Friday, March 1, 2013

The Monks - Black Monk Time (USA/Germany 1966)

Uncle Roddus New CD Of The Week



Another CD that got me all excited when it turned up in the mail earlier this week, a couple of days after The Beauty Room CD(I'm Still Waiting for the last John Zorn CD to turn up). I have raved about this album before on this Blog and now I actually have it on CD, I'm just gonna have to rant again. Five American GI's stationed in West Germany in the 1960s recorded this album in 1965. I still can't believe this slipped under my radar for so long. It has rocketed into my all time top 5 almost instantly. It is another of those unique music statements that defies comparisons and was years ahead of its time. I can't even wait till the end of next week to post this review, I'm just gonna do my rant now then let the music thrill me for the rest of the week. Classified as 60's garage rock by many, but this music, although shot through with some great garage guitar riffs, goes way beyond the limitations of that label. Chocked to the brim with catchy melodies but far from commercial, The songs are quite complex with plenty of great subtle effects under the surface of the songs. The truly awesome "Complications" was the classic Garage Stomper that I was already familiar with and had been a favourite for some time, but the rest of the album equals and almost surpasses the brilliance of that track. Listening to some of the organ solos, I wonder if The Doors were familiar with this record. This  reissue has several additional tracks culled from early singles and a couple of unreleased songs and the awesomeness just continues right through. "That's My Girl" is hilarious and the magnificent "Your Love Came Tumbling  Down" should have taken them to the top of the charts in another universe. I've said it before, I'll say it again, this album is compulsory listening. Rating 5+/5.

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