After just one album
and two hit singles (the first of which
was the number one hit 'Fire', the other
one 'Nightmare', which was just as disturbing,
but fared less well), the Crazy World
Of Arthur Brown imploded in the middle
of their first American tour. During their
stage show Arthur Brown used to arrive
on stage with his head on fire, wearing
long flowing gowns weaving round the stage
like some demented dervish. He was backed
on stage by Vincent Crane on keyboards
and Carl Palmer on drums, who at the demise
of the Crazy World Of Arthur Brown went
on to form Atomic Rooster. Carl Palmer
only lasted one album with the Rooster
before going on to the diamond studded
drum stool with first 'Emerson, Lake,
and Palmer' and then 'Asia’. Vincent
Crane obviously brought in replacements
and found his own way to rock ‘n’
roll stardom with Rooster.
For Arthur Brown it was two years in
litigation before he was allowed to carry
on his career, but when he did it was
in stunning fashion under the group banner
name of Kingdom Come. First there were
two wonderfully eccentric albums in "Galactic
Zoo Dossier" and the self titled
"Kingdom Come" with its glorious
tales of traffic lights, whirlpools, and
teachers; both were released in 1972.
Before the following years "Journey",
arguably Brown's finest hour.
To say that the line-up fluctuated somewhat
is a bit of an understatement. From the
first album only Andy Dalby on lead guitar
was still in the band, and when fourth
drummer Chris Burrows left after the first
album, the band dispensed with a drummer
altogether. All the rhythm work was done
by Bentley, a homemade drum machine, which
Brown operated both in the studio and
on the live stage. This was not a fact
the band tried to hide in anyway as by
the time this wonderful album was recorded,
Bentley had been moved up to the very
front of the mix. (If only Spinal Tap
had thought of this, perhaps one day they
will. It would make a wonderful headline,
"Electric Drum machine killed in
bizarre gardening accident”.)
Having an electronic member in the band
made perfect sense. It was not possible
that any of the others came from planet
Earth. You only have to listen to the
eerie keyboards of the man who actually
spoke less than the drummer Victor Peraino
to verify this.
The bass playing of Phil Shutt is hypnotically
heavy throughout. Andy Dalby's guitar
playing was always the perfect foil to
Arthur Brown's crystal clear vocal delivery.
When you listen to the songs on this album
you cannot help but wonder why Arthur
Brown is not mentioned in the same breath
as other leading English vocalists such
as Paul Rogers and Joe Cocker.
To see this band acting out their songs
on the live stage at the beginning of
the seventies was a sight to behold, giving
real meaning to a stage show. The band
would arrive on stage with all their faces
painted gold. Then Arthur Brown would
wind up Bentley, thumping out a slow heavy
beat, which would be the sign for the
opening of 'Time Captives'. This song
always opened the set in the band’s
later years, and on this album. As the
beat starts to speed up, Phil Shutt picks
up the beat before being joined by Andy
Dalby and Victor Peraino, leading to Arthur
Brown’s unworldly vocals.
The songs that follow do not disappoint
with the musicianship of the finest order.
In the genre of Progressive Space Rock,
this ranges up there with the finest.
(Pink Floyd's Meddle and Hawkwind's Warrior
On The Edge Of Time come to mind as other
fine albums of their ilk.)This album bears
repeated listening, because the closer
you get your ears, the more you discover.
If you would like to listen to something
out of the traditional rock avenues, may
I suggest a trip into the eccentric thoughts
of Arthur Brown and his spacemusos on
this fine collection and take a 'Journey'.
Launched by Mott The Dog
Re-entered by Ella Crew
E-mail: review@mott-the-dog.com
