hits the ground. The figure springs away, dashing through the trees. It bears little interest in her. It has already eaten, having left the ragged corpses of a large family of deer not far from where she has fallen. But she had come too close, and wild animals, whether fierce and brazen or of the meager sort that crawls and hides from that which it is unsure, will scarce suffer the touch of humans. Sophia smiles. Truly, it had been a bad idea to try to pet a werewolf.

She falls asleep there, lying in a bed of leaves. And when she wakes, and examines herself, her tattered shirt proves that it had been more than a dream. And yet, the flesh beneath it was without injury, save for a few minor cuts. She thinks back on the previous night, looking at her right arm before passing out, and remembers having seen bone. She shudders.

“I was sixteen,” she replied. Daniel looked down in thought. Sophia coughed, before continuing. “It’s been four years since then. I was only able to control it for one.” After thinking for a moment, she smiled, and shook her head. "No," she added, "not even one. Thinking back on it, though, I figure it must’ve been close. It's just... I hadn’t been keeping much track of time ever since... well, you know. So it's hard for me to tell. And near the end of my time with my family, things just started to pass by in such a blur."

As Daniel listened to Sophia, memories of his teenage years flashed across his mind. The smell of his mother's apartment, the lonely warmth of a summer night, the feeling of hunger gripping his stomach tightly, the faces of those he had known. He saw Andre and Luke, his only real friends, though sometimes they played the role of bitter enemies as well. He saw Boss Wise, cleaning his shotgun religiously with his monogram cloth, and nodding as Daniel dropped the take on the foot of the sofa. He felt an echo of the adrenaline rush that had coursed through him during his first kill. "I get it," he said at last, in a worn voice.

Sophia narrowed her eyes. "You don't. How could you?"

Daniel shot her a tired smile. "I may not be a monster, but I sure as hell know what it's like to get caught up in things."

"Caught up in things," echoed Sophia in a weak voice. Nursing her wounds tightly, she tried to shift into a slightly more comfortable position, wincing in pain before settling back against the wall. "It's more than that..." she said in a broken voice, before stopping and looking to the side. "You can't know. Not unless you've felt the bite. The power. The cravings. Hiding myself away in the woods when the full moon came, so that I could let it feast on animals at it’s pleasure."

Daniel looked at her curiously. "You didn't think to try locking yourself up?"

Sophia laughed weakly through her nose. "Oh, I did. Bought a big ole cage from this guy, good at getting things for people. Said it was used for containing bears. And then I picked up some nice, solid chains, too, from the sex shop downtown. The next full moon, I set it all up deep in the woods. Useless. Tore right through it all. I tried a few other things after that, but nothing worked. It always roamed free. So, I figured if... it... had to roam free, then I might as well let it. Just... go as far into the woods as I could, and let it hunt."

"And I'm guessing that didn't work out too well?"

Sophia shrugged lightly. "It worked well enough, for awhile. But one evening, an hour before sunset, after I had set out for the woods, my parents checked my room. They usually didn't. Most of the time, they just... let me do my own thing. But that evening, I don't know, maybe they felt a little guilty for yelling at me after I failed my history final. Wanted to say something to me before I went to sleep, to be nice. They saw that I was gone, and called the police. Curfew, you know? I got picked up. They took me home. And then... it happened."

Daniel looked to the side. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," replied Sophia.

After thinking for a moment, Daniel pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. Retrieving one of them and placing it between his lips, he lit the tip with his faded blue lighter. After taking a drag from it, he motioned it towards Sophia and tilted his head. Smiling, Sophia shook her head lightly. Daniel took another drag from it, before looking at Sophia curiously. "How did it first happen, anyway? I mean... how were you turned?"

Sophia cleared her throat before replying. “I was attacked in the woods,” she said, her voice somewhat stronger than before. “It mauled me, and left me there.”

Daniel narrowed his eyes. “So it was a wild one? I’ve read that most of your kind are changed because of spells, or as part of cult initiation rites.”

Sophia shrugged. “You shouldn’t believe everything you read.”

Daniel laughed. “Well, you’re lucky to be alive. I suspect wild wolves don’t usually leave enough of a person behind for them to change.”

Sophia looked hard at him. “Didn’t really seem like luck to me. Not after I ate my mother… my father… my brother…” She stopped for a moment and coughed, before continuing, a tired smile now on her face. “Didn’t eat my sister, though. I was full by then. Just played with her a little. Took her with me when I bolted, after more cops showed up and I got the hell out of there. A snack for later. Cop cars are pretty fast, but catching a werewolf once it gets going, especially after it finds a forest to hide in… well, I don’t have to tell you how hard that is.”

As Daniel looked down at Sophia, he felt a powerful sorrow for her, such that he almost regretted mortally wounding her. Almost, but not quite. “What happened next?” he asked.

Sophia, in a very matter of fact voice, as though she had become completely desensitized to the atrocities she had committed, replied “When the morning came, I woke up in a prairie twenty miles outside of town. My sister was there too, lying nearby. I had been pretty rough with her, but I think that she had survived the trip, since it looked like she had tried to crawl away from me as I slept. Bled to death before she had gotten very far, though. I threw up a few times. Waking up with the taste of my family on my throat, and seeing her like that… I couldn’t take it. And that’s when I decided that it had to end.”

“What do you mean?” asked Daniel, looking at her curiously.

Sophia shifted, her bones making a strange sort of sound, as her shattered ribs finished setting themselves back into place. “I decided to kill myself, the best way that I could figure,” she replied. As she began to stand up, the silver bullets that had pierced her chest were pushed out of her healing wounds, and let out a bright metallic song as they clattered to the floor. “I bought a silver knife from an antique store. Hell, I bought three, just to make sure that at least one was real. I stabbed myself, through the heart, with each of them. I had hoped that would be the end. But like I said, you shouldn’t believe everything you read.”

Daniel pulled out his pistol, and emptied the clip into Sophia. She let out a cry of pain as she fell. Lying on the floor, her body began to twist and writhe, and her flesh bulged and tore, for the sun had finished setting, and the beast within her would be restrained no more. Screaming as her bones snapped and reshaped themselves, and her flesh warped into that of a monster, her eyes became a pair of piercing yellow lights that fixed on Daniel with the hunger of a predator. Daniel turned and sprinted away, letting his gun fall from his grasp, as it had proven to be all but useless. Ere he had gotten far, he felt the full weight of the beast bear down on his back, as Sophia tore into him with her ferocious claws. Tumbling to the ground, he withdrew a dagger from his coat pocket, and sank the rune-etched blade into Sophia’s chest with as much force as he could muster. Ignoring the pain, Sophia knocked Daniel’s arms away, and looked into his eyes for but a moment before sinking her teeth into his throat, effortlessly ripping it apart as she greedily devoured him. The hunt would continue yet another night. And Sophia had long ago surrendered to the fact that, for her, it was a hunt that would never end.

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rubber soul

Okay, Ori. Now that I know you're a young lad and not a middle aged curmudgeon like I am (also male by the way), I have to ask. What got you into garage music? It was kind of old even when I was a young lad. For me I guess everything started with my love for the Beatles and things added up from there. What about you?

Great journal by the way.

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Oriphiel

Thanks!

I mean, I've pretty much always liked older music. As for Garage Rock, it was the Girls in the Garage comp that first got me interested, as well as The Cramps (introduced me to the song Psychotic Reaction with their cover, which in turn led me to the Nuggets comp) and The Pandoras (gateway into revival Garage bands, as well as Bomp! and AIP, and thus the Pebbles comp).

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rubber soul

I like the Pandoras.

I was introduced to the Pebbles series by a guy that owned a record store (I would later work for him). Pebbles was just coming out and I began getting the volumes as they would first come out.Soon I'd be collecting other compilations like Boulders, Back From the Grave, and the Garage Punk Unknowns. And, of course, some of the Girls in the Garage. There's a website that has a great database on just about all the compilations out there as well as a lot of band I hadn't even heard of until the internet arrived.

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